Information about Zanzibar

Zanzibar
Flag
Map of Zanzibar's main island Map of Zanzibar's main island
Zanzibar is part of Tanzania Zanzibar is part of Tanzania
Coordinates:
Country	Tanzania
Islands	Unguja and Pemba
Capital	Zanzibar City
Settled	AD 1000
Government
- Type	semi-autonomous part of Tanzania
- President	Amani Abeid Karume
Area
- Both Islands	637 sq mi (1651 km)
Population (2004)
- Both Islands	1,070,000

Zanzibar IPA: /ˈzænzɨbɑːr/ is the name for an archipelago in the Indian Ocean 25–50 km off the coast of East Africa, which is part of Tanzania. The archipelago consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, sometimes informally referred to as 'Zanzibar'), and Pemba Island. The archipelago was once the separate state of Zanzibar, which united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania (derived from the two names), and still enjoys a high degree of autonomy within the union. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City. The city's old quarter, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.

Zanzibar's main industries are spices (which include cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper), raffia, and tourism. Zanzibar is also the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus and the elusive Zanzibar Leopard. The word "Zanzibar" probably derives from the Persian زنگبار, Zangi-bar ("coast of the blacks") and it is also known as Zanji-bar in Arabic. "Zanzibar" may also refer to the spice ginger (genus Zingiber). Zanzibar is sometimes referred to as the "Spice Islands," a term that is also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Pemba Island is the only island apart from Zanzibar that still produces cloves on a major basis which is the primary source of spice income for the islands.

History

Main article: History of Zanzibar

The first permanent residents of Zanzibar seem to have been the ancestors of the Hadimu and Tumbatu, who began arriving from the East African mainland around AD 1000. They had belonged to various mainland ethnic groups, and on Zanzibar they lived in small villages and did not coalesce to form larger political units. Because they lacked central organization, they were easily subjugated by outsiders.

Ancient pottery demonstrates existing trade routes with Zanzibar as far back as the ancient Assyrians. Traders from Arabia, mostly from Yemen, the Persian Gulf region of modern-day Iran (especially Shiraz), and west India probably visited Zanzibar as early as the 1st century. They used the monsoon winds to sail across the Indian Ocean and landed at the sheltered harbor located on the site of present-day Zanzibar Town. Although the islands had few resources of interest to the traders, they offered a good location from which to make contact with the towns of the East African coast.

Traders from the Persian Gulf region and Yemen began to settle in small numbers on Zanzibar in the late 11th or 12th century; they intermarried with the indigenous Africans and eventually a hereditary ruler (known as the Mwenyi Mkuu or Jumbe), emerged among the Hadimu. A similar ruler, called the Sheha, was set up among the Tumbatu. Neither ruler had much power, but they helped solidify the ethnic identity of their respective peoples.

The earliest southern hemisphere mosque was built in Kizimkazi, Unguja's southernmost village by the Yemenis, and a kufic inscription on its mirhab wears the date AH 500, i.e. AD 1107.^[1]

Da Gama's visit in 1499 marks the beginning of European influence. The Portuguese established control over the island in 1503. In August 1505, it became part of the Portuguese Empire when Captain John (João) Homere of de Almeida's fleet captured the island and claimed it for Portugal. It was to remain a possession of Portugal until 1698.

In 1698, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman, falling under the control of the Sultan of Oman. The Portuguese were expelled and slave traffic under the Sultan thrived along with an expanding economy in clove spice.

Sayyid Said bin Sultan al-Busaid moved his capital from Muscat in Oman to Stone Town in 1840. After his death in 1856, his sons struggled over the succession. On April 6, 1861, Zanzibar and Oman were divided into two separate principalities. Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid (1834/5–1870), his sixth son, became the Sultan of Zanzibar, while his brother, the third son Sayyid Thuwaini bin Said al-Said became the Sultan of Oman.

During this period, the Sultan of Zanzibar also controlled a substantial portion of the east African coast, known as Zanj, including Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and trading routes extended much further into Africa, such as to Kindu on the Congo River. In November 1886, a German-British border commission established the Zanj as a ten-nautical mile (19 km) wide strip along the coast from Cape Delgado (now in Mozambique) to Kipini (now in Kenya) including all offshore islands and several towns in what is now Somalia. However, from 1887 to 1892, all of these mainland possessions were subsequently lost to the colonial powers of Britain, Germany, and Italy although some were not formally sold or ceded until the 20th century (Mogadishu to Italy in 1905 and Mombasa to Britain in 1963).

Zanzibar has the distinction of having the first steam locomotive in East Africa, when Sultan Bargash bin Said ordered a tiny 0-4-0 tank engine to haul his regal carriage from town to his summer palace at Chukwani.

The British Empire gradually took over; the relationship was formalized by the 1890 Helgoland-Zanzibar Treaty, in which Germany pledged not to interfere with British interests in insular Zanzibar. Zanzibar became a protectorate of the United Kingdom that year. The British appointed first viziers from 1890 to 1913, and then British residents from 1913 to 1963.

The death of Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August, 1896, saw the usurper Seyyid Khalid bin Bargash son of Sultan Bargash bin Said take over the palace and declare himself the new ruler. This was contrary to the wishes of the British government, which favoured Hamoud bin Mohammed. This led to a showdown, later called the Anglo-Zanzibar War, on the morning of 27 August when ships of the Royal Navy destroyed the Beit al Hukum Palace, having given Khalid an ultimatum to leave. He refused and at 9 am the ships opened fire and despite a substantial return of fire from Khalid's rebel troops, a cease fire was declared 45 minutes later after Khalid had fled to the German consulate. The bombardment subsequently became known as The Shortest War in History. Hamoud was declared the new ruler and peace was restored once more. Acquiescing to British demands, Hamoud brought an end to Zanzibar's role as a centre for the eastern slave trade that had begun under Omani rule in 17th century by banning slavery and freeing the slaves of Zanzibar with compensation in 1897.

On December 10, 1963, Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy under the Sultan. This state of affairs was short-lived, as the Sultan and the democratically elected government were overthrown on January 12, 1964, and on April 26 of that year, Zanzibar merged with the mainland state of Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

This period of transition was not without violence:

On January 12, 1964, a violent revolution ousted the ZNP-led coalition.. 5,000-12,000 Zanzibaris of Arabic descent were killed, according to reports, and thousands of others were detained and their property either confiscated or destroyed.^[2]

The film Africa Addio also documented the massacre of Arabs which was led by a Ugandan, John Okello.

Political status

Main article: Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar

Zanzibar also has its own Revolutionary Council and House of Representatives (with 50 seats, directly elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms) to make laws especially for it; these make up the semi-autonomous Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.

The Island of Zanzibar comprises three administrative regions: Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North and Zanzibar Urban/West. On the Island of Pemba are the two regions Pemba North and Pemba South.

Sultans of Zanzibar

Main article: List of Sultans of Zanzibar

1. Majid bin Said (1856–1870)
2. Barghash bin Said (1870–1888)
3. Khalifah bin Said (1888–1890)
4. Ali bin Said (1890–1893)
5. Hamad bin Thuwaini (1893–1896)
6. Khalid bin Barghash (1896)
7. Hamud bin Muhammed (1896–1902)
8. Ali bin Hamud (1902–1911) (abdicated)
9. Khalifa bin Harub (1911–1960)
10. Abdullah bin Khalifa (1960–1963)
11. Jamshid bin Abdullah (1963–1964)

Viziers

1. Sir Lloyd William Matthews, (1890 to 1901)
2. A.S. Rogers, (1901 to 1906)
3. Arthur Raikes, (1906 to 1908)
4. Francis Barton, (1906 to 1913)

British Residents

1. Francis Pearce, (1913 to 1922)
2. John Sinclair, (1922 to 1923)
3. Alfred Hollis, (1923 to 1929)
4. Richard Rankine, (1929 to 1937)
5. John Hall, (1937 to 1940)
6. Henry Pilling, (1940 to 1946)
7. Vincent Glenday, 1946 to 1951)
8. John Sinclair, (1952 to 1954)
9. Arthur George Mooring, (1959 to 1963)

Education

The island is home to Zanzibar University.

Culture

Zanzibar is a conservative, Muslim society. It's history was influenced by the Persians, Arabs, Indians, Portuguese, British and the African mainland. Stone Town is a place of winding lanes, circular towers, carved wooden doors, raised terraces and beautiful mosques. Important architectural features are the Livingstone house, the Guliani Bridge, and the House of Wonders, a palace constructed by Sultan Barghash in 1883. The town of Kidichi features the Hammam Persian Baths, built by immigrants from Shiraz, Iran during the reign of Sultan Barghash bin Said.

Zanzibar was the first region in Africa to introduce colour television, in 1973. The current tv-station is called TvZ. The first television service on mainland Tanzania was not introduced until some twenty years later.

Zanzibar criminalised gay and lesbian sex in 2004 [1] [2]. In September 2006, a radical Islamic group on the archipelago, Uamsho, forced organizers to abandon plans to mark the 60th birthday of musician and Zanzibar native Freddie Mercury, (late lead singer of the rock group Queen), saying he violated Islam with his openly gay lifestyle.

Trade

Pemba Island was once the world's leading clove producer. With the government of Tanzania deciding to privatize the clove market, the natural clove producing island went into an economic slump. It also exports spices, seaweed and fine raffia. Zanzibar also has a large fishing and dugout canoe production.

References

• Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar, Emily Ruete, 1888. (Many reprints). Author (1844-1924) was born Princess Salme of Zanzibar and Oman and was a daughter of Sayyid Said.
• Banani: the Transition from Slavery to Freedom in Zanzibar and Pemba, H. S. Newman, (London, 1898)
• Travels in the Coastlands of British East Africa, W. W. A. FitzGerald, (London, 1898)
• Zanzibar in Contemporary Times, R. N. Lyne, (London, 1905)
• Pemba: The Spice Island of Zanzibar, J. E. E. Craster, (London, 1913)
• ''Hatice Uğur, Osmanlı Afrikası'nda Bir Sultanlık: Zengibar (Zanzibar as a Sultanate in the Ottoman Africa), İstanbul: Küre Yayınları, 2005. http://www.kureyayinlari.com/Icindekiler.aspx?KID=23. For its English version, see http://seyhan.library.boun.edu.tr:80/record=b1268198

See also

• Zanzibari riyal
• Zanzibari rupee

External links

• History and places of Zanzibar
• Government of Zanzibar
• Map of Zanzibar and Tanganyika in 1886
• BBC article about new flag adoption
• Zanzibar climate, visa and medical advice
• Zanzibar, The Columbia Encyclopedia
• Zanzibar without Poverty - A plain language guide to the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar’s Zanzibar Poverty Reduction Plan (ZPRP) of January 2002
• Zanzibar images
• Map of Zanzibar

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Coordinates: