Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Portuguese to refer to both the archipelago and the adjacent coast (Zangue-
bar). Now the name refers just to the archipelago. Azania (the name given by
the early Greeks for the East African coast) is perhaps a Hellenised version of
the Arabic
zinj
.
The arrival of the Portuguese in the early 16th century temporarily interrupted this
golden age, as Zanzibar and then Pemba fell under Portuguese control. Yet Portuguese
dominance did not last long. It was challenged first by the British, who found Zanzibar
an amenable rest stop on the long journey to India, and then by Omani Arabs, who in the
mid-16th century gave the Portuguese the routing that they no doubt deserved. By the early
19th century Oman had gained the upper hand on Zanzibar, and trade on the island again
flourished, centred on slaves, ivory and cloves. Caravans set out for the interior of the main-
land, and trade reached such a high point that in the 1840s the Sultan of Oman relocated
his court here from the Persian Gulf.
From the mid-19th century, with increasing European interest in East Africa and the end
of the slave trade, Omani rule over Zanzibar began to weaken, and in 1862 the sultanate
was formally partitioned. Zanzibar became independent of Oman, with Omani sultans rul-
ing under a British protectorate. This arrangement lasted until 10 December 1963 when
Zanzibar gained its independence. Just one month later, in January 1964, the sultans were
overthrown in a bloody revolution instigated by the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), which then
assumed power. On 12 April 1964 Abeid Karume, president of the ASP, signed a declara-
tion of unity with Tanganyika (mainland Tanzania) and the union, fragile from the outset,
became known as the United Republic of Tanzania.
Karume was assassinated in 1972 and Aboud Jumbe assumed the presidency of Zanzibar
until he resigned in 1984. A succession of leaders followed, culminating in 2000 with the
highly controversial election of Aman Abeid Karume, son of the first president.
Today the two major parties in the archipelago are the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM)
and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), which has its stronghold on Pemba. Tensions
between the two peaked during disputed national elections in 1995, and now, well over a
decade later, still continue to simmer.
In 1999 negotiations moderated by the Commonwealth secretary general concluded with
a brokered agreement between the CCM and CUF. However, the temporary hiatus this
created was shattered by highly controversial elections in 2000, and ensuing violence on
Pemba in January 2001. Since then renewed efforts at dialogue between the CCM and CUF
have restored a fragile calm, and both the 2005 and 2010 elections proceeded comparat-
ively smoothly. However, little progress has been made at resolving the underlying issues.
