Tippu Tip
Tippu Tip, or Tippu Tib (c. 1832 – June 14, 1905), real name Ḥamad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jumʿah ibn Rajab ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al Murjabī (Arabic: حمد بن محمد بن جمعة بن رجب بن محمد بن سعيد المرجبي), was an Afro-Omani ivory and slave owner and trader, explorer, governor and plantation owner. He worked for a succession of the sultans of Zanzibar and was the Sultan of Uterera, a short-lived state in Kasongo, Maniema ruled by himself and his son Sefu who was an Emir with local WaManyema.
Tippu Tip | |
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| Born | Hamad bin Muhammad bin Juma bin Rajab el Murjebi c. 1832 |
| Died | June 14, 1905 (aged 73) |
| Other names | Tippu Tib |
| Occupation(s) | Slave trader, ivory merchant, explorer, governor |
| Children | Sefu bin Hamid |
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Tippu Tip traded in slaves for Zanzibar's clove plantations. As part of the large and lucrative trade, he led many trading expeditions into Central Africa, constructing profitable trading posts deep into the Congo Basin region and thus becoming the most well-known slave trader in Africa, supplying much of the world with black slaves.
He also bought the ivory from WaManyema suppliers in Kasongo, the capital of the Sultanate of Utetera, and resold it for a profit at coastal ports.