Les débuts du protectorat et la révolte servile de 1891 dans l'île d'Anjouan

摘要

At the end of January 1891 a slaves' and peasants' rebellion broke out on the island of Johanna. The reasons for this social movement seem to have been numerous and complex. With the appearance of the plantation economie System in the island towards the middle of the 19th century, the standard of living among the peasants was impaired and the economie status of the slaves grew worse ; the latter were hired by their native owners to European planters whose labour they made up. The pay was next to nothing and the best land was monopolized by the planters. In 1882, Sultan Abdullah of Johanna promised Britain to set his own slaves free within seven years. The agreement was not to be kept however, for, in 1886, Johanna and her two neighbouring islands, Mohelia and Great Comoro, were placed under French protectorate. The French rule cut social development short and strengthened at the same time the position of the planters and that of the Sultan himself who happened to be one of the main ones. The date appointed for the actual emancipation of the slaves was postponed for another ten years. The protectorate System did not work well on account of the unrest amongst the population and also because the Sultan, whose sympathies were ail turned towards England, would not cooperate. The doubtful characters of the first French residents did not improve the situation : riots burst out several times and in the end Resident Ormieres was compelled to take refuge in Mayotte at the end of 1890. The death of Sultan Abdullah which occured not long after, threw the island into an open crisis. The Crown Prince Salim, son of the late Sultan was soon compelled to desist on behalf of one of his uncles, Saïd Athman, very popular with the poorer people. Saïd Athman was proclaimed Sultan of Johanna and promulgated the immédiate and unconditional émancipation of the slaves. But in fact the gangs of emancipated slaves wandering ail over the island were to become the real masters of the place. The French, on their side, prepared to reconquer the island. The biggest villages on the coast fell into their hands and a new sultan was set up in Mutsamodoo by the colonial powers of Mayotte, viz. Saïd Omar, an old prince devoted to their interests. Reduced to play the part of a gang leader, Saïd Athman was to carry on the guerrilla warfare in the mountainous areas inland. In June he gave up the fight and was deported to Obock with his most active followers. The insurrection of 1891 in Johanna seems, therefore, to have been crushed just as other similar riots had been defeated in the neighbouring islands ; but the immediate and final emancipation of the slaves beingratified by the French Authorities was already a tangible progress.