Zanzibar

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For other uses, see Zanzibar (disambiguation).

Image:Zanzibar (tanzania).jpg Zanzibar (IPA pronunciation: Template:IPA), as used today, is the collective name for two East African islands off mainland Tanzania: Unguja (also called Zanzibar) and Pemba. The capital of the islands, located on the island of Unguja, is also known as Zanzibar. It includes the downtown economic center in Stone Town, a World Heritage Site and adjacent areas extending eastwards from the Stone Town.

Zanzibar's main industries are spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper) and tourism. Zanzibar is also the home of the endemic Zanzibar red colobus.

The word "Zanzibar" probably derives from the Persian زنگبار, Zangi-bar ("coast of the blacks"). However, the name could also have been derived from the Arabic Zayn Z'al Barr ("fair is this land"). "Zanzibar" often refers to especially to Unguja Island and is sometimes referred to as the "Spice Islands," though this term is more commonly associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia.

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History

Image:Spice Islands (Tanzania).jpg 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 1000 CE. 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.

Traders from Arabia, 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 point from which to make contact with the towns of the East African coast.

Traders from the Persian Gulf region 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 rulers had much power, but they helped solidify the ethnic identity of their respective peoples

The island was part of the Portuguese Empire from 1503 to 1698.

In 1698, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman, falling under the control of the Sultan of Oman.

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 in 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 Kenya in 1963).

The British Empire gradually took over, and Zanzibar and the British position was formalized by the 1890 Heligoland-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.

On August 27, 1896, the short Anglo-Zanzibar War broke out over the succession of Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini and ended with the accession of British client Sultan Hamoud bin Mohammed. The war is the shortest war in history; Zanzibar surrendered after 45 minutes [1]. 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 19, 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 was overthrown on January 12, 1964, and on April 26 of that year Zanzibar merged with the mainland state of Tanganyika to form Tanzania, of which it remains a part of to this day.

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Political status

Image:Flag tz-sansibar 2005.png Although Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, it elects its own president who is head of government for matters internal to the island. Amani Abeid Karume was reelected to that office on October 30 2005 under criticism from opposition candidate Seif Shariff Hamad [2]. Earlier, the fairness of his election on October 2000 was queried, and in January 2001 at least 27 peaceful protestors were killed by the police. [3]

Zanzibar also has its own House of Representatives (with 50 seats, directly elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms) to make laws especially for it.

The Island of Zanzibar comprises of 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.

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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)
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Viziers

  1. Sir Lloyd William Matthews, (1890 to 1901)
  2. A.S. Rogers, (1901 to 1906)
  3. Arthue Raikes, (1906 to 1908)
  4. Francis Barton, (1906 to 1913)
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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. Henry Potter, (1954 to 1959)
  10. Arthur Mooring, (1959 to 1963)
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Culture

Image:Zanzibar woman.jpg Zanzibar's history was influenced by the British, Persians, Arabs, Indians, Portuguese 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 Hamamni Persian Baths, built by immigrants from Shiraz, Iran during the reign of Sultan Barghash bin Said.

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Trade

Zanzibar is the leading world clove producer. It also exports spices.

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Miscellaneous

  • Zanzibar was the first region in Africa to introduce color television, in 1973. The first television service in more remote areas of Tanzania was not introduced until some twenty years later.
  • The musician Farrokh Bulsara (a.k.a Freddie Mercury) of Queen was born in Zanzibar in 1946. There is also a restaurant named 'Mercurys' on the beachfront of Stone Town.
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See also

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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)
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External links

bg:Занзибар ca:Zanzíbar da:Zanzibar de:Sansibar et:Sansibar es:Zanzíbar eo:Zanzibaro fr:Zanzibar gl:Zanzíbar hu:Zanzibár ko:잔지바르 io:Zanzibar id:Zanzibar is:Sansibar it:Zanzibar he:זנזיבר sw:Jamhuri ya Watu wa Zanzibar lt:Zanzibaras nl:Zanzibar (eiland) ja:ザンジバル島 no:Zanzibar pl:Zanzibar pt:Zanzibar ru:Занзибар sk:Zanzibar fi:Sansibar sv:Zanzibar tr:Zangibar zh:桑給巴爾

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