Zanzibar

Zanzibar IPA: /ˈzænzɨbɑːr/ forms part of the East African nation of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean 25–50 km (15–30 mi) off the coast, consisting of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, sometimes informally referred to as "Zanzibar"), and Pemba. Zanzibar was once a separate state with a long trading history within the Arab world; it united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania, and still enjoys a high degree of autonomy within the union. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its old quarter, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.

Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. It is still sometimes referred to as the Spice Islands, a term also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, because of the significance of its production of cloves, of which it is the world leader, and also nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. The ecology is of note for being 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"); it is known as Zanji-bar in Arabic.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Political status
4 Education
5 Culture
6 Economy
7 Picture gallery
8 References
9 Further reading
10 See also
11 External links

History

Main article: History of Zanzibar

A Zanzibari woman photographed by the Coutinho brothers, c. 1890

The presence of microlithic tools attests to 20 000 years of human occupation of Zanzibar. The islands became part of the historical record of the wider world when Arab traders discovered them and used them as a base for voyages between Arabia, India, and Africa. Unguja offered a protected and defensible harbour, so although the archipelago offered few products of value, the Arabs settled at what became Zanzibar City (Stone Town) as a convenient point from which to trade with East African coastal towns. They established garrisons on the islands and built the first mosque in the Southern hemisphere^[1].

During the Age of Exploration, the Portuguese Empire was the first European power to gain control of Zanzibar, and kept it for nearly 200 years. In 1698 Zanzibar fell under the control of the Sultanate of Oman, which developed an economy of trade and cash crops, with a ruling Arab elite. Plantations were developed to grow spices, hence the moniker of the Spice Islands (a name also used of Dutch colony the Moluccas, now part of Indonesia). Another major trade good was ivory, the tusks of elephants killed in mainland Africa. The third pillar of the economy was slaves, giving Zanzibar an important place in the Arab slave trade, the Indian Ocean equivalent of the better-known Triangular Trade. Zanzibar City was the main trading port of the East African slave trade, with about 50 000 slaves a year passing through the city^[2]. The Sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the East African coast, known as Zanj, which included Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and trading routes which extended much further inland, such as to Kindu on the Congo River.

Sometimes gradually, sometimes by fits and starts, control came into the hands of the British Empire; part of the political impetus for this was the 19th century movement for the abolition of the slave trade. The relationship between Britain and the nearest relevant colonial power, Germany, was formalized by the 1890 Helgoland-Zanzibar Treaty, in which Germany pledged not to interfere with British interests in insular Zanzibar. That year, Zanzibar became a protectorate (not a colony) of Britain. From 1890 to 1913, traditional viziers were appointed to govern as puppets, switching to a system of British residents (effectively governors) from 1913 to 1963. The death of one sultan and the succession of another of whom the British did not approve led to the Anglo-Zanzibar War. On the morning of 27 August 1896, ships of the Royal Navy destroyed the Beit al Hukum Palace; a cease fire was declared 45 minutes later, and the bombardment subsequently became known as The Shortest War in History.

The islands gained independence from Britain in December 1963 as a constitutional monarchy. A month later, the bloody Zanzibar Revolution, in which several thousand Arabs and Indians were killed and thousands more expelled^[3], established the Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba. That April, the republic merged with the mainland former colony of Tanganyika, or more accurately, was subsumed by the much larger entity. This United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar was soon renamed as a portmanteau, the United Republic of Tanzania, of which Zanzibar remains a semi-autonomous region. Zanzibar was most recently in the international news with a January 2001 massacre, following contested elections.

Geography

Main article: Zanzibar Archipelago

Political status

Main article: Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar

The new flag of Zanzibar was hoisted for the first time in January 2005.

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.

Unguja comprises three administrative regions: Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North and Zanzibar Urban/West. The second-largest island has two regions: Pemba North and Pemba South.

The British government still maintains a residence in Zanzibar, Hamerton House. It is located between Zanzibar Town and the airport, on a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean. Hamerton House is used every now and then by the British High Commissioner in Dar es Salaam and/or his staff members, when they are on official duty in Zanzibar. It is also used in case of consular contingencies.

Education

The island is home to Zanzibar University.

Culture

Image:Zanzibar sultan palace.jpg

Stone Town with Sultan Palace

Image:Urban blight at the Michenzani housing project, Zanzibar town, Tanzania.JPG

The Michenzani apartment blocks in Stone Town, once the pride of East German development cooperation with Zanzibar, have turned into an area of urban decay.

Zanzibar is a conservative, Sunni Muslim society. Its 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. The town of Kidichi features the hammam (Persian baths), built by immigrants from Shiraz, Iran during the reign of 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 the late Freddie Mercury (born Farouk Bulsara into the Parsi community of Stone Town, who reached fame as the lead singer of the rock group Queen), saying he violated Islam with his openly gay lifestyle. (See Islam and homosexuality.)

Economy

Pemba Island was once the world's leading clove producer, although when the national government decided to privatize the clove market, the island went into an economic slump. Zanzibar exports spices, seaweed and fine raffia. It also has a large fishing and dugout canoe production. Tourism is a major foreign currency earner.