HISTORY OF ZANZIBAR TANZANIA Zanzibar today refers to the island of the same name, also known as Unguja , and the neighboring island of Pemba. Both islands came under Portuguese rule in the 16th and 17th centuries, but were retaken by Omani Arabs in the early 18th century. The height of Arab rule came during the reign of Sultan Seyyid Said , who moved his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar , established an Arab ruling elite and encouraged the development of clove plantations , using slave labor from the island. Zanzibar and Pemba were famous for its spice trade in the world and became known as the Spice Islands , in the 20th century , there were about 90% of the world supply of nails. Zanzibar was also an important point of the slave trade in East Africa and Indian Ocean traffic . (See the Arab slave trade . ) Zanzibar attracted ships from as far away as the United States , which established a consulate in 1833. Early interest in the UK in Zanzibar was motivated by trade and the determination to end the slave trade . In 1822 , the British signed the first of a series of treaties with Sultan Said to curb this trade, but not until 1876 was the sale of slaves finally prohibited. The Treaty of Heligoland - 1890 made Zanzibar Zanzibar and Pemba a British protectorate , and the Caprivi Strip in Namibia became a German protectorate. The British government through a Sultan remained virtually unchanged since the 19th century until 1957 , when elections for a largely advisory Legislative Council were held . Independence and Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar Julius Nyerere
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 08:21:46 +0000
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