KENYA COLONY). The islands of Pemba and Zanzibar have a col lective area of 1,020 sq.m. and a population (1931 census), of 235,428; Zanzibar island, 137,741; Pemba island, 97,687.
Topography.—The island of Zanzibar lies at a mean distance of 20 m. from the mainland, between 40' and 6° 3o' S. Pemba (q.v.) to the north, and the more distant Mafia (to the south). form with Zanzibar an independent geological system, resting on a foundation of coralline reefs, and constituting a sort of outer coast-line, which almost everywhere presents a rocky barrier to the Indian ocean. All three are disposed parallel to the mainland, from which they are separated by shallow waters, mostly under 3o fathoms, strewn with numerous reefs dangerous to navigation, especially in the Mafia channel opposite the Rufiji delta. (Mafia island is now part of Tanganyika Territory.) Some 6 m. N. of Zanzibar and forming part of the coral reef is the small, densely wooded island of Tumbatu. Its inhabitants are excellent sailors. Zanzibar island is 47 m. long and 20 m. broad at its greatest breadth. It has an area of 64o sq. miles. The island, called Unguja in Kiswahili, is not exclu sively of coralline formation, sev eral heights of reddish ferrugin ous clay rising in gentle slopes to 450 ft. in the centre, and to double that height in the north. The forests which formerly cov ered the island have largely dis appeared ; the eastern half is now mostly covered with low scrub.
The western part is noted for the luxuriance of its flora.
The great heat and excessive moisture of the atmosphere ren der the climate trying to Europeans. The year is divided into two seasons, according to the direction of the monsoons. The north east monsoon sets in about the end of November, the south-west monsoon in April. The "hot season" corresponds with the north east monsoon, when the minimum readings of the thermom eter often exceed 80° F. In June to September the minimum read ings drop to 72°, the mean annual temperature being about 80°. Rain falls in every month of the year. December, April and May are the rainiest months, August to October the driest. The average annual rainfall (58 years' observations) is 65 inches. (In 1859 as much as 170 in. were registered.) Inhabitants.—On the east side of Zanzibar island the inhabi tants, a Bantu-speaking race of low development, probably repre sent the aboriginal stock. They are known as Wahadimu and are noted as good fishermen, cattle raisers and skilled artisans. In the west, and especially in the capital (for which, see below), the popu lation is of an extremely heterogeneous character, including full blood and half-caste Arabs, Hindus, Goanese, Parsis, Persians, Baluchs, Swahili of every shade, and representatives of tribes from many parts of East Africa. The Arabs number about 16,500 ;
the Indians and other Asiatics 14,000. The whites number (1931) 278. Besides the port of Zanzibar there are no large towns. Chuaka is a health resort facing the Indian Ocean.
Economic Conditions.—Up to about the end of the 19th cen tury Zanzibar was the entre* for all the trade of East Africa, from Somaliland in the north to the Zambezi in the south. Its modern development dates from the occupation of the islands by the Muscat Arabs about 5830. Under the Seyyid Said the cultiva tion of the clove, now the staple product of both Zanzibar and Pemba, Was made compulsory. But Zanzibar depended on its active transit trade in ivory, slaves, cotton goods and rice. Many merchants from India settled in Zanzibar and—apart from the traffic carried on by dhows with Arabia and the Persian gulf— trade fell largely into their hands, the Indian rupee becoming the standard currency. In 1872 a great cyclone destroyed the clove plantations in Zanzibar ; a calamity which led the people of Pemba to grow cloves on a large scale. The Zanzibari, however, set about replanting, and in ten years the output exceeded the figures of 1872. In 1873 the highly profitable slave trade was declared ille gal, though illicitly it was carried on for the next 25 years. Domestic slavery continued and it was by slave labour that the clove and other shambas (plantations) were worked by their Arab proprietors. In 1897 the legal status of slavery was abolished and slavery in the sultanate finally ceased in 1907. Many Arabs failed to adapt themselves to the new conditions and their shambas passed into the hands of natives; while in time the bulk of the labour was done by negroes from the mainland, chief among them the Wanyamwezi. Rates of pay are high, and in poor seasons profits are precarious, but with Government help, such as a bonus on bearing trees, free storage and better transport, the clove in dustry has continued to develop. Zanzibar and Pemba produce about 9o% of the world's crop of cloves. All land suitable for cloves being under cultivation, the planting of the coconut re ceived a new impetus, and in 1928 there were over 3,500,00o trees in the two islands. And, in spite of the competition of Mombasa, Tanga and Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar retained the local distributing trade. It is well served by many shipping lines, giving direct com munication with Europe, India and South Africa.