Emily Ruete
Encyclopedia
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
as Sayyida Salme, Princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
of Zanzibar and Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
. She was a daughter of Sayyid Said bin Sultan Al-Busaid
Said bin Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman
Said bin Sultan Al-Said was Sultan of Muscat and Oman from November 20, 1804 to June 4, 1856. He became joint ruler of the country along with his brother Salim on the death of their father, Sultan bin Ahmad, in 1804...
, Sultan of Zanzibar and Oman. She is the author of Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar (first published in German in 1886).
Early life, Zanzibar
Sayyida Salme was born on August 30, 1844 as daughter of Sultan Said and Jilfidan, a Circassian concubine. Her first years were spent in the huge Bet il Mtoni palace, by the sea about eight kilometers north of Stone TownStone Town
Stone Town also known as Mji Mkongwe is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania, as opposed to Ng'ambo . It is located on the western coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago...
. (The palace was mostly demolished in 1914). She grew up bilingual in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
. In 1851 she moved to Bet il Watoro, the house of her brother Majid bin Said of Zanzibar
Majid bin Said of Zanzibar
Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid was the first Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from October 19, 1856 to October 7, 1870....
, the later sultan. Her brother taught her to ride and to shoot. In 1853 she moved with her mother to Bet il Tani. She secretly taught herself to write, a skill which was unusual for women at the time.
When her father died in 1856 she was declared of age, twelve years old, and received her paternal inheritance. This consisted of a plantation with a residence, and 5,429 pounds. After her father's death, her brother Sayyid Thuwaini bin Said al-Said
Thuwaini bin Said, Sultan of Muscat and Oman
Sultan Thuwaini bin Said al-Said also called Tueni, Sultan of Muscat and Oman , was the third son of Said bin Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman. Thuwaini was born in Oman, and never visited Zanzibar...
became Sultan of Muscat and Oman, while her brother Majid became Sultan of Zanzibar.
In 1859 her mother died and Salme received her maternal inheritance, three plantations. The same year a dispute broke out between her brothers Majid and Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar
Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar
Sayyid Barghash bin Said Al-Busaid, GCMG, GCTE , son of Said bin Sultan,was the second Sultan of Zanzibar. Barghash ruled Zanzibar from October 7, 1870 to March 26, 1888....
. Though she favoured Majid, her favourite sister Khwala made her side with Barghash. Because she could write she acted (at the age of fifteen) as secretary of Barghash's party. With the help of an English gunboat the insurrection of Barghash was soon brought to an end; Barghash was sent into exile in Bombay for two years and Salme withdrew to Kisimbani, one of her estates.
Salme eventually moved back to Stone Town and made up with Majid. This earned her the lasting enmity from Barghash, as well as a split with her favorite sister Khwala.
While living in Stone Town she became acquainted with her neighbor, a German merchant, Rudolph Heinrich Ruete (born 10 March 1839; died 6 August 1870) and became pregnant by him. In August 1866, after her pregnancy had become obvious, she fled on board the British frigate "H.M.S. Highflyer" commanded by Captain [Thomas] Malcolm Sabine Pasley R.N. and was given passage on his ship to Aden. There she took Christian instruction and was baptised prior to her marriage at Aden on 30 May 1867. She had given birth to a son, Heinrich, in Aden in December 1866, and he died in France en route to Germany in the summer of 1867. She and her husband settled in Hamburg.
Life in Europe
- Antonia Thawke Ruete (24 March 1868-?), who married Eugene Brandeis (1846–1919) in 1898 and had two daughters.
- Rudolf Said-Ruete (13 April 1869- 1 May 1946). A journalist and author, with the rise of the Nazi Party, he resigned his German citizenship in 1934 and settled in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, becoming a British subject and dying at Lucerne, Switzerland after World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1901, he married Mary Therese Matthias (1872-?) and had a son and a daughter, Werner Heinrich (1902-?) and Salme Matilda Benvenuta Olga (1910-?). Through his marriage, he was a cousin of Alfred Moritz, 1st Baron MelchettBaron MelchettBaron Melchett, of Landford in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 5 June 1928 for Sir Alfred Mond, 1st Baronet, Chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries and a former First Commissioner of Works and Minister of Health...
, who became the first chairman of Imperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
.
- Rosalie Ghuza Ruete (16 April 1870-?), who married Major-General Martin Troemer of the Royal Prussian Army.
Her husband died in 1870 after a tram accident, leaving Ruete in difficult economic circumstances because the authorities denied her heritage claims. Partly to alleviate these economic problems she wrote Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar, first published in the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1886, later published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. The book provides the first known autobiography of an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
woman. The book presents the reader with an intimate picture of life in Zanzibar between 1850 and 1865, and an inside portrait of her brothers Majid bin Said of Zanzibar and Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar, the later sultans of Zanzibar.
After the death of her husband Emily Ruete was caught up in the colonial plans of Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
. There were speculations that Bismarck wanted to install her son as Sultan of Zanzibar. She revisited Zanzibar in 1885 and in 1888. Between 1889 and 1914 she lived in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. She died in Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, Germany, at the age of 79, from severe pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
In 1992 An Arabian Princess Between Two Worlds was published, making her letters home, with her reactions on life in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, finally available to the public.
There is a permanent exhibition about Emily Ruete in the People's Palace
Palace Museum, Zanzibar
The Palace Museum, also known as Sultan's Palace , is one of the main historical buildings of Stone Town, Zanzibar...
in Stonetown, the palace constructed by her brother, Sultan Barghash.