pĕmˈbə, island (1988 est. pop. 265,000), c.380 sq mi (980 sq km), NE Tanzania, in the Indian Ocean just off the E African mainland. Wete (the capital of Pemba region), Chake Chake, and Mkoani are the main towns. The lush island is the world's leading producer of cloves. Coconuts are also exported, and fishing is an important industry. Many of the inhabitants of Pemba are partly descended from traders from the Persian Gulf region who settled on the island beginning in the 10th cent. The Portuguese occupied the island in the 16th cent. but were displaced by Omani Arabs in 1698. In 1822 the island was conquered by Sayyid Said (later the sultan of Zanzibar) from the rulers of Mombasa. Along with Zanzibar, Pemba passed under British rule in 1890, became independent in 1963, and merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964.

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