British response to the Zanzibar Revolution

The United Kingdom made a number of plans to intervene in response to the Zanzibar Revolution. The operational constraints of sending troops over such long distances, the reluctance of the Kenyan government to weaken the British presence in their country, the reduction of Western presence in Zanzibar, and the strengthening of the political situation in Tanzania made intervention unlikely, and the plans were suspended in October 1964. A newly elected Labour government cancelled the final plan in December of that year.

Background

The Zanzibar Revolution occurred on 12 January 1964, when 600–800 mainly African men, led by John Okello and supported by the Afro-Shirazi and Umma Parties, overthrew Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah and his largely Arab government. This resulted in civil disorder; looting of Arab-owned property; and organised killings of Arabs. The ASP, led by Abeid Karume, and the Umma Party, under Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu, formed the Revolutionary Council to govern the country. Following these events, several western governments, who suspected the revolutionaries had the backing of Cuba, the People's Republic of China and other communist countries, made plans for the evacuation of their citizens. The United States carried out an evacuation of 61 of its citizens, including 16 NASA employees at a satellite tracking station, on 13 January. Following the American evacuation, the US government stated that it recognised that Zanzibar lay within Britain's sphere of influence, and that it would not intervene further. The US did, however, urge that Britain co-operate with other African Great Lakes countries to restore order on the island.