The History of Tanzania

                                                     

Introduction

Tanzania is among the largest countries in Africa; it covers a square area of 945,000 km. This area is similar to that of countries like France, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland combined. Tanzania as a country was formed as a result of a merger of Tanganyika, which is the main land and the isles of Zanzibar (Pemba and Unguja) This merger was in the year 1964, giving birth to the present day Tanzania. Tanzania is a spectacularly beautiful country that is situated along the east coast of Africa at south of the equator between 11 degrees and 1degree. It is neighbored by Uganda and Kenya to the north, Zambia, Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda border it to the west and Malawi and Mozambique are its neighbors in the south. To the west, Tanzania is bordered by Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi and Zambia, and to its south are the countries of Malawi and Mozambique. It covers an area of 945,000 sq. km, the size of Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom combined. Generally, the geographical composition of Tanzania ranges from Great Rift Valley and volcanic highlands to the lowland areas. She boasts of having Africa’s tallest mountain within its territory. In terms of wildlife, Tanzania is the leading country in the world regarding the area it has allocated to wildlife. The wildlife areas and national parks consume approximately 25% of the county’s area. Some notable wildlife conservation areas include the Selous Game Reserve which covers 55,000 sq. km. these are among the few conspicuous and dominant characteristics evident in Tanzania.

History

The country bears rich history dating back to more than two million years ago. This history is enriched by the fact that fossils excavated by scientist in the country are remains of early man believed to have lived over two million years ago. This makes Tanzania to be ranked among the earliest areas that were inhabited on earth. Later on, Tanzania is believed have become home for the Khoisan and Cushitic speaking communities whose main economic activities were gathering wild fruits and roots and hunting wild animals. However, new inhabitants arrived and settled in the country around two thousand years ago from the western region of Africa following different migration patterns. These were the Bantus. These migrations continued up to the 18^th century when the Nilotic communities who were pastoralists moved into the country and settled. Tanzania’s industrial development began with the early inhabitants with steel being produced. A group of east African people called the Haya were later to invent a furnace that was used in manufacturing carbon steel. The furnace could be used to produce heat up to 1,802 degrees centigrade. This was way back, approximately two thousand years ago. Another tribe known to have been producing iron is the Pare and especially the clan of Shana from the tribe. Engaruka, an area situated at the Rift Valley is one of Tanzania’s major sites as pertains to archeology. The area has a lot of crop cultivation going on vis-à-vis irrigation. At it’s the coast, early visitors of east Africa like the rich merchants and travelers found rest and this led to the wide practice of Islam between the late eighth century AD and early ninth century AD. At the coastal strip was Seyyid Said who laid claims to the strip as the sultan of Zanzibar. He later moved the center of his administration to the city of Zanzibar in the year 1840, during which Zanzibar was a center for slave trade by the Arabs. Zanzibar bares the Tippu Tip, which is among well known slave trade centers in the world then hitting the 770,000 number of slaves from the coast.

Colonization and independence

The present Tanzania without Zanzibar was conquered by the imperial Germany in the late 17^th century. Other German territories to be conquered in the same time were Burundi and Rwanda. The three countries were then amalgamated into the German East Africa territory. The events of the First World War and League of Nations later realigned the Europeans’ control in east Africa. This led to the British coming in to take control over Tanzania after a series of wars and wrangles. However, in 1961, there was a peaceful end to the British rule and Tanzania got its independence through a Julius Nyerere led organization. This organization was then transformed to Tanganyika African National Union, and it took a political face. Nyerere and TANU aimed at gaining total sovereignty for the then Tanganyika, becoming a leading organization with a political outfit in a year’s time. In 1960, Nyerere was appointed the minister of Tanganyika, which was still being administered by the British. In the year 1967, Tanganyika became fully independent and Nyerere became the prime minister of Tanganyika but were tied by the Arusha Declaration, compelling the country to embrace socialism. This saw the nationalization of industries and banks. The Arab dynasty in Zanzibar was overthrown by a revolution in 1963, paving way for the merger of the mainland Tanganyika and islands of Zanzibar in 1964 on April 26^th to form the present day Tanzania. Tanzania’s economy was later hurt in the late 1970’s. However, from 1970 to 1975 when China financed the building of the 1,860 km railway from Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam all the way to Zambia, Tanzania’s economy started a rebuild. The GDP of Tanzania later grew and there were reduced poverty levels in the mid 80’s after the government began borrowing funds from the international organization, International Monetary Fund.

Geographical Diversity

A beautiful scenery and mixed geographical terrain is Tanzania’s identity. Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa is found in country’s northeastern region alongside other mountains. Tanzania is sandwiched in between two prominent lakes. The largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria lies in the north while the Africa’s deepest lake, Lake Tanganyika spreads to its west. Lake Tanganyika is prominent because it contains a queer type of fish that is unique to the lake. Lake Nyasa is found on the southwest part of Tanzania, completing the spectacular lake component of Tanzania. Further at the central part of the country lies a huge plateau characterized by large plains and fertile lands. The Zanzibar island lies offshore the eastern coast with the shores having high temperatures and high amounts of humidity. Wildlife is given frontline in Tanzania, with there being numerous parks and significantly large ecological areas. Tanzania is host to the well known national parks like Serengeti to the north, Mikumi to the south and Gombe to the west. It also plays host to Selous game reserve, Ngorongoro Crater and a famous chimpanzee site. Tanzania’s tourism is centered fundamentally on its geo wildlife. Other unique features in Tanzania include the Kalombo Falls, which is second in Africa in terms of height and which lies in the southwestern part of the country. This fall in Rukwa is one of the main tourist attraction sites in Tanzania. The Tanzanian government has also secluded Engaresero village for purposes of Maasai pastoralists. This has given the area a lot of biodiversity and uniqueness from other areas. Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano and Lake Natron spice up the geological diversity and ecological exemplary nature of Tanzania.

Climate

The climate in Tanzania is majorly tropical climate. There is a difference of temperature in the highlands with cold seasons recording up to 10 °C, while the temperatures are always 20 °C during hot seasons. In other areas generally, the temperature is usually above 20 °C. Hottest months are always November and December when the temperatures go to between 25 °C on the lows to 31 °C on the highs, while May and August are always the coolest months with temperatures going down to between 15 °C on the lows and 20 °C on the highs. Most mountainous regions do experience very low temperatures. In terms rainfall, Tanzania experiences two main rainfall periods in two different regions. For instance, in the southwest, western, central parts, rainfall occurs in a single period between the months of December to April. On the other side, the northern coast and north region experience rainfall in two different periods; between the months of October to December and then between March and May. Tanzania’s islands and coastal regions have explicitly the tropical climate, the regions with highlands being temperate while semi arid climate is experience at regions around the central plateau.

The People

The diverse presence of people having varied origin presents an interesting phenomenon to anyone visiting Tanzania. The country has been a mosaic of humankind since time in memorial, with a rich history of the origin of man.Various people from divergent origins have set foot in Tanzania ranging from the initial settlers of Bantu speakers whose origin can be traced from west and South Africa to the Shiraz Arabs with roots from Oman and Persia. Other people to set foot to Tanzania are those from Britain, Germans and the Portuguese. Since Tanzania achieved its independence from 1961, its population has been growing steadily and is currently sitting on a 26 million and above population. The country has a large number of ethnic groups which approximates to 120 ethnic groups of African origin. In the northwest region of the country dwells the largest of all the ethnic groups of Tanzania, the Sukuma. They inhabit a larger portion of Lake Victoria’s south part and are mixed farmers. The Sukuma people farm majorly in cotton and practice herding of cattle for a living. On the northern part of Tanzania lives the Hadzapi community. This community is majorly engaged in hunting of wild animals and gathering of wild fruits for their food. The highlands on the central part of the country are inhabited by the Iraqw who are always moving in an immobile posture and who are famously identified by their statuesque nature. The iraqw community practice farming and keep cattle for their economic needs. Northern part of Tanzania is dominated by the widely known Maasai community. The Maasai are a pastoral people and rare cattle for their livelihood. They value cattle as they believe cattle are a show of one’s status and an indicator of wealth. The Maasai culture is prominent and they share some of the national parks for pastoral reasons. They are conspicuous everywhere they are due to their garments that are blue and red in color and they do cover their bodies with ochre. The Chagga community lives on the northern part of Maasai steppe and majorly practices crop farming at the sides of the mountains. Their standard of life is fairly good as a result of the farming that they engage in. another community in Tanzania is the Hehe. They live in the highlands found in the district of Iringa and at the grasslands. The Hehe are known for their war related characteristics. Around Dodoma lives the Gogo community whose development has been marred due to inadequacy of water. Nyamwaezi community lives in the west. The name ‘Nyamwezi’ means people from the moon. This is because they live in the west. They were involved in long distance trading earlier but have since settled for crop farming. The nyamwezi were known to be very strong in the 19^th century due to their involvement in trade and political organization. The Ha community of Tanzania is an example of a community deeply rooted to mystical beliefs. They live in the solitude areas that are forested and bushy. They keep cattle which have long horns and do not put on clothes. Bark fibers and animal hides are used by the community to cover their bodies. The Ha community is usually talented in artistic expressions and is famously identified for their dances and colorful celebrations. In Tanzania there is a lot of harmony as a result of virtually everyone being able to speak the Swahili language apart from their motive language.

Culture

Tanzania has a blend of various cultures. The first aspect that displays their culture is their music. There is varied music. Tanzanians still value the traditional music grounded on African taste. Taarab, which is a type of music distinctively based on use of stringed instruments, is a value to the country. There is a modern type on hip hop like music which is commonly referred to as ‘bongo flava’ and which is widely accepted and enjoyed across the country. Tanzania has appreciated and famous singers of the taarab music genre. There is a type of music distinct to Africa called the ‘rumba’ which most Tanzanians refer to as ‘muziki wa dansi. The music is widely enjoyed in Tanzania and east Africa with most of the singers being organized into jazz bands. The Tanzania people value ‘ugali’ as one of their favorite dishes. Ugali is made from corn just like porridge only that it is usually made into a more solid and harder form. Tanzania is also home for many African writers known for their love for African literature and poetry. Among the prominent writers include Shaaban Robert, Julius Nyerere, Professor Julius Nyang’oro, Penina Mlama among others. Art is remarkable in Tanzania with its center stage being paintings which is usually done on canvas. The paintings are always colorful and beautiful artistic expressions of the environment and its contents. There is also the art of sculpturing from wood and stones to make images of animals and items depicting the variant culture of the Tanzanian ethnic composition.

Economy, minerals and resources

Tanzanian economy ails as a result of a slow paced growth. This is basically due to limitations in acquiring foreign currencies. Agriculture is the back bone of the country’s economy. However, there are still challenges as concerning acquisition and provision of credit facilities by the farmers. There is lack of appropriate equipment to match the modern farming methods in order to enhance commercialization in agriculture. However, Tanzania boasts of having areas rich in deposits of diamond and the country also has high production of tea, sisal, coffee and other cash crops. Moreover, Zanzibar is ranked third in the world production of cloves, thereby putting Tanzania’s economy on the rise. Tanzania has a cohort of wealthy merchants of mainly Arab and Asian origin who engage in businesses in the country. A majority of the people of Tanzania engage in subsistence farming. Most of Tanzania’s energy needs are sustained by charcoal and wood though the country produces electricity of up to 70% to sustain the increasing demand for energy. Offshore exploitation of gas at Songo Songo has been in the pipeline to salvage the situation of expensive oil importation.

Conclusion

Tanzania is a country whose history is characterized by rich diversity and interesting occurrences, it is a country that hooked itself off colonialism and has been on the verge of pulling itself to economical strengths. The diversity and mosaic nature of its people’s culture and tradition is exceptional. More still, it is an example of one of the African states with a large number of ethnic groupings yet has risen above ethnicity and tribal alienations. Its geographical composition crows up the already awesome country.

Reference

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Iliffe, John (1979) A Modern History of Tanganyika. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Kjekshus, Helge (1996). Ecology Control and Economic Development in East African History. London: James Currey.

Koponen, Juhani (1988). People and Production in Late Pre-colonial Tanzania: History and Structures. Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of International Studies.

Monson, Jamie (2009) Africa's Freedom Railway: How a Chinese Development Project Changed Lives and Livelihoods in Tanzania Indiana University Press pp. 199 ISBN 0-253-35271-1 . Retrieved 2012-02-21

The East African slave trade. BBC World Service | The Story of Africa.

Waters, Tony (2007). The Persistence of Subsistence Agriculture: Life Beneath the Level of the Marketplace. Lanham: Lexington Books