History and Interesting Facts about Zanzibar
History and Interesting Facts about Zanzibar
History and Interesting Facts about Zanzibar - History of Zanzibar, Zanzibar is an archipelago off the east coast of Africa, which is part of the territory of Tanzania. Zanzibar consists of two large islands: Zanzibar (or Unguja) and Pemba along with a number of other smaller islands. Initially, Zanzibar was inhabited by Persian immigrants from Shiraz.
The name Zanzibar comes from two Persian words: 'Zangi' which means black and 'Barr' which means land, so after the two words are combined it means 'Land of the Blacks'. Zanzibar was occupied by Portugal in 1503. In 1698, the Sultanate of Oman took control of Zanzibar. Then on April 6, 1861, in the midst of a conflict over the throne of the Sultan of Oman, the Sultanate of Oman was divided into two parts: Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid (1834/5-1870) led the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and his brother, Sayyid Turki bin Said Al-Busaid ( 1832-1888), ruled the Sultanate of Oman. Zanzibar's status later changed to that of a protectorate of Great Britain. The British installed a vizier as leader of Zanzibar from 1890 to 1913, then resident until 1963.
Zanzibar was the center of human trafficking in eastern Africa during the 17th to 19th centuries, when it was ruled by the Sultanate of Oman. Sultan Hamoud bin Mohammed, under British influence, later abolished the trade.
In 1964, a bloody revolution broke out in Zanzibar where at that time there was political chaos that triggered a number of black residents to overthrow the Sultan of Zanzibar. In the anti-SARA revolution, at least 20,000 people of Arab and Indian descent were massacred. A large number of others were forced out of Zanzibar.
10 Interesting Facts about Zanzibar
1. The people of Zanzibar use Kiswahili (Swahili) as their everyday language. Swahili, which is one of the largest languages in Africa and is spoken in a number of countries on the east coast of the African continent, is believed to have originated in Zanzibar. The name 'swahili' comes from the Arabic word 'sawahil', which means "coastal dweller".
2. Zanzibar culture is influenced by Persian, Arabic, Portuguese and African elements. Unique buildings in Zanzibar include: the Livingstone house, the Guliani Bridge, and the House of Wonders, a palace where Sultan Barghash lived in 1883.
3. The Anglo-Zanzibar war between the sultanate of Zanzibar and Great Britain that raged in 1896 is known as the shortest war in the world. The war broke out after Sultan Khalid bin Bargash refused to hand over his throne to Sultan Hamud bin Muhammed who was a puppet of the British colonial government. On the morning of August 27, 1896, the sultan's palace began to be bombarded by British soldiers who were more fully armed. The result: Sultan Khalid surrendered and fled even though the war had only lasted 45 minutes.
4. Zanzibar was one of the short-lived fully sovereign states: only 5 months! On December 19, 1963, Zanzibar became independent from Britain with a constitutional monarchy system of government led by a Sultan. In January 1964, the Sultan of Zanzibar was overthrown in a bloody revolution and the state was transformed into a republic. On April 26, 1964, the first president of the Republic of Zanzibar, Abeid Amani Karume decided to merge with the Tanganyika Republic in mainland Africa to form a new country called Tanzania. Today, Zanzibar is only a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania with its own president.
5. After 41 years of joining the Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar declared its own national flag for the first time on January 12, 2005.
6. During the early days of the revolution, Zanzibar's political leaders were affiliated with a number of Eastern Bloc communist countries such as the Soviet Union and East Germany. This last country even had time to provide assistance in the form of the construction of Michenzani's apartment in Stone Town.
7. Zanzibar used to be the largest clove-producing area in the world before being 'defeated' by Indonesia in the 1970s. Now, Zanzibar only ranks third in terms of the largest clove producer in the world after Indonesia and Madagascar.
8. Stone Town is the capital of Zanzibar. The city which is included in one of the United Nations cultural heritage is very unique because it is considered a city that still reflects the ancient civilization of Africa. Named Stone Town (City of Stone) because most of the settlements here look like they are made of stone. This is not the case, however, because the buildings are actually made of clay.
9. Zanzibar was the first region in Africa to introduce color television broadcasting in 1973.
10. The very rare Red Colobus macaque only lives in Zanzibar.
Such is the history of Zanzibar and some interesting facts about Zanzibar