Vundwe Island has, in recent years, started to be subjected to extensive clearing. This impacts the habitat of the Zanzibar red colobus, an endangered species of red colobus monkey which the island houses. The species population also declines because of poisonings. Vundwe Island Vundwe Island is a small uninhabited island in Tanzania. The islet is part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, and is located near the southwestern coast of Unguja. It lies only 300 m south of Uzi Island and it has an area of 1,4 km. Its elevation is about 17 m above sea level. The waters surrounding the island are used
History of Zanzibar Portuguese Empire was the first European power to gain control of Zanzibar, and kept it for nearly 200 years. In 1698, Zanzibar fell under the control of the Sultanate of Oman, which developed an economy of trade and cash crops, with a ruling Arab elite and a Bantu general population. Plantations were developed to grow spices; hence, the moniker of the Spice Islands (a name also used of Dutch colony the Moluccas, now part of Indonesia). Another major trade good was ivory, the tusks of elephants that were killed on the Tanganyika mainland - a practice that is still in