This doctoral research project provides the first comparative study of the role of Zanzibari and Reunionese women in the history of colonial nationalisms and the evolution of cultures of hybridity in these islands. Zanzibar and Réunion house populations of African, Arab, Asian and European ancestries, proving to be ideal locations to explore the rhizome nature of identities, and how history is deciphered when the oppressed and the oppressors both qualify as one's ancestors.