[2] The British were keen to exploit this friendship to end the slave trade in Zanzibar, which was flourishing at the time.
This was more easily said than done, as Said responded to the promptings of Hamerton by reminding him that slavery was condoned by Islam: "The Koran, the word of God .
sanctioned it, and the Arabs, of all Mahomedans, the people considered by the Almight as most deserving of favour, had a right to enslave infidels.
"[3] But Hamerton was a persuasive negotiator and the fruit of his work was a treaty signed by Said in 1845, known as the "Hamerton Treaty" – despite most of the work having been done by Lord Aberdeen and the Foreign Office[2] – which outlawed the export of slaves from Zanzibar to the Persian Gulf area.
It soon became apparent, however, that this was mere posturing by the sultan and the Company, the latter doing nothing to enforce the terms of the treaty, and Britain having few warships in the area.