Today’s street demonstrations worldwide pale against the ferocity of Zanzibar’s 1964 revolution, where a sultan was ousted in hours. On the spice-scented islands off Tanzania, John Okello orchestrated a lightning strike on January 12, capturing government strongholds and exiling Jamshid bin Abdullah forever.
Rooted in the slave trade era and punctuated by the absurdly brief 1896 British war, tensions had festered under Arab sultans. The uprising channeled African fury, toppling the regime and installing Sheikh Karume as president. It shattered centuries-old hierarchies.
Reprisals were savage: Arabs and Indians faced slaughter, looting, and banishment. Thousands died, but the African populace finally held sway. The revolution’s climax came with union to Tanganyika, creating Tanzania and redrawing East Africa’s map.
Jamshid died in Omani exile last December, a relic of lost privilege. For protesters eyeing entrenched powers, Zanzibar’s tale is a double-edged sword—promise of empowerment laced with the peril of chaos. It remains a pivotal chapter in decolonization’s bloody march.