Welcome to Zanzibar, Tanzania
Zanzibar, Tanzania, comprises a pair of islands off the east coast of Africa called Zanzibar and Pemba. They are, together with Mafia Island, sometimes referred to as the Spice Islands, though this term is more commonly associated with the Maluku Islands. The main town and economic center is Stone Town on the actual island of Zanzibar. Zanzibar’s main industries are spices (including nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper) and tourism and is also the only home of the Zanzibar Red Colobus monkey. Zanzibar was settled by Persian immigrants from Shiraz, where the name Zanzibar probably derives from the Persian Zangi-bar meaning “Coast of the Blacks”. However, the name could also have been derived from the Arabic Zayn Z’al Barr, meaning “Fair is this land”. The island was later controlled by Portugal for a period starting in 1503. In 1698 Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman, falling under the control of the Sultan of Oman. On April 6, 1861, following a struggle over the accession to the position of Sultan of Oman, Zanzibar and Oman were divided into two separate principalities. Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid, son of Sayyid Said bin Sultan Al-Busaid, became Sultan of Zanzibar, while his brother Sayyid Turki bin Said Al-Busaid became 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. In November 1886, a German-British border commission established the Zanj as a 10-nautical-mile-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. 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 and Zanzibar became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. The British first appointed Viziers from 1890 to 1913, and then British residents from 1913 to 1963. In 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. Submitting to British demands, Hamoud brought an end to Zanzibar’s role as a center for the eastern slave trade that had begun under Omani rule in 17th century by banning slavery and freeing the slaves of Zanzibar. 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 to this day.
Zanzibar Politics
Although Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, it elects its own president who is head of government for matters internal to the island. 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.
posted by Hills @ 1:48 PM
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