This week in 1964, the Zanzibar Revolution took place. Face2Face Africa reports: At the time, Zanzibars Arab and South Asian minority held dominion over the majority African population by way of wealth. Although the ethnic groups generally worked together, it was the rise of the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) that sparked tensions and placed them against the mostly Arab Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP). The ethnic makeup of the government frustrated the mostly African ASP who won a majority of the parliamentary elections yet still were denied representation. In December 1963, an election was held to build a British Parliament-styled government structure, marking the end of colonial rule. The ZNP gained control, even though the ASP party won 54 percent of the vote. These facts spurred the Zanzibar revolution, causing the ASP to organize about 800 men and storm the state. The result was that on this day, nearly 20,000 Arabs and South Asians were killed, ending Arab rule of Zanzibar after 200 years and prompting the emergence of Tanzania. Read the rest here: https://face2faceafrica/article/zanzibar-revolution
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 03:30:00 +0000
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