For many years, Stonetown was a major centre for the slave trade. Slaves would be shipped in from mainland Africa and traded with merchants and porters from the middle east. Before they were shipped out they were kept here for several days without food or water, chained in a dark cell approximately about the same size as what you see here. We went down to the slave chamber and experienced what it felt like to be stuck in a dark humid cell with very little air or space to move. I lasted all of 5 minutes down there. When things aren't quite going my way, I like to think back and reflect on this, comparatively my problems seem trivial. If you're really interested, you can read more about the Zanzibar Slave Trade.