On this day 48 years ago, the countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to become the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which was shortly thereafter renamed the United Republic of Tanzania. Tanganyika had gained its independence from Britain in 1961, with Julius Nyerere as prime minister. Zanzibar had gained its independence from Britain in 1963 under the control of an Arab minority government led by the Sultan of Zanzibar.
In January 1964 a small band of African revolutionaries seized the weapons belonging to Zanzibar’s police force and overthrew the Sultan, killing many Arabs in the process. Thus ended two centuries of Arab rule in Zanzibar, during which the island had been best known for its trade in spices and slaves. Abeid Karume became Zanzibar’s new head of state, and he proceeded to negotiate the merger with Tanganyika.
Following the merger, Zanzibar became a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania. Although the union between Zanzibar and Tanganyika has survived, the marriage has been an uneasy one, largely as a result of cultural differences. Almost all of the residents of Zanzibar are Muslims, whereas a substantial majority of the inhabitants of the rest of Tanzania are Christians or animists.