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The Zulu Republic: Zanzibar

Sultan-Seyyid Khalifa-bin-Said; succeeded March 26, 1888. Zanzibar is a territory situated on the E. coast of Africa, extending from about 3º N. to 11° 30′ S. Zanzibar was conquered in 1784 by a Sultan of Oman in Arabia, and became an independent dominion under a brother of the Sultan in 1856. Zanzibar has an area of 614 sq. m., with a soil of more than ordinary fertility, covered with woods and plantations of perpetual verdure. The principal products are cloves, rice, sugar-cane, manioc, millet, cocoanuts, and fruits, especially oranges, of the finest quality. The population of the island is estimated at 200,000. The chief people are Arab landed proprietors, possessing large plantations and numerous slaves; besides there are the free blacks and slaves and about 6000 natives of India, who are all engaged in commerce, and through whose hands nearly all the foreign trade passes. The Sultan's authority, however, does not extend along the whole of the coast, and this has enabled Germany to step in and establish claims upon a considerable portion of it. The imports consist of cotton goods, beads, arms, brass wire, etc., and amount to about £800,000; and the exports, consisting of gum-copal, cloves, ivory, india-rubber, cocoanut-oil, seeds, etc., amount to about £1,200,000. Since 1871 the trade has greatly increased; the sultan's revenue amounts to about £245,000. The export of slaves has never totally disappeared. There is a small army of about 1200 men. MADAGASCAR.

Queen-Ranavalona III.; succeeded to the throne July 13, 1883. Madagascar is the largest of the African islands, situated to the E. of the continent, from which it is separated by the Mozambique Channel, and surrounded by the waters of the Indian Ocean, between lat. 11° 57' and 25° 38′ S. and long. 43° 15' and 50° 30′ E., containing a population of between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000. It is 1010 miles in length, and 370 at its greatest breadth, containing an area estimated at 228,540 sq. m. The island was known to the early Arabs as Jezira-el-Komr, and became known under its present name through Marco Polo. Its actual discovery is due to the Portuguese (1506). By a treaty signed at Tamatave, Dec. 12, 1885, Madagascar is declared a French Protectorate, a port on Diego Suarez Bay has been ceded to France, now converted into a naval station. The soil is fertile, with rich pasturage, and magnificent forests abounding in valuable trees and medicinal plants; the other products are rice, sugar, silk, cotton, cocoanuts, bananas, sweet potatoes, indigo, pepper, india-rubber, etc. Iron ore is found in several places, and coal is also said to exist; gold, silver, copper, and lead are also found in small quantities. The principal manufactures are jewelry, chains, necklaces, straw hats, and dresses, termed lambas. ABYSSINIAΑ.

Ruler-Negus Menelik y Shon, proclaimed himself April, 1889. This isolated African land lies between lat. 8° 30' and 15° 30′ N. and long. 35° and 40° 30' E. On the N. and N.-W. is Nubia; on the E. the country of the Danakil; on the S. the Gallas; and on the W. the territory watered by the Upper Nile.

The area is estimated at 200,000 sq. m., and it is an elevated tableland, with irregular plateaus, traversed by mountain chains, some of whose peaks rise above the line of perpetual snow. Some barley and oats, wheat, cotton, maize, coffee and rice are grown. The only minerals are gold, which is not abundant, and iron, which is not exported. Manufactures are of no importance, and there is but very little foreign trade.

The inhabitants are a mixture of Ethiopians, Amharas, and Gallas, and are turbulent , warlike, and ignorant of civilization. The head of the Greek Church in Russia, during the year 1889, established a permanent mission which doubtless will lead to great changes. The earliest traditions concerning Abyssinia are that the greater portion of it was ruled by the Queen of Sheba, of whom the subsequent kings claimed to be descendants. About the year 320 the inhabitants were converted to Christianity, which is still, in a very corrupt form, the predominant religion. OCEANICA.