Technically, Zanzibar is part of the country of Tanzania, but this affiliation is just the latest in a series that has alternately seen Zanzibar under the rule of Shirazi Persians, Portuguese, Omani Arabs, and British. Zanzibar gained independence from the British in 1963 as a constitutional monarchy under the Sultan of Oman. The African majority revolted against the sultan and in the first few days, between 5,000 and 15,000 Arabs and Asians were murdered and the new government overthrown. The revolutionaries then appointed Abeid Karume as President of the new revolutionary government and in a move that is still discussed today, he met with President Nyerere of Tanganyika and the two countries united to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964..