ZANZIBAR', or ZANGUEBAR. The territories of the sultan of Zanzibar comprise all that part of the e. coast of Africa included between Magdashooa, situated in 2' and cape Delgado in 10° 42' s. lat. They are bounded on the fi. by the independent tribes of Somal and Gallas, and on the s. by the Portuguese province of Mozambique. The extent of the coast is about 1100 m. and parallel to it are numerous islands, the most important of which are Zanzibar, containing the capital of the same name, Pemba, and Mfitia (Monfia on the charts). The territories on the main-laud have no defined limit toward the interior, being occupied by heathen tribes, over whom the sultan's authority is hardly even nominal beyond the sea-board. The soil along the coast is fertile in rice, millet, peas, beans, melons, pumpkins, the sugar-cane, cocoa-nut, banana, plantain, -etc., and the forests supply the caoutchouc tree and many valuable species of timber. Cattle, sheep, and fowls are plentiful, and tropical wild animals abound. Rice, sugar, molasses, ivory, gums, gold, and cowries are exported. The heat on the coast is exces sive, and the climate very unfavorable to Europeans. The name Zanzibar is applied to the coast from 4° n. to 12° south.
The island of Zanzibar, by far the richest and most important part of the sultan's dominions, is distant from 20 to 30 m. from the African coast; it is about 48 in. in length and from 15 to 30 in breadth. It contains an area of about 400,000 acres, and the soil is in most parts of exceeding fertility; being covered with woods and plantations, and the frequent rains causing perpetual verdure, it everywhere presents a delightful appearance. It is very flat, the highest point being not more than 300 ft., composed entirely of coral, and abundantly watered by rivulets, which flow at all seasons of the year. The princi pal products are cocoa-nuts, cloves, rice, sugar-cane, manioc, millet, and fruits in the utmost abundance, especially oranges of the finest quality, which can be purchased at the rate of 1000 for four shillings. The island is intersected by paths and green lanes in
every direction, affording a never-ending variety of pleasant walks and rides. The country-houses of the Arab proprietors and the huts of their slaves are thickly dotted over the surface, surrounded with gardens and fields. The hedgerows are covered with flowering creepers, and pine-apples grow among them in wild profusion. In many parts are glades of undulating grass-land, of park-like appearance, dotted with gigantic mango frees; the ponds are covered with rushes and water-lilies; and the air is perfumed with the blossoms of the orange and clove. The pop. of the island is estimated at about 100,000. The town contains about 60,000 permanent inhabitants, while probably from 30,000 to 40,000 strangers come from Arabia, India, and the northern parts of Africa during the season of the u.e. monsoon. The chief people are the Arab landed propri etors, who form a sort of aristocracy, possessing large plantations and numerous slaves; besides these, there are slaves, free blacks, natives of the Comoro islands and Madagas car, and from 5,000 to 6,000 natives of India, who keep nearly all the shops in the town, and through whose hands nearly all the foreign trade of the place passes. The language of the court and of the Arab population is Arabic, while the slaves and the free black population speak a dialect called Kisawaheli, one of the great family of South African languages. • The climate of Zanzibar is extremely equable and salubrious, the thermometer having probably never risen as high as 90°, nor fallen lower than 70°. Nearly 200 in. of rain fall during the year, of which half at least falls in March, April, and May.
The capital is extensive, but, like most oriental towns, it is narrow, irregular, and ill built; the houses of the principal inhabitants and of the European residents are large flat-roofed buildings, generally with an interior court-yard, and some of them, and especially the palace of the sultan, may almost claim to be magnificent.