 In August 1877 , Mathews was seconded from the Navy to Sultan Barghash of Zanzibar to form a European @-@ style army which could be used to enforce Zanzibar 's control over its mainland possessions . The army had traditionally been composed entirely of Arabs and Persians but Mathews opened up recruitment to the African majority on the island and had 300 recruits in training by the end of the year . In addition , Mathews employed some unorthodox recruitment methods such as purchasing slaves from their masters , using inmates from the prison and recruiting from Africans rescued from the <unk> . In June 1877 , at the instigation of John Kirk , the explorer and friend of the Sultan , the British government sent a shipment of 500 modern rifles and ammunition as a gift with which to arm the troops . Mathews introduced a new uniform for the troops consisting of a red cap , short black jackets and white trousers for the enlisted ranks and dark blue <unk> coats and trousers with gold and silver <unk> for the Arab officers . The latter was possibly modelled on the Royal Navy officers uniform with which he was familiar . The army grew quickly ; by the 1880s Mathews would command 1 @,@ 300 men , his forces eventually numbering 1 @,@ 000 regulars and 5 @,@ 000 <unk> . 
