Zanzibar’s turbulent past offers vital context amid today’s global unrest. The archipelago’s 1964 revolution didn’t emerge from nowhere—it built on centuries of exploitation and a peculiar colonial footnote: the 38-minute Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896, where British ships obliterated the sultan’s palace in record time.

Fast-forward to January 12, 1964. John Okello’s ragtag army of African nationalists launched a ferocious assault. They seized key installations, igniting a popular revolt against the sultanate ruled by Jamshid bin Abdullah and propped up by an Arab elite. The sultan escaped by yacht as his world burned.

Sheikh Abeid Karume took the helm, declaring a republic. The shift was seismic, dismantling Arab control that dated back two centuries. But victory came at a horrific cost: sectarian massacres, property destruction, and an exodus of Arabs and South Asians. Estimates suggest up to 20,000 deaths in the frenzy.

This upheaval cleared the path for unity with mainland Tanganyika, birthing Tanzania in April 1964. Jamshid lived out his days in obscurity in Oman, passing away last month at 98. The revolution’s legacy? A blueprint for how marginalized majorities can seize power, for better or worse, echoing in protest movements from Hong Kong to Haiti.