On this day, 12 January 1964 the Zanzibar revolution occurred when the Black African majority overthrew the ruling Sultan. The rebellion ended 200 years of often racist Arab minority rule - which had been preserved and strengthened during the island’s occupation by Britain which ceased the previous year.
Ethnic reprisals began against Arab and South Asian civilians, with hundreds or thousands killed. However, although British troops had been assembled nearby, they were only to be used if a left-wing party took power, which it did not.
Pictured: Zanzibar revolutionaries https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1897430853775389/?type=3