2008 Zanzibar power blackout had a projected working life of 25 years when laid in 1976. It has now served for almost 35 years, ten years after it was due to be replaced. The power in Zanzibar was restored in March, 2010. 2008 Zanzibar power blackout The 2008 Zanzibar Power blackout was an extensive power outage on Zanzibar, Tanzania. A similar and longer event happened in Zanzibar in 2009. The island was without power for more than three months. During May and June 2008, Zanzibar suffered a period of almost one month without mains electricity due to a grid failure which left the entire
History of Zanzibar slave trade was officially abolished in 1876, but slavery itself remained legal in Zanzibar until 1897. Zanzibar had the distinction of having the first steam locomotive in the African Great Lakes, when Sultan Bargash bin Said ordered a tiny 0-4-0 tank engine to haul his regal carriage from town to his summer palace at Chukwani. One of the most famous palaces built by the Sultans were the House of Wonders, which is today one of Zanzibar's most popular tourist attractions. The British Empire gradually took over; the relationship was formalized by the 1890 Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, in which Germany pledged, among