Slavery in Oman

African slave trade in the Medieval Africa
Dhows were used to transport goods and slaves to Oman.
Slave-catching in the Indian Ocean, 1873
Capture of a slave dhow by the HMS Penguin off the Gulf of Aden
Slave-catching in the Indian Ocean, 1873

Slavery existed in the area which was later to become Oman from antiquity until the 1970s. Oman was united with Zanzibar from the 1690s until 1856, and was a significant center of the Indian Ocean slave trade from Zanzibar in East Africa to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, a central hub of the regional slave trade, which constituted a large part of its economy.

Slavery was finally abolished by Sultan Qaboos bin Said after the 1970 Omani coup d'état, on 23 July 1970. Many members of the Afro-Omani minority are descendants of the former slaves. When classic slavery was abolished, it was replaced by the Kafala system, which has been described as a modern form of slavery.


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