Zanzibar Revolution - January 12, 1964

On this day in 1964, a group of insurgents overthrew the government of the sultan of Zanzibar. 

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class. It's a production of I
Heart Radio. Quick warning before we start the show, this
episode contains physical and sexual violence. Hi everyone, I'm Eves.
Welcome to This Day and History Class, a show that
will convince you that history can be fascinating even when
you expect it not to be. Today's January the day

(00:30):
was January twelfth, nineteen sixty four. The government of the
Sultan of Zanzibar was overthrown and Zanzibar was proclaimed a
republic under President of Baby karum A. Zanzibar is an
island in the Indian Ocean, just off the coast of
east central Africa. Many people immigrated to the island from
Persia and from the African mainland, and Arabs established a

(00:54):
lot of control and influence in Zanzibar. The island became
central to slave in ivory trade routes, and it was
rich in resources like coconuts. At the end of the
seventeenth century, Zanzibar came under the rule of the Sultan
of Oman, but Omani rule weakened and in eighteen ninety
Zanzibar became a British protectorate. The British considered Zanzibar an

(01:18):
Arab country, and upheld existing power structures. The Office of
the Sultan remained, though it was stripped of most of
its power, and Arabs were given ample opportunities for education
and bureaucratic positions. This set up lasted until nineteen sixty three.
In July of that year, a general election gave a
majority to a coalition of two political parties, the Arab

(01:41):
dominated Zanzibar Nationalist Party and the Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party.
The Afro Scherazi Party, an African nationalist party, was in
the minority even though it got fifty of the vote.
Members of the Afro Sharazi Party or a SP were
unsatisfied with this lack of representation despite their victories, and

(02:02):
the Arab elite made it clear that they viewed Africans
as inferior through treatment and policy. Racial tensions were already
high between the Arab elite and the black majority, and
it was no different with the new Arab dominated government.
The Sultan band the UMA Party, which was made up
of radical Arab socialists and policemen of mainland African origin,

(02:24):
were fired. This inspired mainland Africans in Zanzibar and the
UMA Party to work together. That said, a SP member,
John o'kello, kept his revolutionary plans secret from the top
leaders of the party. In December of nineteen sixty three,
the UK ended the Protectorate over Zanzibar. Zanzibar regained its

(02:44):
independence and became a member of the British Commonwealth. It
became a constitutional monarchy under the Sultan, but this period
was short lived. On the early morning of January twelfth,
nineteen sixty four, just a month after Zanzibar became inde
in it from British rule, o'kella led a group of
mainly African insurgents in attacking police stations and taking weapons.

(03:07):
Then they went to Zanzibar town where they outsted the
Sultan and his government. The revolution got a lot of
support from Africans, but the uprising was bloody, as the
insurgents killed and raped Arabs in South Asians and forced
many others to flee. The death toll is disputed, with
high estimates placed at around twenty thou people. The Moderate

(03:30):
ASP leader Abadi Karum became Zanzibar's new president and head
of state. Members of the UMA Party were installed in
positions of power. Western nations feared the new government's communist ties,
but Zanzibar never emerged as a communist power. Leaders in China,
East Germany and the Soviet Union did establish relations with Zanzibar, though.

(03:53):
In April of nineteen sixty four, Karum signed a declaration
immunity with tam gin Yika, a state in East intral Africa,
and together the two countries became the United Republic of Tanzania.
The revolution ended two centuries of dominance by the Arab
ruling class, and Zanzibar Revolution Day is a public holiday
in Tanzania, but the revolutions legacy is also one of

(04:17):
brutal violence. I'm Eaves Jeff Coote and hopefully you know
a little more about history today than you did it yesterday.
If you haven't gotten your fill of history yet, you
can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t
d I h C Podcast. You can also shoot us
an email at this day at I heart media dot com.

(04:42):
We're here every day, so you know where to find
us by For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit
the I Heart Audio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows,