"No Better than a Slave or Outcast!"

The article discusses the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of the late 1880s, focusing particularly on aspects associated with skill, ethnic identity, and social power of its Zanzibar-based porters. An overview of the Expedition and its goals is presented and historical sources about the Expedition are considered. Other subjects include the adaptation of African caravan practices by the Expedition, the use of slaves as opposed to free men as porters and servants by the Expedition, and the self-identification of some porters as Muslim gentlemen.