of the Arab slave-trade and between 65 and 90% of locals were enslaved. One of the most famous traders was Tippu Tip, who amassed substantial wealth and status throughout Eastern Africa in the late 1800s. His nickname came from the sound of his guns rattling wherever he went.
such as the Cushitic and Khoisan people. Bantu-speaking people arrived from West Africa 2000 years ago and up until the 18th century, Nilotic pastoralists immigrated to the area. The region became known for its steel production, beginning with the Haya people 2000 years ago. Since the first century AD, merchants from the Persian Gulf and India visited what was then called Tanganyika – as well as the Zanzibar islands. Islam has been practiced on the “Swahili Coast” since between eighth and ninth century AD. Zanzibar today refers to Zanzibar Island, or “Unguja” and the neighbouring island of Pemba. Zanzibar fell under Portuguese domination in the 16th and early 17th centuries. The coastal strip was then claimed by Oman Sultan Seyyid Said who subsequently moved his capital to Zanzibar City in 1840. As a result, Zanzibar City became the centre
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Best of Tanzania
German East Africa and British Mandate Imperial Germany conquered the regions of Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi in the late 19th century. During World War One, an invasion attempt by the British was thwarted. After the war, the League of Nations Charter designated Tanganyika as a British Mandate. British rule ended in 1961 with the transition to independence. Formation of Tanzania The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was formed by Julius Nyerere in 1954, in pursuit of national sovereignty for Tanganyika. Nyerere subsequently became the first Prime Minister after independence. The Zanzibar Revolution of 1963 overthrew the Arab dynasty. On 26 April 1964, the mainland of Tanganyika merged with the island nation of Zanzibar to become Tanzania – the name being a portmanteau of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. This union still allows the Zanzibar government considerable local autonomy. In 1967, Nyerere turned leftist through the Arusha Declaration’s commitment to socialism, pan-Africanism and nationalisation.