by
Shelby Y.

NATIONAL FLAG OF TANZANIA:

LOCATION:

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TANZANIA

            Tanzania was once possessed by the Germans. In 1884 they came into the land and moved aside the indigenous people and ruled harshly. There were many local uprisings because of this. The Maji-Maji rebellion in 1905 was so brutal that a quarter of a million people died.

            This colonization of the Germans hurt the native people because they treated them like slaves. They were so cruel I couldn’t even begin to imagine how the natives might have felt. When Carl Peters (the ruler at that time) was removed and replaced, the new leader started to help the natives. He assured better treatment to the local people, and encouraged farming so they could make a profit off cash crops.

            Tanzania is actually made from two nations, one called Tanganyika and the other called Zanzibar.  In 1885 Tanganyika became a colony of German East Africa. When World War I passed it was administered under a League of Nations mandate. Later it was administrated as a UN trust territory. Tanganyika finally won their independence on December 9, 1961.

 Zanzibar was believed to have connections with Southern Arabia. The Portuguese were run out of Oman by the Arabs. Zanzibar became independent of the Omans in 1861 and then became a British protectorate. Zanzibar became independent on December 10, 1963 and one year later, on April 26, the two nations merged together and were called the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Six months later they changed their name to Tanzania.

            After the countries became independent they faced an invasion of the Ugandan troops and within a month a full-scale war developed. More devastation came when terrorists bombed the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam on August 7, 1998, killing ten people. While Benjamen William Mkapa was President he increased economic productivity at the same time dealing with a serious case of pollution and deforestation.

            I think that this country would be different if the Germans hadn’t colonized it because they wouldn’t know that they could make a profit off cash crops. Also there would have been more homeless people in the country. I guess you could say colonization helped the natives as well as hurt them because without these people coming Tanzania wouldn’t be the same country it is today.

Works Cited

Flag and map courtesy of Microsoft Clipart Gallery.

Cavendish, Marshall. Cultures of the World Tanzania.

Infoplease. www.infoplease.com/ipa/AO108028.html

lonely planet. www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/tanzania/

Exploring Tanzania. www.geographia.com/tanzania/