# Beyond the beaches

**Source**: https://ge.iitm.ac.in/rendezvous/beyond-the-beaches/index.html
**Parent**: https://ge.iitm.ac.in/rendezvous/beyond-the-beaches/

There
seems to
be
significant
interest
in
Tanzania
now more
than
ever
before,
thanks
to the
upcoming
IIT
Madras
Zanzibar
campus,
which is
gearing
up for a
grand
opening
in
October.
The time
is ripe
for some
of us to
brush up
on
history:
from
when the
Portuguese
explorer
Vasco da
Gama
stepped
foot on
the
shores
of
Unguja,
to the
time
people’s
revolution
led to
the
formation
of the
United
Republic
of
Tanzania,
we bring
you some
of the
(fascinating)
lesser-known
facts
about
Zanzibar
that you
might
not have
come
across

**By
The
Office
of
Global
Engagement**

**Islands
of
joy**

There
is a
common
misconception
that
Zanzibar
is an
island;
it is an
archipelago
located
in the
Indian
Ocean.
There
are
several
smaller
islands
and two
large
ones;
Unguja
(colloquially
known as
Zanzibar),
and
Pemba
Island.
If you
go
further
down
South,
there is
Mafia
Island,
which is
part of
Tanzania’s
Mafia
Archipelago.
With
secluded
sandbars,
nesting
turtles
and
migrating
whale
sharks,
Mafia
Island
is a
unique
destination.
The
place is
known to
be
quieter
than
Zanzibar.

**A
trade
hub**

Zanzibar
was once
a
thriving
trading
hub.
According
to
multiple
reports,
traders
from
Arabia,
Persia
and
India
began
arriving
in the
islands
of
Zanzibar
during
the 1st
century
AD by
sailing
across
the
ocean.
Wealthy
port
cities
began to
spring
up along
the
coast,
and a
large,
sheltered
harbour
was
constructed
at
present-day
Zanzibar
city.
Therefore,
Zanzibar
became a
hotspot
for
trade
and to
explore
the
coast of
Eastern
Africa.
It also
made a
perfect
stop-off
location
for
traders
en route
to Asia,
the
Middle
East and
the
interior
of
Africa.

As a
matter
of fact,
Persian
traders
gradually
settled
in Stone
Town
permanently
and
their
influence
on
architecture,
cuisine
and
culture
can be
seen
even in
present-day
Zanzibar.
One of
the
interesting
facts is
that it
was
often
believed
that
traders
from
Yemen
built
the
earliest
mosque
in the
village
of
Kizimkazi
on the
southern
coast of
Zanzibar.
But
based on
an
inscription
on the
wall of
the
mosque,
it was
found
that it
was
built in
1107.

**The
birthplace
of
Freddie
Mercury**

He was
one of
the
famous
musicians
in the
world
who goes
by the
name
Farroukh
Bulsara.
Doesn’t
it ring
a bell?
Perhaps
you
might
know him
as
Freddie
Mercury,
the lead
vocalist
and
pianist
of the
famous
rock
band
Queen.
Till
today,
you can
see so
many
tributes
to
Freddie
Mercury
at
various
places
around
Stone
Town.
Fans of
Queen
often
flock to
the
Shangani
area of
Zanzibar,
where
Mercury
grew up.

Born in
1946 in
Zanzibar
to
Parsi-Indian
parents,
Mercury
attended
English
boarding
schools
in India
from the
age of
eight
and
returned
to
Zanzibar
after
secondary
school.
In 1964,
his
family
fled the
Zanzibar
Revolution,
moving
to
Middlesex,
England.
The
charismatic
performer,
along
with the
other
members
of
Queen,
was
inducted
into the
Rock and
Roll
Hall of
Fame in
2001,
following
15
studio
albums
and
unprecedented
global
success.

**When
Vasco
da
Gama
arrived
in
Zanzibar**

The
famous
Portuguese
explorer
Vasco da
Gama,
who was
the
first
European
to
successfully
reach
India by
sea, was
said to
have
arrived
in
Zanzibar
in 1499.
It is
believed
that the
European
way of
life and
culture
was
introduced
to the
islands
upon his
arrival.
Zanzibar
became
officially
part of
the
Portuguese
Empire
in 1503
0r 1504,
where
Portuguese
ruled
with the
mutual
assistance
of
Zanzibari
leaders.
In fact,
it has
been
reported
that the
people
of
Zanzibar
had
assisted
the
Portuguese
in
attacking
the
coastal
city of
Mombasa
in Kenya
more
than
once.

**The
land
of
spices**

While
tourism
is
the
major
source
of
economy
for
Zanzibar,
the
second
is
spices.
So
much
so
that
the
islands
of
Zanzibar
are
sometimes
referred
to
as
the
Spice
Islands.
Some
of
the
popular
spices
are
cloves,
nutmeg,
cinnamon
and
black
pepper.
Some
tourists
take
a
trip
to
Zanzibar
in
order
to
experience
the
smell
and
tastes
of
spice
farms.

**A
British
Protectorate**

In 1890,
the
remains
of the
Sultanate
in
Zanzibar
were
proclaimed
a
British
protectorate.
On the
death of
the
ruling
Sultan
in 1896,
however,
the
royal
palace
was
seized
by
Khalid
bin
Barghash
who
proclaimed
himself
Sultan.
After he
refused
to step
down,
the
British
attacked
the
palace,
leading
to the
Anglo-Zanzibar
War,
which
was
otherwise
known as
the
shortest
war in
history,
which
lasted
under an
hour.

After
Khalid
bin
Barghash’s
defeat,
the
British
installed
a Sultan
of their
choice,
and
British
rule
through
a Sultan
became
the
norm. In
1897,
the new
Sultan
brought
an end
to
Zanzibar’s
reputation
as a
centre
for
slave
trade by
banning
slavery
and
freeing
all the
slaves
on the
islands.
In 1913,
the
British
appointed
their
own
governors
and
implemented
important
public
health
initiatives
such as
the
construction
of a
sewer
system,
garbage
disposal
system
and
burial
system
so that
the
beaches
of
Zanzibar
reeked
no more
of
bodies,
excrement
and
garbage,
finally
eliminating
the foul
smell of
Stone
Town.

On 10
December
1963,
Zanzibar
received
its
independence
from the
United
Kingdom
as a
constitutional
monarchy
under
the
Sultan.
This
state of
affairs
was
short-lived,
as the
Sultan
and the
democratically
elected
government
were
overthrown
on 12
January
1964 in
the
Zanzibar
Revolution
led by
John
Okello,
a
Ugandan
citizen
who
organized
and led
the
revolution
with his
followers
on the
island.
Sheikh
Abeid
Amani
Karume
was
named
president
of the
newly
created
People’s
Republic
of
Zanzibar,
which
was a
short-lived
African
state
founded
in 1964,
consisting
of the
islands
of the
Zanzibar
Archipelago.

The
People’s Republic
of
Zanzibar
existed
for less
than a
year
before
it
merged
with
Tanganyika
to
create
the
United
Republic
of
Tanganyika
and
Zanzibar,
which
would be
renamed
to
Tanzania
in
October
of 1964.

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