Zanzibar is a tropical oasis shaped by migration and multiculturalism.
A group of islands off mainland Tanzania, with two large islands called Pemba and Unguja, Zanzibar has a 20,000-year-old history that brought both progress and oppression to the archipelago. For centuries, Africans, Arabs, Europeans, and Indians influenced this land known as “Spice Island,” creating a multiracial and multicultural society.
Trade and the origins of multiculturalism
Historically, the Bantu people occupied Zanzibar. But trade began as early as 2,400 BC, bringing different peoples from around the world.
The first traders arrived in dhows, traditional sailing vessels common in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Traders used dhows to settle in Zanzibar in the 11th and 12th centuries and intermarried with Africans.
The first Europeans to arrive on the islands came with the Portuguese colonist and explorer Vasco Da Gama. He arrived in 1499 during the Age of Exploration. After that, Zanzibar was a part of the Portuguese Empire for almost 200 years.
The European slave trade in the Indian Ocean began in the early 16th century. The Portuguese established vast trade routes to sell enslaved people to the West Indies. It later evolved into the Indian Ocean Slave trade, also known as the Triangular Trade.
In 1698, Zanzibar fell under the control of the Sultanate of Oman, who imposed a totalitarian regime based on an economy that prioritized cash crops and trade. Spice plantations, ivory, and slavery formed the pillars of the economy. Stone Town, Zanzibar’s capital, transformed into the wealthiest city in East Africa due to exploitation.
At the time, hundreds of dhows sailed across the Indian Ocean from India, Persia, and Arabia, bringing dates, sugar, cloth, and iron. Traders left with ships full of copal, cloves, coconuts, rice, ivory, tortoiseshell, and enslaved people. The Sultan of Oman, Said bin Sultan al-Busaid, moved his capital from Muscat to Stone Town in 1840 because of Zanzibar’s prosperity. Zanzibar enjoyed international acclaim for its slaves and spices into the 19th century.
A fraught history of slavery and exploitation
Of all the economic activities happening in Zanzibar, slavery was the most profitable. Most of the Africans living on the island were stolen from across East and Central Africa and transported in dhows to the archipelago.
Around 40,000 to 50,000 enslaved people arrived in Zanzibar each year. A third worked on the clove and coconut plantations of Zanzibar and Pemba. Many were exported to the Ottoman Empire, Arabia, Persia, and Egypt.
Over 1 million people were sold into slavery, according to official records, but experts believe that the number was likely much higher. Over 30 percent of enslaved men died each year due to the inhumane conditions on the plantations, leading to an increase in the demand for slaves.
Slavery on the islands ended seven years after Zanzibar became a British protectorate in 1890. However, tensions sprung up between the local populations and the Arabs who controlled the slave economy.
The British government gave Zanzibar self-governing rights in December 1963. A month later, the people rose up and killed several thousand Arabs and Indians in what became known as the Zanzibar Revolution. The revolution was one of the bloodiest incidents of anti-Arab violence in postcolonial Africa.
New languages and fusion cuisine
Migration also shaped the national language of Tanzania, Swahili. In the 1930s, British colonial authorities worked alongside African writers and scholars to standardize the Bantu dialect in Unjunga and form the basis for the Swahili language.
Today, over 200 million people in 13 countries in South East Africa speak Swahili, making it the most commonly spoken language on the African continent.
The history of multiculturalism on the island also gave birth to a wide array of fusion dishes.
Born and raised in Zanzibar’s Stone Town, Lodi Mohammed launched Eat Like a Zanzibari, an authentic street food tour. He believes that “food brings communities together.”
“Our quintessential Zanzibar dishes are most heavily influenced by Arab and Indian cuisine,” he explained. “African cuisine is of secondary influence.”
Mohammed identifies the best food spots in Zanzibar as local kitchens. “Most of the ingredients for Zanzibar’s dishes are sourced right on the island.”
Mohammed’s personalized food recommendations
- Fresh Flatbreads – Hand-rolled chapatis to “mkate la ufuta” (a fluffy sesame bread) to “mkate wa ajam” (bread rolled and baked in stone ovens).
- Urojo – A savory, colorful bowl of soup made of either tamarind, mango, or sometimes flour and turmeric, and filled with tasty morsels like Bhajia (similar to falafel), Kachori (spicy potato balls), and Chipsi za muhogo (cassava chips).
- ·Sweets – We love our Mahanjumati (tasty morsels) in Zanzibar. Kaimati are dumplings coated with sweet syrup, often served during Ramadan. Halwa is a jelly treat made with local spices.
Other Swahili dishes:
- Pilau – The Swahili version of rice has cinnamon and cumin spices. The spice ranges from mild to severe, containing rice, beef, and legumes.
- Mbaazi za Naazi – Pigeon peas cooked in coconut milk and commonly accompanied with Mahamri.
- Wali na Maharage – Swahili beans that can be spicy or sweet.
- Chipsi Mayai – A sauteed potato omelet.
- Mahamri – Sweet, deep-fried pieces of dough (similar to donuts).
- Bhajia na Ukwaju – This dish has a touch of tamarind sauce.
New arrivals and repurposing dhows
Zanzibar is one of Africa’s most popular tourist attractions today. There were 260,644 international tourists in 2020. That doubled to 548,503 in 2022.
The spice industry has also developed through tourism, making spice farm tours increasingly popular.
On the islands, people now use dhows as commercial vessels to sustain the livelihoods of thousands of locals. Dhows are slowly becoming extinct, meaning that a vital aspect of Zanzibari culture could disappear due to competition from modern sailing vessels. However, dhows are still the villains and heroes of Zanzibar’s story, and today, they ferry locals and tourists around the island.
Julia Björck, a travel agent from Dream Dhows Zanzibar, “combined history with comfort” by offering dhow cruises to tourists that are “an eco-friendly way to see the sea.”
Björck said that centuries ago, dhows would “follow the winds and monsoons.”
“Zanzibar was not always the last stop. Many continued down to Mozambique, which led Zanzibar to become a cultural hub for many different people,” she explains. “This is one reason why many mixed people are living in Zanzibar, including Indians and Arabs.”
Dhows were historically the most significant contributor to constant movement on and off the island. By using a dhow today, you can appreciate the slow and simple aspects of Swahili culture.
Modern tourism and innovations
Today, globalization has enabled migration and multiculturalism to evolve into initiatives centered around the Indian Ocean that create employment opportunities for local women.
For the last several decades, the indigenous Mwani women have harvested seaweed in tune with the moon and the tides of the Indian Ocean to create skincare products.
Klaartje Schade, director of Mwani Zanzibar, explains that this practice began on the island in the 1980s. It quickly gained traction, and currently, about 23,000 women farmers work daily on the company’s seaweed farms.
Women farmers in Zanzibar often make roughly 30 percent of the local minimum wage. Mwani Zanzibar offers higher-paid work and benefits to all its female farmers. Seaweed farming has helped create employment for local women.
Another international initiative on the island is the Marine Cultures, a non-profit that works on small conservation projects through Sea Sponge Farming. Thomas Saachi, the organization’s president, also works with female farmers.
Because sea sponge farming is new in Zanzibar, Saachi said the organization is “constantly confronted with new challenges, new pests, new diseases.”
“There is very little knowledge about sponges, and everything has to be reinvented and tried out,” he said.
Saachi believes the female farmers he employs “make a small contribution to understanding the interrelationships in the sea.” The organization also helps reduce plastic waste.
On Stone Town
The old Arabian architecture of Stone Town is an ode to the past that provides an insight into the dark history that built the archipelago.
Migration and multiculturalism are at the core of this island’s vibrant history and culture.
While visiting the island, visitors can see the street food markets and spice farms and learn about Swahili culture from locals fighting to preserve their way of life. Ironically, the best place to eat Swahili cuisine is on dhows.
Mwende Mutuli Musau is an award-winning travel writer from Nairobi, Kenya, currently based in Brisbane, Australia.
This journalism was possible thanks to the generous support of George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and its Pluralism and Civil Exchange program.
