ABSTRACT
About 1850 the Sultans were sovereign only in conquered land like Pate and Mombasa island, in newly established colonies like Malindi and Mambrui or Dar es Salaam, and over the plantation areas of Pemba and Zanzibar, although the Arab aristocracy there did not consider the dynasty as more than the first family among equals.184 Meanwhile the suzerainty over the indigenous island tribes and in Lamu or Kilwa was becoming more and more of a reality, but the rising power of the Kings of Usambara had made it advisable to share the influence on the Mrima coast where a kind of condominium was the best that could be expected.185
