Hi

My life has been destroyed in many ways since the day we first heard about Francisco de Almedia claiming our land for portugal. Many live were ruined and lost because of the war. Our Cheif and many men were killed, my father and brother returned home safely, but however John and many more men did not. They were captured and are now being used as a slave, to help Fancisco de Almeida build his colony.

There is no way our village will survive without our Cheif. He made all of our decisions and gave us direction for our village. This is the worst thing that could have happen to our village and our people. We have been taking from our homes, lost our loved ones, and are being forced to live a new way of life.

The men that returned from war took their families and little belongings and left the village. I no longer know what  to do. I need to speak with John, Should I go with them? or Should I stay?

I talked to my Dad, and I have decided to stay here with them. I will help them move our village, and try to start a new life. I know it will be hard, but I need to try and move on.

-Tisha

Hi everyone.

Our village started changing very fast, we were awaken by strange noises that we are not used to hearing. We arrived at the beach around 6:00 am to see Francisco, starting to build his colony.

 Francisco de Almeida did not listen to the threat our Cheif made about calling a war. I knew the Cheif would keep is promise. I kept wondering, would our land be destroyed forever? I stood there and watched the Cheif give them one last warning to leave our land.  Francisco told the Cheif that the land was his. Our Cheif said some strong words to Francisco and his crew, then he turned to us and told us to go  and get ready for war.  They gathered there spears, bows and arrows, flaming torches, and other weapons that they had and followed the Cheif.

I watched as all the village men went to prepare for war. All the wives stood there and watched there husbands go off to fight, knowing that there was nothing they could say or do.  We were told to remain in our huts.

It was hard to just walk off and leave John knowing that I might not see him again. My Mom, my sister, and I followed our instructions and went home to our huts.

-Tisha

Hello Everyone!

Sorry it has been so long since the last time I wrote, John and I have been very busy with our new home and taking care of the havesting with my parents. Life has been very good and I am enjoying being married to John. However when we were down on the beach this morning we were told by Francisco de Almeida a Portuguese Explorer that we had to leave our land because they are going to be colonizing Zanzibar and claiming it for Portugal.  He said that we will have to pack up and leave the village, or move our villages further back  so they can colonize and have room for the people that will move there

.<- Francisco de Almeida

 The people of my village did not understand what was happening.  How could everything my people worked for be taken away.  I was asking John if the explorer could do this and he had no answer.  I tried to find my father to see what he would say to do, but he was with other village people talking about leaving our village.  John told me to look behind me and see that our cheif was coming out of his hut.  You never see the cheif very often so i new something bad was going to happen.

<- Our Cheif

-Tisha

Hello Everyone!

 It is a beautiful day here in Zanzibar. which is GREAT, because I am getting married! I am marrying a man named John, i met him when he sailed in from the Persian Gulf. He settled into a small home on the island with some other sailors and I met him one day when I was down at the harbour with my family.

John and I will be moving into a new home a few minutes away from my families home. We will be helping my parents with there clove spice crops. We trade out spices for foods and other goods.

My wedding will be held in a chappel. It will be a small wedding with close friends and family. I am wearing a traditional wedding dress, with many beads, neklaces, and bracelets.

 

I am very excited to be getting married, but I am also nervous about moving out and living on my own. It will be very different.

I have to go finish getting ready, talk soon.

- Tisha

There have been quite a number of changes in the way the natives live since I first arrived on the island. I know I changed their way of life completely, but there are some changes I did not expect. For example, when I first came here, it looked like they were having a large feast for a very small baby. Maybe it was a celebration for a newborn? Anyways, ever since we came, babies have been born but there are no celebrations or feasts. I guess there’s absolutely no time for it – for they work non-stop, except for sleeping – and I’ll bet they’re too frightened to even think about having a feast.  They’re probably scared of being whipped or killed. 

I’ve noticed their weapons have changed too. They used to have spears, bows and arrows, and a few others I couldn’t recognize, but now they use guns and swords just like a European would. They look so frightened every time they fire one of those guns; I guess they’re just not used to it yet. As for swords - a lot of them won’t even touch them. I see where they’re coming from, in a way. I mean, they’ve never used any of these weapons before. I suppose I would be scared too. 

Their clothing has changed as well. When I arrived, they walked around nude, or had very little clothing on them, for it’s so hot on this island! They had feathers and paintings all over their bodies, too, to represent their culture. Now, they actually dress like a European. They wear shirts and pants, and have shoes on their feet. They no longer wear paint or feathers, either. We don’t exactly give them time to make them, anyway. And besides, I’ve destroyed everything else in their tradition, so why make them dress like they’re still the people they once were? 

The Europeans have changed the natives in so many different ways, but I think the biggest change is that they are no longer free. They are forced to work, every single one of them, and we sell the children to people who need slaves in our colony. Before all of this, they awoke whenever they wanted to, and only worked when something needed to be done. They spent a lot of time with family and held community events, like feasts and parties. Now, they are forced to work all day and only have breaks for sleeping, for they are too tired to do anything else. They no longer spend any time with their family, not only because they have no time for them, but they are all separated. Most of the children are slaves who belong to other families and full-grown people have to construct buildings for our colony. That basically subtracts any time they have for family. 

The natives are totally different people now. They live like Europeans and speak like them as well. We have completely changed the natives; they no longer live how they want to anymore.  

Was it necessarily “right” to change their lives around? 

I’m not sure of the answer and I probably will never know, but I don’t want to. It doesn’t really matter! Zanzibar is expanding faster than ever, so that’s all that I have to be concerned about.  

Everything is going my way. 

Francisco de Almeida

 A native dressed in European clothing.

I’ve been noticing that the colonists are having trouble communicating with their slaves and the rest of the natives. Not only does everyone speak all one language (English), but the natives are so confused in our society that I am beginning to wonder if they will ever learn the language. 

I’ve decided that this has to change. I called all of our natives and colonists together to the central part of the island. I made a speech to the people in English, and then got the interpreter to say it in the native language after me.  

I told the natives they were to learn the English language since there are problems communicating, and communication is very important in any society. I told them how we were going to start building schools, roads, and railways. I also promised better medical care and police forces.  

Once I was done my speech, everyone returned to their homes while the natives began building schools, roads, and railways. Soon, everyone was enjoying the new roads to walk on and the railways. There was now better medical care and a police force. The natives also had to attend European schools. They were learning English, and all about the European’s ways of life. That way, everyone could communicate through one language without using an interpreter or just pretending they understood one another. The natives were now able to speak English and live like a European! 

I guess this completely changed the natives traditional ways of life – I had insisted that they were not to speak in native language – but at least now things were going my way and everyone could communicate in English. They were basically Europeans in a native body. This is exactly what I wanted!  

And now, I had it all before me. 

Francisco de Almeida

I sent some people from my crew today to Lisbon to gather some people, for Lisbon has the most people out of all our colonies, so we decided to bring them here. We promised them good land if they came here, and a house to live in, so they agreed to come. My crew arrived in Zanzibar in about two months or so with many people – plus their luggage and children - and we had enough houses for them all, plus some left over. Later on, white people from other places came to our colony, too. They seemed trustworthy enough so I put them in the extra houses. All of the houses now contained people, so we ordered a large group of natives to build more.  

Everyone is settled into their homes. A few men from my crew built a large shelter for the natives to live in; nothing special, for we didn’t want to work – that was the most work we’d done in months, and we weren’t planning on doing any more! It’s very crowded in the native’s shelter, but it is better for them than sleeping outside in the wilderness. They work so hard everyday. I’m happy they do, but I know they’re not doing it because they like us. They’re doing it to survive.  

The natives just recently put up more houses, which I’m glad they did, because more people came and wanted to reside here in Zanzibar. We’ve got quite a number of shops up and many more are sure to be built. There are a lot of houses constructed with people living in them – Zanzibar is full of people!

People are also happy to buy the natives as slaves. When people buy a native, in something called a slave trade, that native belongs to them as a slave. They can order them to work around the house or outside, or for anything else they need done. They not only get work done for us now, but for people living here, too.  

I never really thought about it until now, but this must be a big change for the natives. When I arrived to the island at first, they had little huts to live in. Now, they all live in one big shelter. I bet they’re not used to this – the housing for our colonists and all of their people living together, that is. The slave trade is a drastic change for them as well. I know if I were them, I’d be confused if I was being sold to people. The natives were always a free people….they have no freedom at all anymore. 

It is a price that had to be paid to build this great colony! Zanzibar is increasing in population and wealth.  It has been worth it! 

Francisco de Almeida

Slavery…hmm…such a nasty term for kept, unpaid workers! 

If you haven’t figured it out – that is what I decided to do with the captured natives once they were restored back to health. I needed the native man power if the colony was to be constructed. Besides, their chief was killed, and my actions seemed to provide some direction to the natives. It was as if they could not think on their own. The chief made all of the decisions for them.  Without him…they appeared to be lost. 

But now he was gone. Gone, disposed somewhere in the ocean. Absolutely lifeless! 

My men and I released the natives from the building where we had kept them captive, letting them know that if they tried to escape, they’d be shot or burned. They lingered around us after we let them out of the nets and shop.  I guess they got the message loud and clear – try to escape and be shot, or stay put and remain alive. 

We gave the natives all jobs. They did jobs such as build shops, mills, and houses to live in. In the end, everyone had a job, and the colony was growing. We fed the slaves once a day and they drank water from the lake. I feel we treated the slaves (natives) very well, although if one were to ask the natives, I’m sure they would think differently. At least they got to stay and live in their native land!  

Soon, we caught even more natives and we didn’t even need our men to work as much.  My men could be used for other jobs. Basically, the Portuguese sat back and relaxed while the natives worked non-stop on our colony. It was rising fast. The shops were more than halfway completed – we only had a few more to build – and same with the houses. The mill was going well nearly completed too. The construction of the colony was moving along quickly, thanks to the help from the native people. All that was needed to complete the colony was people.  I have to come up with a plan to fill the colony with people! The natives wouldn’t be free, though. They’d be assigned to people to be their slaves instead of ours. 

Life is good. 

Francisco de Almeida

 Our African slaves.

This morning was quite difficult. I began constructing the colony with my crew at about 4:00 AM and the natives arrived to the noise about two hours later. By then, we had decided how to divide up the land amongst the people and had already gotten supplies for the many buildings that were going to make up our colony. More people from my crew and in Lisbon were also arriving at around the same time the natives did.  

The chief said – or should I say, yelled – something in a native language. The interpreter told me what he meant in English. 

“What he means is that he wants you off his land immediately or else he’ll call for war,” said the interpreter. War? Have they completely lost their minds? What would they fight with, the little twigs they found in the bush? Maybe a pebble or two? They could never stand up to our guns and other weapons!, I thought to myself.   

“Tell him that he can start a war if that’s what he desires, but they’ll be destroyed worse than they already are,” I said to the interpreter. He did, and this outraged the chief. He attempted to charge at me, but my men and a few natives held him back. The fire in his eyes was intense.  

The chief said something fiercely. “This calls for WAR!” I couldn’t help but grin. I was sure that we would be able to defeat them, for we were much more powerful. If a war is what motivated him to get his land back, then so be it. What did I have to fear for, anyway? It was a sure win for the Portuguese!  

The natives ran back to their village, their chief in the lead. Our crew got our weapons prepared, and loaded our guns. I assumed that the natives were getting prepared as well.  

In a matter of hours, we had completed a large shop. Our weapons were all ready for the native’s attack – whenever that was - and there were nets everywhere, and traps that we would use to capture them. What we would do with them once we caught them, I wasn’t sure. But we most definitely wouldn’t let them go; I actually had the idea in my mind that we could torture them. I mean, they tortured us in that they slowed down the process of making our society. Well, we’d just have to make them pay, now wouldn’t we? 

A while later, the natives came with flaming torches, bows and arrows, spears, and other weapons. We grabbed our guns, knives, swords, and other weapons and charged after them. The battle was actually much more difficult than I thought it would be. 

The battle left nothing but debris and blood. A lot of men – both natives and, to my surprise, Portuguese – were killed, others critically injured, and still, others who were barely hurt.  

More than half of the natives were trapped in our nets or locked in the shop we had put up earlier that day. It wasn’t really much of a shop anymore, though, due to the natives being trapped in there. Others were killed or injured; some so critical they weren’t even worth trapping, for they would die of their injuries anyway. Others were so gravely hurt they couldn’t even move. I smiled. Victory was ours! 

We disposed of the injured or lifeless bodies in the boats the natives made and set them off in the water. As for the live ones, we kept them locked up or tied down in nets. 

I slept well that night.  

Francisco de Almeida

The natives’ weapons.

Us, the Europeans’, weapons.

I’m lying in my tent along the shores of Zanzibar, thinking about what the chief said. It was not what I wanted to hear at all.

He demanded that we leave his land in the morning. He appreciates how we care so much about gaining land for our nation, but he said to find it elsewhere because this island belongs to him. I argued and said that it’s hard to claim land anywhere else, either because we’ve already colonized it, another nation has claimed it, or we aren’t able to sail so far in our ships. Unfortunately, he didn’t think it through. His mind is made up that we’re leaving tomorrow morning.  

I promise that there is no chance of this nonsense occurring!  

This is the perfect opportunity to claim land for Portugal! If the natives don’t want to give up their precious village, then so be it. However, we’re willing to fight for it! We’re demanding war if need be. We are willing to fight for this land! Portugal has claimed quite a bit of land, but the more the better. Besides, I doubt the natives will be hard to defeat.  

I told the chief that if he respected our people, the natives would have a place in the colony once it got started. He actually thought about that for a minute. Unfortunately, he disagreed. He told me that he does not trust the white man and that we’d probably hurt the people. I replied, with anger in my voice, that we would only hurt his people if his hurt us. He scowled at this. His mind is made up that we’re leaving. 

There is absolutely no chance of that happening. We’re getting up extra early tomorrow morning to begin building and colonizing. About ¼ or a little less of my crew are going back to Lisbon to get more men to help us build our new settlement.  

This may shock the chief or cause a battle, but it’ll be worth it while I watch people living in the new land that I found. Besides, he’s already got a grudge against me, so there’s nothing to lose.  

Francisco de Almeida

 The natives, my crew, and I discussing the idea of me colonizing on Zanzibar.