CURRENT

The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has committed to achieve socio-economic

transformation through political development, eradication of abject poverty and attainment
of sustainable human development for the people of Zanzibar (Vision 2020).

Within the Vision, there is a clearly defined role of the government including: enhancing
competence and providing leadership through public policy for stability, continuity and
predictability of the environment in which socio-economic decisions are taking place. In
addition, the Vision assigned the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar the role of
widening the contribution of the private sector and capital investment portfolio of the
country.

ISSUES

More problematic for many Zanzibaris - and for Zoroastrians - is Mercury's bisexuality. Islam
is the predominant religion on the archipelago and gay sex was made illegal in 2004.

REVOLUTION

In 1964, Mercury and his family fled from Zanzibar to escape the violence of the revolution against
the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government, in which thousands of ethnic Arabs and
Indians were killed. They moved into a small house at 22 Gladstone Avenue, Feltham, Middlesex,
England. After first studying art at Isleworth Polytechnic in West London, Mercury studied graphic art
and design at Ealing Art College, graduating with a diploma in 1969. He later used these skills to
design heraldic arms for his band Queen.

The new government's apparent communist ties concerned Western governments. As Zanzibar lay
within the British sphere of influence, the British government drew up a number of intervention plans.
However, the feared communist government never materialised, and because British and United
States citizens were successfully evacuated, these plans were not put into effect. Meanwhile,
the Communist Bloc powers of East Germany and the Soviet Union, along with the anti-
Soviet People's Republic of China, established friendly relations with the new government by
recognising the country and sending advisors.

OXFORD

The term “Zanzibar Revolution” refers to (1) the overthrow in January 1964 of the islands’ first
postcolonial regime, barely a month after gaining independence from British rule; (2) a period of
several weeks following the overthrow when Africans targeted islanders of mostly Arab heritage
and identity for violence, plunder, and vengeance seeking; and (3) the years from 1964 through
the 1970s, when Zanzibar’s revolutionary regime sought to level island society at the expense of
Arabs and South Asians, whose numbers continued to dwindle, mostly through emigration,
some of it coerced. While aided and advised by socialist experts from overseas, and inspired by
socialist models such as China and the Soviet Union, the regime charted its own unique course,
a course influenced by the revolutionaries’ own understanding of the role of race in island
society.
The Zanzibar Revolution was exceptional in several ways. Arguably, it was the most lethal
outbreak of anti-Arab violence in Africa’s postcolonial history. It was also remarkable in the
extent to which it attempted to bring an end to long-standing social and economic inequalities.
Since the early-19th century, all the wealthiest and most privileged islanders were Arab or South
Asian. Yet after a decade of revolutionary policies, they and their less well-off kinsmen were
killed, forced into exile, or reduced to relative poverty. Thus, despite its modest size and
population, Zanzibar produced one of sub-Saharan Africa’s only postcolonial revolutions. While
scholars may disagree as to what constitutes a “revolution,” if that term refers to a situation in
which one regime overthrows another, and then afterwards seeks to “turn society upside down,”
then it is an accurate characterization of Zanzibar in the 1960s and 1970s.

By 1964, the country was a constitutional monarchy ruled by Sultan Jamshid bin
Abdullah. Zanzibar had a population of around 230,000 Africans - some of whom
claimed Persian ancestry and were known locally as Shirazis - and also
contained significant minorities in the 50,000 Arabs and 20,000 South Asians
who were prominent in business and trade. The various ethnic groups were
becoming mixed and the distinctions between them had blurred; according to one
historian, an important reason for the general support for Sultan Jamshid was his
family's ethnic diversity.