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Zanzibar
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Zanzibar is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 km (15–30 mi) off the coast of the mainland. There are numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, 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 in 1964 and still enjoys a high degree of autonomy within the union.
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Zanzibar is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 km (15–30 mi) off the coast of the mainland. There are numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, 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 in 1964 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 used to be the world leader in the 70s), nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. Zanzibar's ecology is of note for being the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus and the Zanzibar Leopard. The word "Zanzibar" probably derives from the Persian ??????, Zangi-bar ("coast of the blacks").
History
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.
During the Age of Exploration, the Portuguese Empire was the first European power to gain control of Zanzibar, and the Portugese 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. Another major trade good for Zanzibar was ivory. The third pillar of the economy was slavery, 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. The Sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the East African coast, known as Zanj; this included Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, and trading routes that extended much further inland, such as the route leading to Kindu on the Congo River.
Sometimes gradually and sometimes by fits and starts, control of Zanzibar 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 38 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 thousands of Arabs and Indians were killed in a genocide and thousands more expelled, led to the establishment of the Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba. That April, the republic was subsumed by the mainland former colony of Tanganyika. 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.
Fauna
Zanzibar has many animal species from the African mainland who
traveled from the mainland during the last ice age. These included
the Zanzibar leopard, which is critically endangered and possibly extinct.
Geography
Politics
Zanzibar has its own Revolutionary Council and House of Representatives (with 50 seats, directly elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms); these make up the semi-autonomous Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar. Unguja comprises three administrative regions: Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North and Zanzibar Urban/West. Pemba has two: Pemba North and Pemba South.
There are many political parties in Zanzibar, but the main Parties are the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United Front (CUF). Known as Chama cha wananchi, the party's name has been associated as the Swahili translation of "Civic United Front" though it has different meanings. Chama cha wananchi means Peoples Party in English and not Civic united front as many think.
Since the early 1990s, the politics of the archipelago have been marked by repeated clashes between these two political parties. Contested elections in late 2000 led to a massacre in Zanzibar in January 2001 when the government shot into crowds of protestors, killing 35 and injuring 600. Violence erupted again in 2005 after another contested election, with the CUF claiming that its rightful victory had been stolen from them. Following 2005, negotiations between the two parties aiming at the long-term resolution of the tensions and a power-sharing accord took place, but they suffered repeated setbacks. The most notable of these took place in April 2008, when the CUF walked away from the negotiating table following a CCM call for a referendum to approve of what had been presented as a done deal on the power-sharing agreement.
Economy
Zanzibar, mainly Pemba Island, was once the world's leading clove producer during the 1970s, but annual clove sales have since plummeted by 80%. Explanations given for this are a fast-moving global market, international competition and a hangover from Tanzania’s failed experiment with socialism in the 1960s and ’70s, when the government controlled clove prices and exports. Zanzibar now ranks a distant third with Indonesia supplying 75% of the world's cloves (compared to Zanzibar's 7%).
Zanzibar exports spices, seaweed and fine raffia. It also has a large fishing and dugout canoe production. Tourism is a major foreign currency earner.
During May and June 2008, Zanzibar suffered a major failure of its electricity system, which left the island without mains electricity for nearly a month. The Mainland, where the fault originated, managed to be restored at the same time, but the Islanders stayed powerless and entirely dependent on alternative methods of electricity generation from May 21 to June 19 (mainly diesel generators). This led to a serious and ongoing shock to the island's fragile economy (mainly based on international tourism).
Generally, Zanzibaris live in worse conditions than in mainland Tanzania. Most people in Zanzibar subsist on incomes of less than US $ .50 per day, with tourism being the only major provider of employment.
Some foreign embassies have relocated to Zanzibar to serve both Zanzibaris and their own citizens, who find it hard to travel to Dar Es Salaam for consular services.
Infrastructure
Transport
Zanzibar has a total road network of 1,600 kilometers of roads, of which 85 percent are termaced or semitermaced. The remainder is earth road, which is annually rehabilitated to make it passable throughout the year. Zanzibar now has a thriving improved sea transport network, by which public owned ships and private speed boats serve the ports of Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Pemba, Tanga, Mtwara and Mombasa. Using the two main airports of Unguja and Pemba, Zanzibar is well connected to the rest of the world. Zanzibar's main airport, Zanzibar International Airport, can now handle bigger planes, which has resulted in an increase in passenger and cargo inflows and outflows.
Communication
Zanzibar is well served by the newly restructured public telecommunication company (TTCL) and 4 private owned mobile systems. Through these systems the whole of Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba) is widely covered and connected to most parts of the world.
Energy
The energy sector in Zanzibar is constituted by electric power, petroleum and petroleum products; it is also supplemented by firewood and its related products. Coal and gas is rarely used for both domestic and industrial purposes. Zanzibar gets 70 percent of its electric power needs from mainland Tanzania through a submarine cable, and the rest (for Pemba) is thermally generated. Between 70-75 percent of the electricity generated is domestically used while less than 20 percent is industrially used. Fuel wood, charcoal and kerosene are widely used as sources of energy for cooking and lighting for most rural and urban areas. The consumption capacity of petroleum, gas, oil, kerosene and IDO is increasing annually, with a total of 5,650 tons consumed in 1997 to more than 7,500 tons in 1999.
Education
The island is home to Zanzibar University, the former Institue of Kiswahili and Foreign Language (TAKILUKI) that was transformed to The State University of Zanzibar in 1999 (SUZA). A prominent school in Zanzibar is Lumumba Secondary School, also known as Lumumba College; most of Zanzibar's prominent people have attended the school, including the current President Amani Karume.
The education system in Zanzibar is slightly different than hi hi that of the Tanzanian mainland. Compulsory education in Zanzibar is from Standard One to Form Two, while on the mainland it is from Standard One to Seven.
The national examination of Tanzania is shared by both mainland and Zanzibar during O. Level education. Fewer students from Zanzibar pass the exam than students from the mainland.
In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, national service after secondary education was necessary, but it is now voluntary. Not many students volunteer. Most choose to seek employment or attend teacher's colleges.
Some see the total system of education in Zanzibar as poor due to the lack of teachers and resources.
Religion
Zanzibar is a conservative, Sunni Muslim society. Its history was influenced by the Arabs, Persians, Indians, Portuguese, British and the African mainland.
The most famous Imams and Scholars in Zanzibar and East Africa include the late Abdullah Farsy, who was the first person to translate the Qur'an into the Swahili language; the late Amir Tajir, the Late Bakathir; Sheikh Ally-ane; and Sheikh Nassor Bachoo, an influential Imam popular in Zanzibar for his lectures and opposition to the government.
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, who was born Farrokh Bulsara in the Indian Parsi community of Stone Town, saying he "violated Islam" with his openly bisexual lifestyle, despite the fact that Parsis are not Muslims but Zoroastrians. (See Islam and homosexuality.)
Culture
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.
Media
Zanzibar was the first region in Africa to introduce color television in 1973, though currently remains the last in most of African countries due to poor services offered and lack of modern production tools as well as experienced staff. The current TV station is called . Among the famous reporters of TVZ during the 80s and 90s were the late Alwiya Alawi 1961-1996 (the elder sister of Inat Alawi, famous Taarab singer during the 1980s), Neema Mussa, Sharifa Maulid, Fatma Mzee, Zaynab Ali, Ramadhan Ali, and Khamis Faki. The first television service on mainland Tanzania was not introduced until some twenty years later. There is no private Media in Zanzibar at the moment.
Community
There are many communities and Associations of Zanzibari and Tanzanians who live abroad. Some of these are the Tanzania Community Bradford UK, Tanzania Association in Greece, Tanzania community in Greece, Community of Tanzania in Italy. There are also Zanzibari communities in the US, UK and Canada.
Famous people
See also
Further reading
- Revolution in Zanzibar, Don Petterson (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2002)
- 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)
- Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era, and Tanzania under Mwalimu Nyerere: Reflections on an African Statesman, Godfrey Mwakikagile, (Pretoria, South Africa: New Africa Press, 2006)
- Hatice Ugur, Osmanli Afrikasi'nda Bir Sultanlik: Zengibar (Zanzibar as a Sultanate in the Ottoman Africa), Istanbul: Küre Yayinlari, 2005. http://www.kureyayinlari.com/Icindekiler.aspx?KID=23. For its English version, see http://seyhan.library.boun.edu.tr:80/record=b1268198
- Challenges of Informal Urbanisation. The Case of Zanzibar/Tanzania, Wolfgang Scholz (Dortmund 2008)
External links
- "History and places of Zanzibar")
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