Dhows and the Colonial Economy of Zanzibar, 1860-1970

Erik Gilbert is an assistant professor of history at Arkansas State University.

"Essential reading for anyone interested in Indian Ocean trade or the limits of 'modernization' during the colonial era." (The International History Review) "Well-written, succinct…Clearly this volume is an excellent resource for scholars as well as a useful, thought-provoking text for any graduate or undergraduate seminar." (Itinerario) "Dhows and the Colonial Economy of Zanzibar provides the most thorough discussion to date of the centrality of the dhow to Zanzibar's economic history. Generously illustrated and concisely written…provides a very readable account of colonial attempts to rationalize Zanzibar's economy and the challenges inherent in this process." (The International Journal of African Historical Studies) "This agreeably written and copiously illustrated book deserves a wide audience, especially from maritime historians and those studying the East African coast." (International Journal of Maritime History)