50 000 Shilingi Zanzibar Revolution

The Zanzibar Revolution of January 1964 overthrew the Arab sultanate that had governed the islands for over two centuries, resulting in the deaths of thousands and the expulsion of much of the Arab and South Asian population within days. It remains one of the most violent post-independence upheavals in African history. Tanzania itself did not yet exist — the mainland republic of Tanganyika merged with the newly proclaimed People's Republic of Zanzibar just nine months later to form the union.

That merger has always been uneasy, and Zanzibar retains its own government and revolutionary institutions to this day.