Revolution in Zanzibar 46. Zanzibar today refers to the island of Zanzibar, also known as Unguja, and the neighbouring island of Pemba.11 Both islands fell under Portuguese domination in the 16th and early 17th centuries but were re-taken 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, and encouraged the development of clove plantations, using the island’s slave labor. 47. Under the Sultanate, the Arab population comprised the ruling class and landed aristocracy. Arabs, primarily from Oman, seized large tracts of land on Unguja (except in the less fertile far north of the island) to set up highly profitable spice plantations.12 Dispossessed indigenous Zanzibaris (known as Shirazis) became agricultural workers, sharecroppers, or semi-serfs. The plantations were also worked by slaves or former slaves, originating from the Mainland. There was also significant mainland migration to the islands, especially Unguja, to work menial jobs during the boom years of the spice trade.13 The Afro-Shirazi population of Unguja mostly resented their Omani and British rulers.14 48. The British ruled Zanzibar on behalf of the Sultan, not on behalf of his subjects. Their policies explicitly favored Arabs and Asians over Shirazis and mainland Africans (in that order). The Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890 made Zanzibar and Pemba a British protectorate. British rule through a Sultan remained largely unchanged from the late 19th century until 1957, when elections were held for a largely advisory Legislative Council. A series of pre-independence elections revealed two camps: the anti-Sultanate, Africa-oriented and secular Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), with its stronghold in the densely populated areas of Unguja; and, the pro-Sultanate, Arab Worldoriented, and explicitly Islamic Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP) and its Pemban ally (the Zanzibar and Pemban People’s Party - ZPPP), supported by most Arabs, Asians, far northern Ungujans, Pembans, and those who worked for the state. The ASP consistently received a slightly larger share of the popular vote, but the ZNP and its ally received more seats because they were more predominantly represented in a greater number of constituencies. 49. In November 1960 the British Parliament approved a new constitution for Zanzibar. The first elections to the newly-established Legislative Council were held in January 1961 and ended in a deadlock. Further elections, held in June, were marred by serious rioting and heavy casualties. Ten seats were won by the ASP, representing mainly the African population; 10 by the ZNP; and 3 by the ZPPP, an offshoot of the ZNP. The ZNP and ZPPP combined to form a Government with Mohammed Shamte Hamadi as Chief Minister. In December 1963, Zanzibar became independent and the British handed power to the two parties friendliest to the Sultanate and the status quo: the ZNP and ZPPP. 50. In January 1964, one month after independence from Britain, Zanzibar (specifically Unguja) experienced a bloody uprising against the institutions of the Sultanate, the ZNP/ZPPP Government, the Arab and Asian communities, and any Shirazis considered friendly to the state (such as ZNP members and Pembans). The ASP leadership and its allies assumed control under a ‘Supreme Revolutionary Council’ and extended their control to Pemba (which had not participated in the uprising).15 Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume became the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Council until his assassination on 7 April 1972. After a few months, the ASP leadership accepted an offer of union with Tanganyika (forming the nation of Tanzania). 11 Zanzibar, population about 1.3 million (3 per cent of Tanzania’s population), consists of two main islands and several small ones just off the Tanzanian coast. The two largest islands are Unguja (often referred to simply as Zanzibar) and Pemba. Zanzibaris, together with their socio-linguistic cousins in the Comoros Islands and the East African coast from modern-day southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, created Swahili culture and language, which reflect long and close associations with other parts of Africa and with the Arab world, Persia, and South Asia. 12 Zanzibar and Pemba became world-famous for their trade in spices and became known as the Spice Islands; in the early 20th century, they produced approximately 90 per cent of the world’s supply of cloves. Zanzibar was also a major transit point in the East African and Indian Ocean slave trade. The island attracted ships from as far away as the United States which established a consulate in 1833. The United Kingdom’s early interest in Zanzibar was motivated by both commerce and an apparent determination to end the slave trade. 13 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. 14 Shirazis from the northern tip of Unguja, the nearby island of Tumbatu, and Pemba enjoyed symbiotic commercial relations with the new Arab arrivals and their Sultanate. They were not dispossessed of their lands. They mostly prospered under the Omanis. Pemban and far northern Ungujan Shirazis tended to identify their interests with the Sultanate. 15 Pemba was ruled by “Commissars” who used floggings, forced labor, and public humiliation to enforce their will over a hostile population. 33