In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Zanzibar Sultanate became the focal point of European imperial and humanitarian policies, most notably Britain, France, and Germany. This talk will highlight the main features of the relationship binding the repression of the Indian Ocean slave trade with the expansion of European empires between the 1860s and the 1900s in East Africa. Meanwhile, it will also emphasize the impact which these anti-slavery and imperial policies had then on international relations as well as international law, especially over the emergence of "humanitarian intervention."

About the speaker

Raphaël Cheriau is an Associate Member of University College Dublin Centre for War Studies as well as the Paris-Sorbonne Université Roland Mousnier Centre and teaches at the Shanghai French School. He holds a PhD in History of International, as part of the cotutelle agreement between Paris-IV Sorbonne and University College Dublin's School of History. His work won the National University of Ireland Prize for dual degrees and a French Government Medal. His book, Imperial Powers and Humanitarian Interventions: The Zanzibar Sultanate, Britain, and France in the Indian Ocean, 1862–1905, was just published this May.

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