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VIDEOS OF ZANZIBAR REVOLUTION
The Zanzibar
Revolution occurred in 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government by
local African revolutionaries. Zanzibar was an ethnically diverse state
consisting of a number of islands off the east coast of Tanganyika
which had been granted independence by Britain in 1963. In a series of
parliamentary elections preceding independence, the Arab minority succeeded in
retaining the hold on power it had inherited from Zanzibar's former existence
as an overseas territory of Oman.
Frustrated by under-representation in Parliament despite winning 54% of the
vote in the July 1963 election, the mainly
African Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) allied itself with the
left-wing Umma Party, and early in the morning of 12
January 1964 ASP member John Okello mobilised around 600–800 revolutionaries on
the main island of Unguja
(Zanzibar Island). Having overrun the country's police force and appropriated
their weaponry, the insurgents proceeded to Zanzibar
Town where they overthrew the Sultan and his government.
Reprisals against
Arab and South Asian civilians on the island followed; the resulting death toll
is disputed, with estimates ranging from several hundred to 20,000. The
moderate ASP leader Abeid Karume became the country's new president and head
of state, and positions of power were granted to Umma party members.
Videos of Zanzibar Revolution
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
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