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Low-lying coral island that was possibly once part of the African continent, Zanzibar rises out of the Indian Ocean 35 kilometres (22 miles) off Tanzania.

 

Gently undulating hills, coconut palms, and native forests cover the island, which lures many visitors to its tropical shores.

 

Zanzibar has developed into an important commercial centre in the Indian Ocean trading system. Island residents grow coconuts and cacao for export, and together with the people of the nearby Pemba Island, they produce most of the world's clove supply.

 

 

Fishing also plays an important role in the local economy. The island's history is one of foreign occupation, intensive commerce, and slavery. The earliest known inhabitants on the island were Bantu-speaking Africans--the Hadimu and the Tumbatu. Local legend says that in the 10th century the yearly monsoon trade winds carried Persian sailors to Zanzibar along their Indian Ocean trading routes.

 

Because these sailors needed the monsoon winds to reverse course and sail home, they found themselves guests on the island for months at a time. The Persians eventually built permanent settlements there.

 

Zanzibar became an independent sultanate, separate from Oman, in 1861, and in 1890 the British Empire declared Zanzibar and Pemba a protectorate.

 

Zanzibar, Pemba, and the surrounding islets briefly enjoyed recognition as an independent country--called Zanzibar--for several months in late 1963. The following year, however, the islands were united with mainland Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania. In October 1995, the residents of Zanzibar participated in their first multi-party elections in almost 30 years, electing a president and a parliament.

 

Today more than 90 per cent of the island's population is Muslim, and most people on Zanzibar speak the official language, Kiswahili, a form of highly Arabicized Swahili. Students move to mainland Tanzania for university education and, because limited economic opportunities exist on the island, few of these students return after completing their education.