Zanzibar Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre is Stone Town, which is a World Heritage Site. Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. For this reason, the Zanzibar Archipelago, together with
History of Zanzibar was characterized by fratricidal quarrels as it was common for brother to murder brother, and this was typical of the Arab aristocracy, where it was acceptable for family members to murder one another to gain land, wealth, titles and slaves. Visitors to Zanzibar often mentioned the "shocking brutality" which the Arab masters treated their African slaves, who were so cowed into submission that there was never a slave revolt attempted on Zanzibar. The cruelty which the Arab masters treated their black slaves left behind a legacy of hate, which exploded in the revolution of 1964. The Sultan of Zanzibar controlled