Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous region in Tanzania and is comprised of the Zanzibar archipelago. Its capital is Zanzibar City. Europeans landed in Zanzibar in 1498, and it was controlled by the Portuguese. It became a British protectorate in the nineteenth century (ending in 1963), though British involvement began as part of the movement to end the slave trade. Freddie Mercury (from the band Queen) was born in Zanzibar.