Mombasa town has struggled with numerous foreign invaders and hostility. The Portuguese, Zimba tribe and the Omanis have claimed to own Mombasa since 12th century. By the late 1800 it became the base of exploration for British expeditions to Kenya’s interior. In 1988, the Imperial British East Africa Company set up headquarters in Mombasa. British rule of Mombasa became official in 1895 when they leased a stretch of the coast including the port city from the Sultan of Zanzibar. Officially this coastal region belonged to Zanzibar until Kenya was given independent by British government in 1963.