The first mention of Zanzibar was in 1499 by Vasco da Gama, who wrote “came close a large island called Jangibar which is peopled by moors”. Originally ‘bar of Zangh’, a name which has Arab origins meaning ‘the coast of the black people’ became ‘Zinjbar’ and later ‘Zanjibar’. Zanzibar together with Pemba Island and some other smaller islands, joined with Tanganyika on the mainland formed the United Republic of Tanzania in 1964.