Zanzibar, semiautonomous archipelago and island, Tanzania: Asian, European, and Arab Influences

The Chinese admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He) moored his vast trading fleet in the Zanzibar harbor early in the 15th cent. The first European to visit Zanzibar was the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in 1499; by 1503 the Portuguese had gained control of Zanzibar, and soon they held most of the E African coast. The Portuguese established a trading station and a Roman Catholic mission in Zanzibar and dominated the island for some 200 years. Nonetheless, their cultural impact proved to be minimal. In 1698, Arabs from Oman ousted the Portuguese from E Africa, including Zanzibar.

The Omanis gained nominal control of the islands, but until the reign of Sayyid Said (1804–56) they took little interest in them. Said recognized the commercial value of E Africa and increasingly turned his attention to Zanzibar and Pemba. In 1840 he permanently moved his court to Zanzibar town, and proceeded to exploit the natural resources of the island by planting thousands of clove trees.

Said brought many Arabs with him, and they gained control of Zanzibar's fertile soil, forcing most of the Hadimu to migrate to the eastern part of Zanzibar island. The Hadimu were also obligated to work on the clove plantations. Said controlled much of the E African coast, and Zanzibar became the main center of the E African ivory and slave trade. Some of the slaves were used on the clove plantations, and others were exported to other parts of Africa and overseas. Zanzibar's trade was run by Omanis, who organized caravans into the interior of E Africa; the trade was largely financed by Indians resident on Zanzibar, many of whom were agents of Bombay firms.

On Said's death in 1856 his African and Omani holdings were separated, with his son Majid becoming sultan of Zanzibar. Majid was succeeded as sultan by Barghash in 1870, by Khalifa in 1888, by Ali ibn Said in 1890, by Hamid ibn Thuwain in 1893, by Hamoud ibn Muhammad in 1896, by Ali in 1902, by Khalifa ibn Naroub in 1911, by Abdullah ibn Khalifa in 1960, and by Jamshid ibn Abdullah in 1963.

From the 1820s, British, German, and U.S. traders were active on Zanzibar. As early as 1841 the representative of the British government on Zanzibar was an influential adviser of the sultan. This was especially the case under Sir John Kirk, the British consul from 1866 to 1887. In a treaty with Great Britain in 1873, Barghash agreed to halt the slave trade in his realm. During the scramble for African territory among European powers, Great Britain gained a protectorate over Zanzibar and Pemba by a treaty with Germany in 1890. The sultan's mainland holdings were incorporated in German East Africa (later Tanganyika), British East Africa (later Kenya), and Italian Somaliland.

The British considered Zanzibar an essentially Arab country and maintained the prevailing power structure. The office of sultan was retained (although stripped of most of its power), and Arabs, almost to the exclusion of other groups, were given opportunities for higher education and were recruited for bureaucratic posts. The chief government official during the period 1890 to 1913 was the British consul general, and from 1913 to 1963 it was the British resident. From 1926 the resident was advised by a legislative assembly.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Independence and Union
• Asian, European, and Arab Influences
• Early History
• Economy
• People
• Bibliography

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