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Jun 26, 2019 · This history of Zanzibar, the Tanzanian spice island and trading post, includes an overview of the island in ancient, colonial and modern times.
The Zanzibar Archipelago, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes referred to locally as the "Spice Islands". Tourism in Zanzibar is a more recent activity, driven by government promotion that caused an increase from 19,000 tourists in 1985, [ 7 ] to 376,000 in 2016. [ 8 ] .
The rise of the spice trade in the 17th and 19th centuries marked a time of unprecedented prosperity for the island of Zanzibar. During this time, known as the golden era, Zanzibar became the hub for the distribution of precious spices such as cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom.
The Zanzibar Archipelago (Funguvisiwa la Zanzibar, in Swahili, Arabic: أرخبيل زنجبار) is a group of islands off the coast of mainland Tanzania in the sea of Zanj. The archipelago is also known as the Spice Islands. There are three main islands with permanent human settlements, Zanzibar island, Pemba island, and Mafia island.
Zanzibar is referred to as the “Spice Islands” because of the significance of its production of cloves, of which it formerly possessed the world leadership position, as well as nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper.
Nov 2, 2024 · Tanzania - Spice Islands, Indian Ocean, Swahili: The history of Zanzibar has been to a large extent shaped by the monsoons (prevailing trade winds) and by the island’s proximity to the African continent.
Plantations were developed to grow spices; hence, the moniker of the Spice Islands (a name also used for the Dutch colony the Moluccas, now part of Indonesia). Another major trade good was ivory , the tusks of elephants that were killed on the Tanganyika mainland - a practice that is still in place to this day.
Mar 30, 2017 · Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper are the lifeblood of Zanzibar's spice trade, an industry dating back to the 16th century and to which the island is indebted for its cosmopolitan feel.
Spices were brought to Tanzania and the rich, fertile soils of Zanzibar a thousand years ago. They have been a core part of its people, history and economy ever since. In the 8th century, Persian traders reached East Africa, building stone settlements for the first time on Zanzibar.
The islands of Zanzibar were formerly referred to as the Spice Islands because a variety of spices, including nutmeg, mace, and cloves, were produced there and could only be found there. This led to colonial interest from Europe in the 16th century.
