Thursday, October 19, 2017

Nationalism in Tanganyika and Post independence; History of Tanzania part vii

NATIONALISM IN TANZANIA


• Defining African nationalism: is the desire of the African people to rule themselves, and terminate all kinds of foreign rule and exploitation.

• Basically it is the political will of the Africans to oppose all forms of foreign domination, but in favor of African rule. It presents African struggle against western colonialism and imperialism.

• Nationalism can generally be defined as the political expression of nationhood, which reflects the consciousness of belonging to a nation. It is the consciousness which people in given community have acquired about themselves, and it has to be base on the following attributes: common language, common culture, common territory with fixed boundaries, a common historical experience.

• Continuation

Origin of nationalist conscious

• There is a debate among historians on when and why nationalism began in Africa and Tanganyika in particular:

Ø The first school of thought maintains that nationalism began with primary resistances at the beginning of colonial rule. Example of prominent leaders to justify this argument includes Abushiri, Isike, Mkwawa, Makunganya, etc. These tried to resist the imposition of colonial rule by fighting through direct confrontation.

– This school of school of thought asserts that nationalism began with the onset of colonialism. This school of thought is dominated by nationalist historians of the 1960s like Temu, Kimambo, Gilbert Gwasa and Terrance Ranger.

– The position of these historians is that the wars of initial resistances against colonial intrusion is the reflection of African nationalism.

• Continuation…

– However this school of thought has been refuted by some historians as not convincing. The reasons being raised are :

• the leaders of those resistances and their societies reacted individually and not as part of Tanganyika.

• They also fought to regain their economic interests in trade

Ø The second school of thought maintains that modern nationalism began with secondary resistances such as boycotts, strikes, uprisings, trade unionism, and demonstrations of the period after 1945.

ü In addition to this idea, nationalism has to be characterized by the formation of countrywide political organizations after the second world war. Most historians who have studied the rise of modern of nationalism have supported this argument of secondary resistance.

• Continuation…

• In East Africa, mass nationalism had three characteristics:

– It aimed to control the political center of the country and the legislative council.

– In achieving their goals, the nationalist leaders tried to mobilize mass support and by expressing popular demands.

– They intended to use their central power and mass support to unite all the people of the country into a single nation featured by citizenship, not race, not religion, not political belief.

• In examining the nature, scope, and dynamics of nationalism in colonial Tanganyika, one has to ask several fundamental questions: Why did the British leave Tanganyika at the time they did? Why couldn’t they leave earlier or much later? Had their departure been long planned or was it contrary to their earlier plans? How complete was their pull out ? what was the long term motives of different groups and individuals actively involved in the nationalist struggle?

• THE ROLE OF LOCAL POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONALISM

• The period between 1920 and 1940 witnessed the formation of many African voluntary political associations and unions ranging from rural to urban, and from economic to purely social organizations. By 1930s, Tanganyika had experienced three types of political association non of which was nationalist in character:

Ø Formation of Tanganyika Territory African Civil service Association (TTACSA) in Tanga in 1922 under Martin Kayamba. This was an elitist organization that:

– Thought to protect its members, Claimed to speak for the interests of Africans, To maintain close fellowship, Maintain sportsmanship, Free reading and social advancement, Represent African views in debates over government issues.

ü In 1939, TTACSA was transformed from a social club into a political organization, Tanganyika African Association(TAA).

• Continuation….

Ø Formation of tribal unions, the most radical of these were the Bukoba-Buhaya Union(1924) led by Clement Kiiza and the Kilimanjaro Native Planters Associations (1925) founded by Joseph Merinyo. These greatly opposed the chiefs because:

ü They were employees of the colonial administration and

ü They received more favors from the British than the common people in terms agricultural services and social services.

Ø Popular resistances expressed in opposition to agricultural regulations and government policies. This was featured by peasants’ revolts in almost every corner of the colony. But these did not seek political control.

• Non of these was a nationalist movement , but they were elements from which nationalist movement was eventually created. When the three types of politics came together, on July 1954, Tanganyika National ism was born.

• Fundamental factors that triggered off nationalist tendencies

• In order to understand the nature of nationalist struggle in Tanganyika, one has to examine the changes which were taking place within the colony, especially on the colonial production system (colonial economy):

ü Economic hardship after the 1st world war, the Great Depression, and the 2nd world war produced a political climate in which colonialism could not survive. This was followed by a series of civil and labor unrest. For example a series of Dar es salaam Dock workers strikes in 1939, 1943, and 1947.

ü Participation of people in the production of cash crops created all kind of grievances, which in turn led to the rise of rural discontent and radicalism.

• Continuation…

ü Colonial education, this did not serve the colonialists as they had expected. Education made the educated elites to know their rights which they believed and argued were not different from those of Europeans minority in the colony. It was in the struggle to win these rights that they needed to destroy colonialism was realized.

• Thus, colonialism like capitalism created its own grave diggers.

• THE RISE OF MASS NATIONALISM IN TANGANYIKA

TRANSFORMATION OF TAA INTO TANU AND THE BASIS OF TANU VICTORY

A: TRANSFORMATION OF TAA INTO TANU

• TTACSA was founded in Tanga in 1922 by Martin Kayamba as social club to meet the interests of the few elites. In 1939 some of TTACSA members took part in the founding of TAA.

• After its inception in 1939, TAA began to expand countrywide and campaign for the mass support from rural areas which was crucial for the nationalist struggle.

• While the number of its branches was only nine in 1939, this number had grown to 39 in 1948. This massive expansion was vivid in Nyanza province where branches were opened in Ukerewe, Tarime, Musoma, Bukoba, and Nasa. In this way, the lake province became the base of nationalist struggle in the country.

• Continuation….

• TAA’s upsurge was a result of:

– individual initiatives and enthusiasm of such figures like Kandoro, Munanka, Bomani, Sykes, Kaselabantu, etc

– annual conferences which drew leaders together and gave them a common direction. The most important conference was the 1945 Dodoma conference which called for the organization and the mobilization of the masses for political action.

• In early 1954, TAA had acquired stable leadership, membership organization, style, and ideology making it to have a status of a full scale political movement.

• With such qualities, the annual conference of 7th July 1954 transformed TAA into TANU.

• The existence of one political organization, TAA, which TANU replaced and built upon, certainly explain in part why TANU as a single mass party spread quickly.

• B. The victory of TANU 1954-1961

• The coordinator of nationalist activities was TANU than any other political organization. Upon its foundation, TANU had the following the following objectives:

– To prepare the people of Tanganyika for self rule and to fight tirelessly for national freedom-Uhuru

– To fight tribalism and any other factor which would hinder the development of unity among Africans.

– To abolish all sorts segregation

– To encourage and help workers to establish trade unions

– To cooperate with other organizations whose aims and objectives were not contrary to those of TANU.

– To become a sole spokesman for all sufferers and champion the grievances and aspirations of the masses.

• FACTORS THAT FAVORED THE GROWTH AND EFFECTIVE OPERATION OF TANU

INTERNAL FACTORS

• Existence of TAA. TANU made use of the existing TAA branches. In 1955 Mwl. Nyerere noted the importance of TAA branches in laying down the foundation upon which TANU was built. He used the following words “ in the last ten months, we have tried to organize ourselves. The branches of TAA became automatically branches of TANU, and they are scattered all over the country.”

• Effective leadership. TAA politicians ( Bomani, Kimalandu, Munanka etc) became the first promoters and guardians of TANU. The leadership was united and always avoided quarrels which could divide the party

• Continuation….

• TANU got support from other organized groups such as cooperative movements, the Youth league, Women section of the party through Titi, and Tanganyika Federation of Labor( TFL). All these strengthened the bargaining power of TANU

• Kiswahili being a lingua franca of Tanganyikans was effectively used in uniting the people and coordinating activities of nationalist movement. Because it was understood almost everywhere in the country, leaders used it in public meetings and were fluent in using it.

• TANU capitalized on the workers and peasants demands. The nationalist leaders had only to point at the weaknesses of the colonial system. For TANU supported peasants’ movements against destocking, cotton cess, cattle tax, low prices of agricultural crops, head tax, land usage policies, etc. in this way TANU was able to win the support of the rural masses.

• EXTERNAL FACTORS

• Sympathetic support from the United Nations. In 1954 the United Nation mission accepted TANU as a legal nationalist movement. In march 1955 Mwl.Nyerere went to address the Trusteeship council of UN.

ü There he expressed the objectives of TANU, suggested the elective principles and told that the future government of Tanganyika would be primarily African. In 1956 he made another visitation to the UN and he won international support.

• Independence of other countries in Africa and Asia brought the idea that even Tanganyikans will one day regain their lost independence. Nationalist leaders drew examples from countries such as Ghana, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc. The attainment of independence in these areas motivated nationalist zeal within TANU leadership.

• Continuation…

• The influence of Pan Africanism. The movement had its origin from the United States. It gained momentum after the 2nd world war. The movement advocated not only liberation of Africa, but also the political unification of Africa.

ü The Manchester Pan African conference of 1945 demanded for African independence and an end to all sorts of African exploitation. The impact of these demands was to arouse conscious and desire of Africans to rule themselves.

• The existence of socialist block (USSR). This block was against imperialism and capitalism. By 1945 the block began pressurizing imperialist countries to grant independence to their colonies. They thus started supplying material and moral support to nationalist movements in Africa and the world around.

• Continuation…

• The returned soldiers of the second world war. The belief that Europeans are powerful and infallible (perfect) was destroyed by the involvement of African soldiers in the war.

ü African soldiers who participated in the war proved to be good and brave fighters, and efficient than their counterpart whites.

ü This was a clear justification that Africans had the ability to defeat Europeans . This was an encouragement and therefore a positive effect on the struggle for independence as most of these ex-soldiers became involved and used their war experience, theories and exposure to lead nationalist movements

• TANU’S STAMBLING BLOCKS

• Nationalist struggles in Tanganyika faced strong oppositions from individuals, organized groups, established institutions, political parties as well as the colonial government. All these groups designed strategies and tactics to ensure that independence is either not regained or delayed.

• The following are some of the obstacles or problems faced TANU operations:

• The Register General of political parties used various delaying tactics to frustrate the efforts of TANU members and leaders. He delayed the process of registering different TANU branches. However, TANU leadership used a compromising spirit.

ü TANU branches registered by the end of 1954 were Dar es salaam, Tabora, North Mara, Singida, and Tarime. By 1955, Rungwe, Kisarawe, Kilosa, Kilwa, Lindi, Iramba, Ukerewe, Musoma, and Bagamoyo were the only registered branches.

• Continuation…..

• Some TANU members and leaders were intimated, detained and even imprisoned by District Commissioners in such places like Singida, Musoma, and Mwanza. Such hostilities however acted as a catalyst and gave TANU increasing solidarity in the struggle to rid the country of the colonial domination and racial discrimination.

• Other TANU branches were closed and activities of TANU were banned in some areas. This was first employed in Sukumaland where rural radicalism characterized the area. And it was in Sukumaland where TAA activities brought headaches right from the beggining. The District Registrar declined to register party branches in Shinyanga, Geita, Nassa, Nera, and Malampaka. In October 1954 Mwanza branch was banned.

• Continuation..

• Formation of the United Tanganyika Party (UTP) in 1956. Colonial government sponsored the formation of reactionary organizations. The strongest of these was the United Tanganyika Party formed by chiefs and Europeans in 1956 for the purpose of challenging TANU and maintaining colonial interests.

ü The reactionary character of UTP was demonstrated by its stated objectives and membership. It did not aim at the attainment of transitional independence, but at continuing the affiliation of Tanganyika to the colonial power. Thus UTP did every thing possible to prevent a smooth transfer of power to TANU.

• TANU had the responsibility of educating its people on unity and do away with divisive obstacles such as tribalism, racialism and religious differences.

• Continuation…

• The colonial state thought to tarnish the image of TANU by branding it a riotous movement.

• The colonial government prevented civil servants from joining TANU, thus depriving the movement of much needed leadership.

TANU’S POPULARITY AND SUCCESS

• TANU’s popularity and success were indicated by the general elections victory. All TANU sponsored candidates won the election irrespective of their racial origins. On the other hand, all the UTP candidates were defeated and this marked its demise.

• Following the 1958 victory, TANU could no longer be ignored by Britain. The colonial state was forced to deal with TANU in more liberal way. The new Governor, Richard Turnbull, for example , developed a cordial relationship with the party president, Julius K. Nyerere,

• Continuation….

• While TANU continued to score one victory after the other, some of its members became dissatisfied with TANU moderate policies against the colonial state. They argued for a more militant African stand. It was this latter group within TANU which broke away and formed the African National Congress (ANC), during the 1958 Tabora election. But even after his split, TANU remained strong and the only party that could lead Tanganyika to independence.

• Britain went ahead to lay the ground for neo-colonial relations with the post independence Tanganyika. This was done mainly by framing a constitution of independence of Tanganyika in such a way that the banks, factories, workers and employers, peasants and cooperatives, the army, the police and prison, and the judiciary remained intact.

• Continuation….

• In short the Lancaster House Constitution inherited at independence ensured that Britain capitalist interests would continue to exploit Tanganyika just as they used during the colonial period.

• Thus, in the elections of August 1960, the Tanganyikans elected 71 representatives to the Legislative Council (LEGCO). By virtue of this victory, TANU formed the first responsible government , which, together with the colonial state worked for a smooth transfer of power to the Africans. At the mid night, on 9th December 1961, the people of Tanganyika regained their independence.

• POST INDEPENDENCE TANZANIA

• The country achieved her independence in 1961. However the independence attained could not bring about positive changes immediately as the country was still entangled in economic dependence relationship created under colonial rule.

• Generally:

– The country lacked the necessary man power to hold senior administrative positions in the government

– The economy relied on developed countries for export of cash crops and unrestricted investments

– Development plans were prepared by donor countries, mostly to cater for their interests

• Continuation…

• Rugumamu (1997) identified 4 major problems that the new independent Tanganyika experienced:

– The country inherited a structurally weak and dependent economy , with limited skilled personnel. Hence, it had to rely on ex-colonial officials to operate the state.

– The inherited education was weak, and could not provide room for preparing specialists who could resolve major problems of the new independent state.

– The new state began with a weak institutional and organizational capacity to define, defend, and develop comprehensive long term plans and strategies

– The new government had to be run by politicians with limited functional skills and experience to run the new state. This was attributed to 2 reasons (i) British government proscribed government employees from engaging in political activities (ii) senior administrative posts were reserved for white personnel only



• Continuation…

• According to Rugumamu, it is against these problems that the country was forced to inherit conical government personnel and all its institutions ( the civil service, coercive instruments) and their traditions.

• This kind of a state is referred to as the Neo-colonial state, a state whose economic, social and political operation depends on the metropolitans.

• This dependence on former colonial officials, threatened the survival and effective operation of the new state. This because the colonial officials had little regard, loyalty and commitment to the nationalist development aspirations.

• As result, the attainment of independence brought the challenges of national building. Thus, the new nationalists had a task of building the new nation.



• Continuation…

• In the process of building the new nation, 4 major issues were involved:

– Transfer of power. This was implemented through Africanization. This aimed at decolonizing and Africanizing the administration, the army, political system, civil service, commerce, industry and agriculture.

• The negative side of the Africanization policy was that the new African personnel who replaced the white personnel enjoyed high standard of living and income than the common citizen. They became corrupt instead of serving the people.

– Security issue: security issue became a central concern of the new government since 1964 following the mutiny. The mutiny was a result of discontents among the soldiers. They complained about low speed of Africanizing the army as top most posts were still occupied by European officials. However the mutiny was put under control

• The mutiny was followed by a serious reorganization of the army. This involved recruitment of new soldiers and military officials from the party (TANU) and TANU youth association (TANU Youth league)

• Continuation…

• Forging new institutions and ideology. In the process of forging new institution and ideology to foster national development various approaches were adopted:

– Various trade unions were amalgamated into single National Union of Tanganyika workers (NUTA) in 1964

– To avoid cold war politics the new state opted for the Non Aligned Movement.

– In 1964, Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanzania

– Tanganyika led liberation struggles for the southern African countries. As a result Dar es Salaam became became the headquarters of liberation struggles.

– The post of local chiefs was abandoned, allowing the party to extend its structures and organizations to the grass root

• Continuation….

• Inaugurating development strategies. To ensure effective growth and development of anew nation, the government adopted 3 development strategies. The 1st three years development plan, the 1st five years development plan and the 2nd five years development plan

• The 1st three years development plan 1961-1964

– This plan aimed at ensuring that British colonial policies and interests continue to operate in the post colonial period with little interruption as possible.

– The plan was based on the traditional theory of time. The theory stated that, development of post colonial Tanganyika had had to depend largely on capital, experts, and technology from western capitalist powers

• Continuation…..

– Further more the plan emphasized on liberal investment code, that is free trade, private sectors, and non governmental intervention in the economy (free market economy).

– In effecting this policy the plan emphasized that the role of the government was develop infrastructure so that private economic enterprise can operate smoothly.

– The plan directed the Tanganyika towards the capitalist economy.

– Briefly, the plan perpetuated colonialism because its directives were similar to the way colonial economy operated in Tanganyika.



• Continuation

• The 1st five years development plan 1964-1969

• It was developed to take over from the 1st three years development plan. It has almost the same content and objectives as the 1st three years development plan.

• The only few different objectives were

– To end the country’s reliance on export of primary commodities by promoting industrialization and agriculture

– Its implementation depended on capital from both internal sources(22%) and external sources (78%).

– Large percent of external sources of capital was to come from Britain

• The 2nd five years development plan 1969-1974

• The second five years development plan generally aimed at translating the Arusha Declaration into concrete policy programs.

THE ARUSHA DECLARATION

• The achievement of independence was spoiled by emergence of social differentiation among Africans.

ü The Africanization policy made new elites using the wealth they had accrued from leadership position enjoy expensive and luxurious life style of living.

ü The new leaders also acquired property and shares as well as directorship in private companies.

• As a result, a new bureaucratic class of African elites was emerging. It was the Arusha declaration of 1967 which among other things aimed at arresting this trend and defined the way in which the new nation was to be built.

• Continuation…

• The Arusha Declaration was adopted in 5th February, 1967 by the National Executive Council (NEC) of TANU in Arusha. The declaration guided the country to build a socialist society. It was a sort of a vision in Tanzania that set out economic and social priorities.

• The declaration was rooted in socialism and self reliance strategies, because it was realized that it was difficult to build national capitalism.

Ø By socialism the declaration meant public ownership of the means of production, distribution and consumption. This meant the state had greater power to intervene economic activities of the state. It also meant people working together for their socio-economic survivals, communal villages was a result of this view.

• Continuation….

Ø The policy of self reliance had two dimension

o Internal dimension: this aimed to mobilize domestic resources, land ad people so as to minimize excessive dependence on foreign aid. It also aimed at maintaining Tanzanian independence and freedom.

o External dimension: this aimed to empower the state and its institutions to establish international cooperation which would facilitate economic as well as enhance political autonomy.

üThe state admitted that it was unable to provide basic needs of the people.

üBut it also stated clearly aid from foreign countries should not form the basis of Tanzania development.

üThe declaration further stated that only aid that did not endanger the country’s freedom to make policy, decisions and implement the policy of socialism and self reliance should be accepted.

• Continuation…

• The declaration generally underlined the dangers of relying on foreign assistance, emphasized hard work and agriculture development. It put less emphasis on industrial and urban development. The declaration was accompanied by a publication of several policy documents, for example:

ü “Socialism and Rural development in September 1967. It aimed at promoting Ujamaa. The concept Ujamaa implied a commitment to a collective way of rural production, life and society.

ü Other policy documents were, Education for Self Reliance issued in March 1967, TANU guidelines issued in February 1971 and the Decentralization policy of many 1972.

• Continuation…

• The Arusha Declaration had the following main objectives:

ü Public ownership and control of the major means of production

ü Self Reliance and elimination of exploitation

ü Establishment of democracy and equality

ü Establishment of socialist agriculture production in Ujamaa villages

ü Establishment of party supremacy

ü Establishment of welfare services to all areas.

• These objectives reflects the fact that the primary aim of the Arusha declaration was to change the direction of societal development so that TANU leadership, the bureaucrats and the social base of the nationalist would grow closer together. It gave a code of controlling the use of political powers by the party and government.

• Continuation…..

• Therefore the analysis of Tanzania development after the Arusha Declaration shows that :

o There was significant increase in the influence of state in development programs. The government planed and supervised different development programs

o State intervention in rural production. In this, people were encouraged to settle in communal villages (Ujamaa villages) to carry out communal production in communal farms. This policy was implemented through villagization policy

o The creation of nucleated villages/communal villages (ujamaa villages) also aimed to foster and simplify expansion of social services such as health, water, transport and education

o The new policy of direct state control of the economy accelerated the speed of the creation of parastatals . Parastatals increased from 64 in 1967 to 139 in 1974.

• Continuation….

o The creation of these parastatals aimed to lower the transfer of profits outside the country in order to expand investments in productive sectors and to improve infrastructure. It was on this ground that the standing committee on parastatal ssorganizations (SCOPO) was created in 1967.

• SECTORAL DEVELOPMENT AFTER THE ARUSHA DECLARATION

AGRICULTURE

• The Arusha Declaration outlined the need of building socialism in rural areas and more importantly the formation of Ujamaa villages where people could live together and cooperate mutually in agricultural production which constituted the backbone of Tanzania's development.

ü To implement this the second five years development plan favored communal villages in terms of social services such health, schools, water and transport. This aimed to encourage people to go in those villages.

• To ensure agricultural development in rural areas:

o Villagization was accompanied by by-laws to ensure that people are thoroughly engaged in agriculture.

• Continuation…

o New agricultural producer price policies were introduced in 1973. this policy aimed at stabilizing prices of agricultural products.

o From 1972 government crop authorities began to be established . For example: tea authority, cotton authority, tobacco authority, coffee authority, etc.

o When villagization implementation was finished in 1976, the government banned corporative unions. Instead, each village was made a primary society and crop authorities were responsible for crop purchase, processing and sell.

• However, not much was achieved in the two decades following the Arusha Declaration to make agriculture the backbone of the country’s economy because:

• Continuation…

o Drought which engulfed the country in the 1970s reduced grain production by as much as 30%.

o The period was featured by famine which was largely induced by government overemphasis on cash crops for foreign currency at the expense of massive movement of people into villages which destroyed existing food supply organizations.

• INDUSTRY

• The Arusha Declaration de-emphasized industrialization as development path because the country had no necessary sources for the sector and the foreign policy was against external dependence. This explain why the second five years development plan developed no comprehensive plan on industrialization.

• However, before the end of the second five years development plan in 1974, the government embarked on the strategy for the development of small scale industry and formed the Small Scale Industry Organization (SIDO) in 1973. such industry could essentially:

o Depend on utilizing local resources

o Develop technical skills in the villages

• Continuation…

o Emphasize self reliance policy

o Providing extra economic activity in rural areas

o Using small capital and reduce rural-urban migration which could result to imbalance between the two areas.

• In 1973 the government invited economists from Harvard institute of international development to make recommendations on the long term industrial strategy. The consultation resulted into the Long Term Industrial Strategy (1975-1995). The plan emphasized on the following:

o Provision of basic needed goods for the Tanzanians

o Developing capital goods industries

o Expanding agro-processing industries, training and researches.

o Promoting small scale industries especially in rural areas.

• Continuation….

• However the industries established suffered from several problems:

o Low labor productivity due to lack of technical skills

o Lack of capital to ensure effective operation of industries

o Agriculture’s inability either to generate sufficient foreign exchange for imports of spare parts and raw materials required by the industries, or to supply domestic factories with raw materials.

• EDUCATION

• The direction of development posed by the Arusha Declaration required a change in the education system in Tanzania, toward a system which will prepare learners to acquire socialist values and be integrated to the community.

• Education for Self Reliance (ESR) was thus an ideological instrument which was to be used to legitimize the state policy of socialism and self reliance as well as the Arusha Declaration at the political level

• In addition, Education for Self Reliance published in 1967 was a reaction against colonial construction f social reality. It was an attempt by Tanzanian government and leadership to conceptualize its own educational agenda which was inward looking and tapping the vast knowledge of the people in the rural areas. An important aspect of the ESR was the attempt to make agriculture an integral part of the curricular

• Continuation….

• Recognizing that Tanzania is basically a rural economy based, with its mainstay based on agricultural production, the leadership sought to produce individuals with a healthy attitude towards agriculture. ESR was agalianitarianistic in nature and demanded provision of basic education for all members of the society

• Generally the document:

• Makes a critique of the inadequacies and inappropriateness of colonial education

• It analyses the socio-economic and political realities that existed around 1967.

• It outlined the kind of society Tanzania was trying to build, that is, a democratic socialist state.

• It proposed changes designed to transform the education system in order to make it more relevant in serving the needs and aims of socialist society with a predominantly rural economy

• Continuation…

• In order to meet the social, economic and vocational goals, ESR demanded the following in the system of education

• ESR called for the classification and improvement of the sources of instructional content, it stressed the need to establish educational content from both primary and secondary sources.

• ESR demanded a change in the content of the curriculum itself, it called for selecting and organizing the content which is relevant to he society and which can prepare learners for the life and revival of the society. Curriculum must enable people to act upon their environment and change it for their benefit



• Continuation….

• ESR demanded a change in the teaching/learning activities and interaction between teachers and learners. This called for learners to learn y doing, integrate theory and practice though experimentation. It involves developing mind and self confidence. It also calls for change in the social interaction between the teacher and the learners and other members

• ESR demanded integration of schools with the community. Schools must be both, social and economic communities and they have to contribute to their up keep. Schools must develop positive attitudes of learners towards works.

• ESR demanded re-examination of the purpose of evaluation of student performance and their fine employment of alternative procedures of evaluation. It called for down grading examination because they don’t always provide positive results and they encourage rote learning

• Continuation…..

• In 1974 TANU National executive meeting passed what came to be known as the Musoma resolution which reinforced the educational directives laid out in ESR. Schools were explicitly directed to integrate work into the curriculum so as to inculcate high regard for dignity and manual labor.

v Adult education: this was another important aspect in Tanzania education policy. Basic Adult Education got its prominence when president Nyerere announced that the year 1970 would be the year of Adult Education.

• Following the announcement, financial and human resources were directed to adult education to dedicate illiteracy in five years.

• Adult education was a means of making peasants understand socialism and self reliance, but also rural development and co-operation in Ujamaa villages.



• Continuation….

• To facilitate this program, primary schools became centers for adult education, offering training in agricultural techniques, health education, housecraft, simple economics, political education, basic writing and reading.



• As a result of this program, illiteracy rate decreased from 75% in 1970 to 40% in 1975 and was recorded 15% in 1983. By 1985 this rate had decreased to 11%

History of Tanzania part vi; British and Germany Control in Tanganyika



COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION IN TANZANIA :FROM GERMAN TO THE BRITISH PERIOD

INTRODUCTION

• The establishment of colonial rule in Tanzania involved the institutionalization of the state. The two powers that colonized Tanzania, Germany (1890-1918) and British (1919-1960) designed two different administrative approaches. The Germans preferred the use of direct rule/administration and the British used indirect administration.

• GERMAN ADMINISTRATION IN TANGANYIKA

• The pacification of the colony lasted from 1890-1907. In early 1890s, governor Julius von Sodden constructed the framework of administrative machine for the colony.

• At its head was the governor, who enforced the laws, imperial policies, and chancellor’s instructions in the colony. He also had the power to issue local decree.

• The civil administration at Dar es salaam was gradually organized in separate departments namely:

– Finance Department: this department was headed by Rudolf Von Bennigsen from 1890 to 1899. He realized that the new colony needed public works and welfare services. Throughout the 1890s this department was the most important in the administration and it handled many problems of general nature

– The department of Surveying and Agriculture; this was set in1893. Dr. Franz Stallman was in charge and encouraged the collection of information concerning the topography of the colony

– Other departments included the following:

• The Department of Justice

• The Medical Department

• The Public Work Department

• In the interior German authority was established in three stages:

– In the first stage, in a number of areas treaties had been signed with local chiefs and therefore German influence depended on the way the chiefs fulfilled their responsibilities. Depending on the needs, the governor could send punitive expeditions in the interior to deal with recalcitrant chiefs.

• Continuation……

– In the second stage, German authority set a number of military posts on caravan routs, at centers of maritime trade, at places from which European merchants and missionaries already existed and exercised influence. Also at the headquarters of agents of the Sultan of Zanzibar or of local chiefs.

– The third stage involved replacement of the military government by that of civilian government . For example civilian district officials who exercised both executive and judicial functions.

• In addition the Germans imposed the coastal structure of Sultanate, Akidas and Jumbes in other parts of the colony. The Swahil and Arab Jumbes and Akidas were used to collect tax and recruit laborers.

• Continuation……

• By 1914, the colony was divided into 22 districts. Because of poor communications, everything was left under control of the District Officer (Bezirksamtmann).

– He commanded a small police force of one to two hundreds African troops

– He supervised tax collection

– He appointed and dismissed African chiefs

– He judged cases and administered punishment

• Generally he ruled with a strong and ruthless hand. Because the Germans feared African rising, they suppressed the slightest discontent with great brutality.

• Between 1914-1918 German East Africa participated in the WW1. By 1917 the Germans had lost the large part of the colony. After the war, German East Africa was handed over to British

• The establishment of British administration

• Within the framework of international supervision, British administration in Tanganyika territory was formally established by the Tanganyika Order in Council of 22 July 1920.

• By the term of this order the title of the Chief Representative of his Majesty’s Government was changed from that of administrator to Governor and Commander in chief.

• The Governor was then empowered to make ordinances (law) for the good governance of the country, provided he respected the existing native laws and customs. He was to be assisted by an executive council consisting of :

– The Chief Secretary

– Attorney General

– Treasurer

– Principal Medical Officer

• The High Court existed and possessed full criminal and civil jurisdiction over all the persons in the territory

• The 22 districts created by the Germans were retained. New British administrators were left free to formulate their own local policies and changing those of their predecessors.

• In 1925, the British introduced the system of indirect rule. The intention was that African tribes should be administered by their own chiefs and elders, under British supervision. They hoped this would encourage political and economic development .

• However, the indirect rule system created conflicts within the tribes between the privileged chiefs and the unprivileged subjects (the ruled). E.g. the Tabora school founded in 1925 received only sons of chiefs and headmen for the 10 years. Other privileges included official salaries, agricultural assistance, preferential treatment by traders and even a car or a lorry.

• Continuation….

• The system had various advantages:

– It helped the British to collect tax through the local chiefs

– It assisted the British to maintain peace and order through out the colony as the responsibility of keeping peace was given to the local chief

– In public works for example, in the construction of roads, Africa labor was recruited through African chiefs

– Because it was difficulty for the British who were very in number to administer he whole colony, then the British used the British government of Tanganyika through African leaders operated in low costs.



• QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: Discuss the social, economic, and political effects of colonial rule in Tanzania.

History of Tanzania part v; The political Economy of the colonial State of Germany and British



        THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE COLONIAL STATE
                         GERMAN AND BRITISH PERIOD

COLONIAL ECONOMY

INTRODUCTION

• It is generally known that, African resistances in colonial Tanganyika were completely suppressed by the superior German forces. This situation brought these societies under German control.

• For this control to be effective, the Germans had to establish effective administrative policies. These administrative policies were aiming at consolidating colonial economies that would facilitate the exploitation of Africa's human and material resources.

• The established economy intended to serve the interests of the capitalism and had the following general characteristics:

• Continuation….

– It was based on the production of agricultural and mineral raw materials demanded y the capitalist industries

– It was dominated by commercial sector which specialized in the exportation of African raw materials and importation of European manufactured goods.

• Colonial economy was therefore designed to suit the nature of capitalist economic system. The European capitalists got cheap raw materials from the colonies, while the colonies imported expensive European manufactured goods.

• In this way the capitalists were able to gain high rate of profits through exploitative operations. These exploitative relations of production so established, were regulated and legitimized by the colonial state.

• For example, it was the colonial state which was responsible in alienating people from their land, the state supervised the recruitment of laborers for plantations and mining centers, it also built infrastructural facilities to facilitate the exploitation of resources and man power, and through its coercive instruments it created peaceful production environment by suppressing African resistances, like the Majimaji rebellion.

• Nature of colonial economy

• To the metropolitan states, the purpose of colonial economic policies was to facilitate and promote maximum exploitation at minimum costs. To ensure effective operations of their policies, they had to restructure (reform) the traditional African economy. In the process of restructuring African traditional economy, Europeans used different three major techniques:

Ø Preservation: by preservation, the colonialists preserved some elements of pre colonial economies. For example:

– The primitive and crude tools of production such as hoes, pangas, and axes were preserved

– The family was also preserved and remained as the basic unit of production. This partly explains why Europeans took deliberate efforts to abolish slave trade in their colonies.

• Continuation….

Ø Destruction : by destruction, the colonialists destroyed self sufficient African economies. The colonial state made deliberate efforts to smash down traditional African economies. This was done through a number of ways:

– By flooding African markets with European manufactured goods which were in large quantities, of relatively high quality, and cheaply sold. Because Africans produced goods in small quantities and such goods were of a relatively low quality, then, they failed to survive on an apparent competition with the foreign commodities. This made African industries to naturally die off.

– Throughout the colonies, traditional industries were made illegal, and severe punishment were provided to the Africans who went contrary to this order. Therefore Africans could only get industrial goods from Metropolis. Items such as cooking vessels, hoes, and matches were all imported. This was to effect the colonial policy making colonies centers for producing raw materials and provide market for European manufactured goods.

• Continuation….

Ø Creation: by creation, the colonialists created new economic structures which formerly did not exist in the traditional African economies. The best examples of such structures which were created includes:

– Taxation, tax was introduced and had to be paid in cash. Imprisonment and hard labor awaited all those who failed to pay the required amount. Therefore, one had to get money to pay tax. This money was to be obtained either by producing cash crops or selling labor power, in this way, colonialists secured enough raw materials and cheap laborers respectively.

– Land alienation, land alienation policy was introduced by the colonialists to achieve smooth operationalization of agriculture and mining activities. Therefore, land had to be alienated from Africans by any cost. The kicked out peasants became landless, and therefore, suffered from food shortage. Thus, they had to sell their labor power for their own survival and that of their family.

• Continuation….

– Creation of infrastructures, physical infrastructures such as railways, roads, harbors, airports and other social infrastructures such as schools, hospitals, Bomas, prisons and courts were all created to facilitate colonial exploitation.

– Creation of colonial labor system. Various strategies were used to ensure that cheap labor was made constantly available for colonial production. Some of the strategies included the use of communal labor, contract labor, migrant labor, and creation of labor reserve areas such as Kigoma, Ruvuma, and Dodoma. Institutions (SILABU) were also created to recruit laborers from distant areas.

– Creation of coercive instruments. These assisted the colonialists to easy the whole process of exploiting resources. These instruments concerned themselves with the maintenance of law, order, and security of the colonial state. These state apparatus for example:

• Continuation….

• They were responsible in suppressing resistances mounted by Africans against the colonial state

• They were responsible in maintaining security in the colony and preservation of peace

• They were responsible in supervising tax collection, public works and effect land alienation.

• All these functions performed by state apparatus promoted the development of colonial economies.



• SECTORS OF COLONIAL ECONOMY IN TANGANYIKA

AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

• Colonial economy in German East Africa was structured mainly on peasant production coexisting with plantations and settler agriculture.

• Initially the Germans had adopted settler agriculture, but it was opposed by early German administrators and capitalists who needed cheap raw materials. Therefore, more emphasis was put on peasant agriculture because of its cheapness. The major crops were sisal, cotton, rubber, and coffee.

 Sisal: this was the main crop by 1905. it was imported from Florida (USA) in 1885 by German East African company. It was grown first around Pangani area, before it was spread to other parts of the colony.

• Continuation…

 Cotton: the crop gained prominence as a peasant crop from 1908, and by 1911, it was popular in Usukuma. However, its history goes far back to 1902, when the Governor ordered that the crop should be grown south of the colony. He ordered every headman to establish a cotton plot in his area where all his people would come to work.

• By 1905 such plots were common in all coastal districts south of Dar es salaam and other places such as Morogoro, Kilosa and Southern districts of Lindi and Mtwara. Cotton cultivation had several complications:

ü The land chosen was very poor and crop yield was extremely low

ü The work was badly organized and brutally controlled

ü Therefore no reasonable profits were made out of cotton

• It was out of these complications that cotton cultivation provoked the Majimaji resistance between 1905 and 1907.

• Continuation….

v Coffee, the crop was introduced in Kilimanjaro by missionaries and spread by African Catechists. In Buhaya coffee was a traditional crop and first exported in 1898. The Chaga in Kilimanjaro were actively encouraged after 1921 to grow Arabica coffee, some times in close proximity to European plantation.

v Rubber, the crop was introduced between 1908 and 1912. German planters made large profits from it until when its market collapsed during the first world war.

 INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL SECTOR

INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

• The industrial sector was the smallest of all the productive sectors of the colonial economy. This was because:

o The major objective of colonialism was the production of raw materials for the metropolitan industries. Therefore, the colonialist found no reason for introducing industries in the colonies.

o Even when industries were established in the colonies, such industries were mainly processing one (spinning mills, cotton ginneries, sisal decorticating machines, and sugar processing units). The major function of such industries was to facilitate easy export of raw materials by reducing their bulkiness and weight so as to keep freight charges low.



• Continuation…

• However during and after the 2nd World Wars, some changes were made in the structure of colonial industries:

ü It became necessary to establish import substitution industries because the war created shortage of some basic goods.

ü However, import substitution industries were not intended to produce goods for the mass market in the colony. They were intended to meet the needs of the colonial ruling class, settlers and to a small extent, the emerging African petty Bourgeoisies.

ü The few industries were mainly concerned with secondary processes such as food canning, bottling, flour mills and breweries.

• Generally industries continued to occupy a very weak position in the colonial economy, and the colonial state made sure that the industries established did not disturb the predominance of production of raw materials for export.

• Continuation…

COMMERCIAL SECTOR

• Commercial sector was mainly designed to facilitate the exportation of agricultural and mineral raw materials from the colony, and the importation of manufactured goods from Europe.

• Traditional industries were generally discouraged in order to force the colonized to buy imported manufactured goods.

• The most important features of the colonial commercial sector were:

ü Imbalance of trade between the rural areas and urban areas. Urban centers played the role of commercial centers, and they received manufactured goods from Europe and then sold them to the rural areas. In turn, they received raw materials from the rural agricultural sector and exported them to Europe.



• Continuation….

ü Commercial transactions were based on unequal exchange, because the capitalists determined and controlled the prices of both colonial exports and imports. Therefore, the colonized were just price takers.

ü Commercial sector was strengthened by colonial banking system which offered loans to the capitalists to facilitate trading activities.

ü To a large extent trading activities were organized by Asians, mostly Indians.

• Continuation…..

MINING SECTOR

• Ming involved the extraction of valuable minerals. Mining regulations published in 1921 to control mining rights produced a positive response from prospectors. Many prospectors had now the right to prospect minerals in the colony

• Mica mines in Uluguru mountains had been the chief mineral producing areas during German period until 1920 when they were closed, after which gold became the new attraction to prospectors in Mwanza and Musoma districts to the south and east of lake Victoria where large gold deposits were discovered in 1922

• In the same year, 1922, alluvial gold was found along Lupa river near lake Rukwa in the far south west. The Lupa river gold fields attracted a big number of miners because alluvial mining required little in terms of capital and the output of gold showed promise of good profits in the future

• Continuation….

• In the 1940s, diamond mining activities were established and operated at Mwadui, near Shinyanga. Diamond deposits were discovered by Williamson.

• Minerals extracted from this sector were also exported to Europe where high profits were realized.

• Continuation….

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION SECTOR

• Transport and communication network include railways, roads, harbors, telephone, and airlines. These were designed to serve various functions. But the fundamental role played by these infrastructures was exploitative.

• The following are the functions performed by transport and communication facilities:

ü To carry raw materials from producing areas, such as plantations, settler farms, or mining centers to the ports or harbors usually Dar es salaam, Tanga, Zanzibar or in the southern ports, to be shipped to Europe.

ü To supply European manufactured goods from the harbors to the interior of mainland Tanzania.



• Continuation…

ü To transport soldiers and administrators to the area where production was taking place. In these areas peace and security was crucial to ensure smooth production of raw materials.

ü To facilitate the movement of laborers from labor reserves to production areas. These transport and communication networks, especially railways and roads were typical, even now, like a branch of tree. They started from the coast and spread towards the interior

ü Roads used to feed the railway stations with raw materials ready for transport to Dar es salaam for export. However most of them were vulnerable to changes of weather.

ü Airlines were to transport valuable stones such as diamond and gold, and other lighter commodities direct to Europe. To serve this function, airports were constructed in Dar es salaam, Mwanza, Shinyanga and Arusha.

• Continuation…..

THE LABOR SECTOR

• Te demand for labor arose due to the establishment of the colonial economy in Tanganyika. Because administration was expensive, German rulers emphasized on economic development. They encouraged establishment of plantations of tropical crops, using African laborers.

• However, shortage of labor was the main problem which faced German planters in he early period. Thus, German administrators had to develop a policy that would ensure constant supply of laborers in the plantations and other public works. This German labor policy revolved around the following stages

v The Germans imported laborers from outside the colony. For example, laborers were imported from areas like China and Indonesia. But this move was not successful

• Continuation….

v The use of workers fro within the colony, especially the use of Nyamwezi and Sukuma. These were ready to move and were easily recruited. However, local labor recruitment was affected by the development of peasant production. Development of peasant production created complications in labor supply:

ü The Chaga tended to gradually engage in peasant production. This limited labor recruitment from this area.

ü Between 1909 and 1913 cotton export went up because of the involvement of the Sukuma peasants in production. This limited labor migration from among the Sukuma.

ü Among the Nyamwezi, labor recruitment was stopped as result of the outbreak of sleeping sickness.

v These problems led to the recruitment of laborers from periphery regions such as Ubena, Unyaturu, Unyiramba, Urangi and Ungoni.

• Continuation….

v There was also attempts to recruit labor from beyond the boundaries to solve the problem of labor shortage. The Bemba of Zambia, Makua from Mozambique and Rundi workers were imported from their areas to work in the sisal plantations of eastern Tanganyika.

• However, during the 1927 and 1928 the supply of labor improved because of improved medical care in the labor camps. But this increase also resulted from the establishment of Labor Department in 1926 where by a new law was passed and made compulsory the payment of wages in cash and reporting of injuries to colonial authority.

• Generally, various methods were used to ensure constant supply of labor:



• Continuation…

ü Taxation, people were forced to work so that they can get money to pay tax. Thus various types of taxes (hut tax, poll tax, cattle tax) were introduced to compel African offer their labor power .

ü Creation of labor reserves, some areas were designed to be sources of labor supply. These included such areas such areas like Kigoma, Tabora, Songea, Singida and Rukwa. In these areas cash crops were not encouraged.

ü Introduction of European manufactured goods, these European manufactured goods were to be bought in money. In order to get money to buy them, one was supposed to sell his labor

ü Low wages, the planters paid low wages in order to make laborers continue to work for them.

• Continuation…

ü Forced labor was commonly used in the construction of public facilities such as roads, railways, etc. Also those Africans living near to plantations were forced to work in the plantations. In Usambara for example, plantations were located nearby African villages which had to provide them with laborers.

ü Use of contract labor, the use of contract labor assured constant supply of labor in the colony. To get contract labor, agents of plantation owners travelled throughout the colony recruiting laborers. Laborers were persuaded to sign contracts with recruiting agents. Breaking the contract was a criminal offence which had to be accompanied by imprisonment ,flogging( whipping) or both.

ü Western education , the introduction of western education aimed at getting laborers who could work in different offices of colonial administration. Education was mandatory if an African wished t be employed by the colonial government. The product of colonial education were junior clerks, teachers, askaris, deep attendants, agricultural extension officers, etc.

ü Use of communal labor, this started right from the beginning of colonial period, and latter on it was adopted as a law. Under this law Africans were forced to provide free of charge labor services for what was called “public works”. This ranged from cleaning to building of infrastructures necessary for colonial production. In these exercises, villagers used heir own tools and failure to turn up was punishable.

History of Tanzania part iv; German intervention and African resistances

  German intervention and African resistances

• There are two schools of thoughts of looking at African resistances:

– Colonial school of thought view Africans as lesser / weak member of human race and the resistances waged by Africans were regarded as merely foolish, fanatical, and simply the work of the uncivilized people to resist their own civilization mission. This view was held up to the 1950s when nationalist historiography began to emerged.

– The second school of thought is the Nationalist school of thought which became popular in the 1960s. This school of thought played a central role in justifying the fact that Africans were not passive, but active and capable of defending their territories and dignities from falling in the hands of colonialists. They proved that African conquest was not simple but rather a complicated process.



• Continuation…..

• In colonial Tanzania, the history of resistances covered the period between 1888 and 1907.

• The reactions were not uniform but varied from place to place. This variation was determined by social, political, ecological and military organization of each society which was encountered by the German onslaught (large and violent attack by an army)

• Categorization of African resistances in colonial Tanzania

Resistances to German intervention in colonial mainland Tanzania manifested themselves in three major forms or techniques:

ü Passive resistances

ü Collaboration / alliance

ü Active resistance

• Passive resistance

• Societies which adopted this technique did not involve themselves in any physical confrontation against the Germans. In other words, such societies did not resort to armed struggle in their opposition against the German.

– For example such societies deserted the villages when the Germans wanted to establish their rule or refused to comply with German rule or refused to cooperate with the Germans

• Though it is difficult to determine the nature, extent, and specific reasons for passive resistances, but possible reasons may be deduced:

– Some societies were mentally opposed to the Germans

– Some of these societies were prepared to fight, but having realized that the Germans were well equipped and would mow them down, they resorted to passivity, for example, the Wahangaza.

– In Buhaya, some chiefs realized that active resistance was useless as they were sure that they were going to be defeated by the Germans. Thus, they employed a technique that ensured prospects of victory like deserting their villages.

• Continuation….

– Some societies were forced into passive resistance either because of ecological conditions or nature of social-political organization

Ø Ecological conditions

A society which had been attended by diseases did not usually offer active resistance. For example:

• The war like Maasai would almost likely have offered active resistance if they had not been weakened by rinderpest in 1890s

• A similar situation faced the Wahaya. These suffered from epidemics (plagues). For example:

ü A plague of jiggers attacked Bukoba and Karagwe in late 1890s

ü Rinderpest epidemic attacked Bukoba and killed over 90% total cattle population

ü Small pox also attacked Bukoba resulting to a large number of deaths.



Ø Social conditions

• The Swahili of Kilwa refused to go in the Majimaji war because they were not socially capable of such a war. They declared that “ we are like women.”

• Some societies hoped to retain their independence by refusing to cooperate with the German colonizers.

ü For example, the Matengo assumed a form of non compliance with the Germans between 1902-1904. In one occasion, a Mandawa (village headman) was accused of inciting people against the Germans. Then, German askaris were sent to bring Mandawa down, the askaris found the entire village empty as villagers had retired into hiding. After the departure of the askaris, normal life in the village resumed.

• Collaboration / Alliance

• This was a process by which the Africans actively fought on the side of the Germans against their fellow Africans. It was used in societies where two or more societies were in traditional conflicts, particularly protracted wars. Thus, one tribe, particularly the weaker one, sided with the Germans in order to fight and defeat the stronger tribe. However, at the end of the war, both societies were colonized. For example:

– Merere, chief of Usangu, collaborated with the Germans because he was against Mkwawa who threatened the survival of his empire.

– Kiwangu, chief of Mahenge, collaborated with the Germans during the Majimaji war because he had been the enemy of Mkwawa for so long in history

– Rindi, chief of Marangu, collaborated with the Germans against Sina chief of Kibosho.





• Continuation…..

• African collaboration with the Germans was triggered by a number of reasons:

– African rulers wanted to establish and maintain trading relations with the Germans

– African rulers hoped to gain material benefits, like weapons, and especially guns from the Germans

– African rulers, especially the weaker one, hoped to expand their boundaries by conquering their long standing enemies through collaboration with the Germans.

– Some rulers hoped to be protected by the Germans having collaborated with them

– Some rulers wanted to establish friendship with the German through collaboration, though they never new that the Germans had a secrete behind that friendship, which of course was very temporary

• Active resistance

• This is where some societies fought the Germans by force of arms. There were a series of military campaigns organized by Africans against the Germans in colonial Tanzania. Some of these offensives were organized along the coast where as others were organized in the interior. The most important are described below.

• Responses along the coast

Responses along the coast of colonial Tanganyika were caused by commercial activities of German East African Company which threatened to undermine commercial interests of the rich Arab and local Swahili merchants. For example:

ü Arab and Swahili had large coconut and cereal plantations which relied entirely on slave labor. Company’s measure to suppress slave trade was therefore a direct threat to the survival of the plantations.

ü In 1888 company officials started collecting tax from every one including the rich merchants and feudal lords. This was highly resisted by the two classes along the coast.

ü In all the coastal towns, the Germans hoisted a German flag in place of the Sultan’s flag and in some cases deliberately violated Islamic laws

ü Company officials started controlling trade along the caravan routes. Thus, profits from the caravans began to flow towards the company, instead of flowing towards the Arab and Swahili traders as it used to be.

• Continuation….

• All such abuses were bitterly resented by the merchants ( Swahili and Arab) and landlords. The resentments produced sporadic (periodic) out break of violence along the coast of colonial Tanganyika.

• One of such outbreak was led by Abushiri bin Salum el Hathi of Pangani.

• A: Abushiri resistance 1888-1890

• The resistance began when German East Africa gained control over a number of coastal towns and trading centers along the coast of colonial Tanganyika through bogus treaties which company officials made with the local rulers.

• At the onset of 1889, Abushiri and his cohorts drove out the Germans from the coastal towns and began to rule them. Bagamoyo and Dar es salaam, however, could not fell in the hands of Abushiri because the two towns were a strong foothold of the Germans.

• To ensure a total suppression of the revolt, the Germans and the British had to collaborate to ensure that they defend their interests effectively. In this collaboration:

– The British utilized their naval base which had been in the Indian ocean suppressing slave trade



• Continuation…..

– German chancellor ordered Captain Herman Von Wiseman, who had wide experience in the region to command German force. German force consisted of 21 German officers, 600 Sudanese mercenaries, 400 Zulu mercenaries and some askaris from Tanganyika. With this force Von Wiseman began his campaign against Abushiri.

Ø Starting from Bagamoyo in may 1889, within a month, the Germans had regained a number of the coastal towns. Following severe German attacks, Abushiri was unable to coordinate his forces effectively.

ü As a result, Abushiri fled to Mpwapwa in the interior. Here again, Abushiri was crushed down when Von Wiseman captured Mpwapwa. From Mpwapwa, Abushiri fled again to Usagara

• Continuation….

üFinally, Abushiri was betrayed by a local ruler, Maganya of Usagara. He was captured and publically hanged in Bagamoyo on 15th December, 1889. This public hanging was intended to serve as a lesson to would be resistors.

üBwana Heri continued the struggle in the North. After loosing Saadan, which was his base, he established himself outside the town by setting a very strong fortress. From his fort, he gallantly resisted the Germans until he was persuaded to surrender.

• B. Makunganya resistance of 1890

• Having crushed Abushiri in the North, Von Wiseman turned his campaign to the southern coastal areas. Local rulers in Lindi and Mikindani negotiated for peace, but Kilwa put up a very strong resistance led by Hassan bin Omari Makunganya.

• In early 1890, Makunganya attacked German fort in Kilwa. However, his forces suffered a humiliated defeat. Makunganya fled inland where he planned for a second attack.

• This attempt was pre-empted by timely German attack. Makunganya was captured and hanged on a mango tree in Kilwa Kivinje in may, 1890.

ü From then onwards, German administrators used to hang other victims. The hanging of Makunganya marked the end of coastal resistances against the Germans.

• Responses in the interior

• Having crushed coastal resistances, the German colonial state which had taken over the functions of the German East Africa company on the 1st January, 1891 turned its attention to the interior.

• In the interior, African resistances were also severe. Such resistances were led by dominant classes (ruling classes). These dominant classes were able to put armed struggle against the Germans. Others, however, compromised for their position by forming alliance with the Germans

• A: The Hehe resistance 1891-1898

• This is one of the best example of fierce military resistance against the Germans. It was waged by the Hehe under their formidable leader, Chief Mkwavinyika ( meaning the “conqueror of lands”). This chief was also popularly known as Mkwawa. This resistance had its origin from commercial activities as it was along the cost.

• By 1891, the Germans had occupied Usagara, Ukaguru, Mpwapwa, and the rest of Ugogo areas. However, these areas had been important trading centers for the Hehe, and therefore a major source of income (revenue) for the Hehe ruling class.

• German occupation over those trading centers deprived the Hehe ruling class of its revenue. This was the major sources of the conflict.



• Continuation…..

• Initially Mkwawa wanted to avoid a costly war against the Germans through negotiations over the areas that the Germans had occupied.

• In his efforts to negotiate, Mkwawa sent a delegation with presents to meet the German administrators at the coast (Dar es salam). Surprisingly, all men in the delegation were murdered and the Germans wanted Mkwawa to surrender his sovereignty.

• Following the assassinations, Mkwawa responded by blocking all the caravan routes which passed through his empire. This move disrupted German trade, denying them the much needed raw materials from the interior.

• Following this conflict, Germans authority sent military expedition to deal with Mkwawa. This German expedition / group was led by Emil Von Zelewsky.

• Continuation….

• The expedition prepared by the Germans was attacked by Mkwawa’s well trained forces on 16th august 1891 at Lugalo. 300 askaris and ten German officials including Zelewsky himself were killed. Mkwawa’s forces captured three German canons (large heavy guns, usually put on wheels) and 300 rifles.

• This Hehe victory shocked the Germans who underestimated military capabilities of the Hehe. It took three years for the Germans to prepare their forces before they decided to revenge.

• When they were to ready to revenge, the Germans sent to Mkwawa a delegation demanding that:

– Mkwawa recognizes Germany authority



• Continuation…..

– Mkwawa pay a war reparation following massive loss that the Germans incurred when Mkwawa attacked them in 1891.

– Mkwawa abandon raiding neighboring territories

– Mkwawa should surrender the arms (canons and riffles) that he seized during the 1891 attacks

– Mkwawa should generally open up Uhehe for European traders and missionaries.

• All these German demands touched the very life line of the Hehe ruling class, and of course, were rejected outright by Mkwawa.

• In October 1894, the Germans attacked and captured Kalenga, Mkwawa’s capital. Mkwawa escaped and waged a guerrilla warfare for the next four years. The Germans caught up with Mkwawa finally. Tired, sick and alone, he was trapped and surrounded by German forces in July, 1898. rather than fall captivity, Mkwawa shot himself.





• B : The Nyamwezi resistance.

• The Nyamwezi had conducted trade with the Germans for sometime. But soon the Nyamwezi realized that, the Germans wanted to control the whole land of Unyamwezi, control trade and rule them.

• It was Isike who led the his people to expel the Germans. They took up arms and closed trade routes for a number of months.

• But finally, the Nyamwezi were defeated by the superior German forces. Isike committed suicide in january1893.

• C : The Yao resistance

• In their resistance, the Yao were led by their chief, Machemba. He was summoned to the coast by German governor in 1890, but refused to go, and replied to him in writing :

• “ I have listened to your words, but I can find no reason why I should obey you. I would rather die first…..Aim Sultan here in my land. You are Sultan in yours…..I will not come to you, and if you are strong enough, then come and fetch me”.



• This rejection of surrender marked the beginning of armed struggle between the Yao and the German imperialists. The Yao struggled went on until 1899 when they were finally defeated.

History of Tanzania part iii;Germany and British Colonial control Projects

GERMAN AND BRITISH COLONIAL PROJECTS EXTERNAL ORIGINS AND LOCAL AGENCY OF COLONIAL IMPERIALISM

Defining key term
• Colonialism
Is the acquisition, establishment, exploitation, maintenance, and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a set of unequal relationship between the colonial power and the colony and between the colonists and the indigenous population.
The situation where a powerful country takes over a less powerful country and begins to rule that country as a subordinate, all the resources of the colonized country are controlled by its colonial superior
When African colonies attained their independence in the 1960s, colonialism was replaced by Neo-colonialism
• Continuation….
• The historical development of African colonization was a result of the transition from capitalism to imperialism
• From the 1860s capitalism experienced transformation from competitive to monopoly capitalism (imperialism). Monopoly capitalism was characterized by :
ü Formation of big monopolistic associations. Some capitalists managed to unite their capital to form big monopolistic associations to control sources of markets and raw materials .
o Small capitalists had been swallowed up by big ones as they were unable to unite and control the sources of market and raw materials. Therefore, only the very powerful capitalist remained and survived.
ü Banks assumed new roles of lending money and directing investments. The capitalists would now borrow money for investments after satisfying the bankers that they would invest money in profitable investment.
• Continuation …..
ü The merging of bank capital and industrial capital resulted to finance capital. It was this capital which financed the exploration of the continent by colonial agents resulting to the final colonization of Africa
ü Tremendous expansion of industrial production in the capitalist countries ( Britain, France, German,). Initially Britain took a leading role in industrial production and it was referred to as the workshop of the world. It also controlled the world’s major sources of market and raw materials.
But the situation changed drastically during the 19th century as Britain began experiencing severe competition for market and raw materials from the newly industrialized states
• Continuation…
• Intensive competition and a declining home market ( due to over production and under consumption- because of low purchasing power as workers were paid low wages) encouraged the capitalist to look for external colonies. It was expected that colonies :
ü Would serve as sources of cheap industrial raw materials
ü Would serve as markets for industrial products
ü Would offer places where surplus capital could be invested and re-invested
ü Would provide employment for the unemployed of Europe
ü Would provide places to settle excess population
ü Also in the colonial territories, monopoly capital would force the colonized to grow and collect industrial raw materials such as cotton, coffee, rubber and minerals.
ü Colonial subjects would be forced to buy cheap industrial products at high price.
• Continuation…..
• By the end of the 19th century, Africa was the only uncolonized continent. So each of the capitalist powers had to rush and grab as much of Africa as possible. The rush for colonial acquisition led to the scramble for and the final partition of Africa.

 THE SCRAMBLE FOR AND PARTITION OF AFRICA
SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
• Scramble for Africa suggest a sudden rush for colonial acquisition in Africa. This sudden rush for colonial acquisition in Africa was triggered by capitalist desire to resolve their home based economic problems. The solution to these economic problems laid in overseas colonies as Europe alone was unable to resolve its economic problems because :
ü There was no room for further expansion.
ü Internal market was weakened by low purchasing power and overproduction
ü Labor became very expensive as laborers became conscious of their rights
ü Raw materials became scarce and expensive due to the invention of huge, efficient and numerous machines which required large amount of raw materials
 THE PARTITION OF AFRICA
• Partition Africa is used to mean the division of Africa among the capitalist powers.
• Four important theories have been used to explain why Africa was partitioned among the capitalist powers:
Ø Lenin and Hobson have theorized that, the partition of Africa was necessitated by economic demands generated by the development of capitalism. According to these scholars, over production and low purchasing power of consumers led to the decline of home markets and capitalist profits. Thus, the capitalists were forced to look for profitable areas oversees.
Ø Strategic theory held that, the partition of Africa was triggered by the desire to control strategic areas so as to defend national interest more effectively. For example, British occupation of Egypt and its Nile valley in 1882 was aiming at safeguarding the Suez canal, an important trade route to India.
• Continuation….
Ø The prestige theory suggest that, the continent was partitioned for prestigious sake. European nations believed that colonial possession was a sign of greatness. As a result they began struggling to acquire as many colonies as possible particularly from Africa. This struggle finally necessitated the partition of Africa.
Ø Other economic historians have theorized that the partition of Africa as the expansion of capitalist economy through acquisition of overseas colonies, and thus colonial acquisition the only way to avoid social and political problems at home . This idea was further supported by Cecil Rhodes who maintains that “ if you want to avoid civil war at home, you must be an imperialist”.
• Events that precipitated the partition
• Three important events culminated the partition of Africa:
• The conflict over the Congo area and its basin. This area was competed by France, Belgium and Portugal.
• King Leopold of Belgium wanted to make Congo his personal colony.
• The French also were interested with the area and thus, they made a number of treaties with the local rulers of the area, north of lower Congo river.
• The Portuguese had been operating in the area for a number of years. This made them to develop claims over the area. In their claims over the region, they were supported by the British who in 1884 signed a treaty to recognize Portuguese claims in the area.

• Continuation…
• German occupation of Togoland, Cameroon, South West Africa, and East Africa between 1883 and 1885, threatened other European powers which had colonial interests in the continent. This increased the struggle for colonial possession among the capitalist power.
• The Egyptian conflict. Egypt was competed by French and Britain. The area was highly competed by the two powers because of its strategic importance ( a trade route to India especially after the completion of the Suez canal, security reasons, fertility of the Nile delta, and its high population)
• These conflicts among the capitalist powers became so bitter that they signalized the outbreak of war. It was against this background that Berlin conference was convened so as to divide Africa peacefully and avert war outbreak among the capitalist powers.
• The Berlin conference 1884-1885
• In order to ward off the danger of war, Bismarck the then chancellor of Germany convened a conference of all capitalist powers in Berlin at the end of 1884. USA attended the conference as an interested observer, because she had no sphere of influence in Africa.
• The conference passed a number of resolutions:
– Free navigation in all major rivers such as the Congo, the Niger, the Nile, and the Zambezi even in time of wars.
– The Congo basin was declared a free trade zone for all capitalists under protection of King Leopold of Belgium
– Principle of notification. Every acquisition of new territory should be notified to other powers to avoid further conflicts
– Principle of effective occupation. Occupation of territories was to be followed by effective occupation. This would include raising flag, sending administrative officials and armies, collecting taxes and pacifying the local people.
– Abolition of slave trade and slavery whenever it existed.
• Partition of East Africa
• After the Berlin conference, the competing powers in East Africa, Germany and Britain faced the problem of the role of the Sultan of Zanzibar and the extent of his authority. This problem was solved through two important treaties, the Anglo-German agreement of 1886 and the Anglo-German agreement of 1890.
• The Anglo-German agreement of 1886
The Anglo-German agreement of 1886 was the first major signal of the demise / collapse of the Zanzibar Sultanate. Under this agreement:
– The Sultan’s area of authority was confined to the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia
– The coastal towns of Kismayu, Brava, and Merca were also given to the sultan
• Continuation….
– The Sultan’s control over the interior was reduced to a mere 16 KM wide coastal strip running from Tungi bay in the south to Kipini bay in the north.
– Germany retained access to the strategic coastal town of Dar es salaam, Bagamoyo and Pangani which were otherwise part of the Sultan’s authority.
– In addition German retained Witu along the coast of what later became Kenya colony.
Ø However, one of the major weakness of 1886 treaty was that, it did not define the boundaries between the areas under each of the two competing imperialist powers, Britain and German.
ü Consequently, Britain and Germany started competing for control of Uganda (because it is the source of the Nile, it had fertile soils and high population). Hence, it was important for the two powers to enter into another agreement.
• ii. The Anglo-German agreement of 1890 ( Helgoland treaty)
• This was often referred to as the Helgoland treaty of 1890. Helgoland was a small German archipelago in the north sea. It is located 46 km off the German coastline. The island is found in German, but in 1807 following the Napoleonic wars, it was captured by the British.
• Under this agreement:
– The boundaries between German East Africa and Uganda on the one hand and the boundary between Kenya and Germany East Africa on the other were fixed.
– Germany abandoned her possession of Witu which was incorporated into the British possession of Kenya.
– In return for Witu, Germany got from Britain the island of Helgoland off the coast of Germany in the north sea. German needed to use the island as a military base.
• Continuation….
– German gained total control over what was formerly the Sultan’s 16 km wide coastal strip from Tungi to Kipini
– German controlled the ports of Tanga, Bagamoyo, Dar es salaam, Kilwa and Mikindani.
– Germany recognized British protectorate over Zanzibar and the rest of the Sultans territory.
• By 1891, East Africa was already partitioned with Britain controlling what is now Kenya and Uganda and Germany controlling Tanzania mainland, Rwanda and Burundi. Thus, by this time, Tanganyika officially came under Germany control.
• Generally, African societies did not seem willing to give up their independence. Nearly every where, effective occupation was difficult. It was followed by widespread resistances in most parts of the colony.

History of Tanzania part ii; External contacts Coastal Trade through Indian Ocean

EARLY EXTERNAL CONTACTS
DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL TRADE LINK THROUGH THE INDIAN OCEAN UP TO THE 18TH CENTURY
• Trade links between the East African coast and the external world can be divided into two (2) major phases of historical development:
• Phase one
ü This phase covered the period between the 2nd century BC to 7th Century AD. The major feature of this period was lack of continuous and constant trade contacts on the coast (?)
ü This phase was dominated by traders from Rome and Greece empires who were in great demand for ivory as indicated in the Periplus of the Erythrean sea. These trading relations, however, were only confined to the Somalia coast .
• Continuation…….
ü Extension of these trading relations to Tanzanian coast was made by Arab traders during the 5th and 6th centuries AD.
ü It is believed that, by this time a big trading center known as Rhapta had been established along the Tanzanian coast, though the Periplus of the Erythrean sea failed to give the actual location of the this trading centre. During this period the demand for ivory had extended from Rome and Greece to India, China and Indonesia.
ü During the 7th century, increased demands for food grain and mangrove poles (which were used as building materials) in Arabia and slave labor in Iraq and Iran led to increased commercial activities along the coast.
ü During this period slaves were demanded in the Arabian world for several reasons such as military demands (served as soldiers), agricultural demands (to work in farms), salt production, domestic servants and women were used as concubines.
• Continuation….
ü During this period no permanent settlement (?) were established along the coast of Tanzania, though some Arab traders intermarried with local Africans of the coast. Such intermarriage marked the begging of the emergence and development (origin) of the Swahili people and their culture (language, religion, dressing, and values)

• Phase two
• The second phase lasted from the 8th to the 18th century AD. It was referred to as the period of the “rise, growth and consolidation of the East African coastal civilization”. This phase can be divided into four major stages
Ø The first stage covered the period from the 8th century to the 12th century. During this period most traders came from Oman and Persian empire.
ü It was during this period that the Arabs made their first attempt to establish permanent settlements along the Tanzanian coast including Zanzibar.
ü There was large migration of Arab traders mainly from Shiraz in Persia to the East Africa coast, especially during the 10th century AD. These traders were mainly attracted by gold which was mined in ancient Zimbabwe (Mwenemutapa empire) and began to be exported from Sofala coast through Kilwa to middle East by 10th century
• Continuation…….
Ø The second stage
This lasted from the 12th -15th century. It was referred to as the “height of coastal civilization” as there was rapid growth of coastal towns like Kilwa. Gold was still an important commodity.
ü Gold from the Great Zimbabwe (Mwenemutapa empire) was carried to Sofala from where it was shipped to Kilwa before being exported to the middle East and Persian countries.
ü Thus, Kilwa became an important center for gold trade along the East African coast resulting to its tremendous growth and prosperity. Beside Kilwa, other coastal towns (city states) which grew as a result of this coastal trade includes Zanzibar, Mombasa, Malindi, Mogadishu and Pate.

• Continuation…….
Ø The third stage constituted the Portuguese era and lasted from the 16th to 17th century. Portuguese interests along the East African coast was to gain control over the costal trade which was in the hands of the Oman Arabs and Persians. To achieve their goals they used the methods of warfare, raids, piracy and robbery.
• The Portuguese were forced to use force because they lacked sufficient capital to invest in commercial activities. This explains why the Portuguese built a series of military forts (garrisons) along the entire coast of Eastern Africa from Mogadishu in the north to Sofala in the south.
• The use of force adapted by the Portuguese to gain control over the coastal trade in East Africa had far reaching negative impacts on the prosperity of the coastal trade and the city states in general. How?
• Continuation…..
ü There was a diversion (change of direction) of the major trade routes especially those in connection to gold and copper. For example, gold was now shipped direct from Sofala southwards (instead of northward to Kilwa and then to middle East) to overseas (Europe). Thus, Kilwa lost much of its wealth and revenue as it was no longer an important center for gold trade.
ü There was a decline of the coastal city states like Kilwa as their prosperity depended on gold trade. These city states lost the basis of their economy where as the African and Arab traders who acted as middlemen lost their businesses.
ü In the mining areas (Mwenemutapa), strong conflict developed between African gold miners and Portuguese traders. The Portuguese traders wanted to control gold production, a situation which was highly resisted by African gold miners. The result of these bitter conflicts was a sharp decline in gold production and coastal trade in general.
• Continuation……
ü The Portuguese introduced trading licenses and permits on African and Arab traders. This was again highly resisted by the African and Arab traders culminating to further decline in trade along the East African Coast
ü The Portuguese were not interested in developing the coastal city states, but rather, they were interested in the wealth which was controlled by these city states. Thus, they left the towns to stagnate and decay.
Thus, the Portuguese period was a period of greater decline of the coastal city states and their economy which depended on gold trade.
Ø The fourth stage constituted the 18th century featured by the rise of the Oman empire on the East African coast.
ü The Oman Arabs in collaboration with the Swahili traders, began to challenge Portuguese dominance along the East African coast from mid 17th century.
• Continuation…..
ü The Arab-Swahili collaboration led to anti-Portuguese resistances. The final result of such resistances was the total expulsion of the Portuguese from the East African coast, especially after the decline of Fort Jesus in Mombasa in 1698.
ü Thus, throughout the 19th century, the Oman Arabs made several attempts to revive the East African coastal trade and to reconstruct the city states and their beautiful buildings which were greatly ravaged by the Portuguese activities.
• The rise of Seyyid Said to power in Oman in 1806
• Having defeated the Portuguese along the coast of East Africa at the end of the 17th century (1698), the Oman Arabs under their Imam (ruler) emerged as the new overlords of the East African coast and its adjacent islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, mafia, etc. Thus, the East African coast and its adjacent islands were ruled directly from Oman.
• As a result, the Oman ruler appointed Oman Arabs as governors to represent him in the coastal towns and the islands.
• However, political conflicts ( resulting from power struggle) in Oman, prevented the Oman administration (ruler) from having enough power to effectively control the region.
• For example, following the overthrow of the Yarubi ruling dynasty by the Busaidi ruling dynasty in 1741, many of the Oman governors in the city states ( like the Mazrui dynasty of Mombasa) refused to accept the new ruling dynasty as they wanted to rule themselves, thus, they declared themselves independent. Zanzibar was among the few towns which accepted the change of dynasty in Oman.
• Continuation…..
• Oman started exercising effective control over the East African coast in 1806 when Seyyid Said rose to power. By then, the only places which Oman ruler had greater influence were Zanzibar, Kilwa Kisiwani and Mafia (why?)
• Seyyid Said rose to power after being assisted by the British East Indian Company which had its headquarters in India (Bombay )
• Other Oman rulers before Seyyid Said were known as Imams because, apart from being political leaders, they were also regarded as religious leaders of they community.
• But Seyyid Said, like his father before him, used non religious title, the Sultan, because he had seized (grabbed) power, instead of being traditionally elected by different sections (clans) of the Oman community. Shortly after he rose to power, Seyyid Said moved his capital to Zanzibar.

• Establishment of the Oman-Zanzibar Sultanate 1810-1840
• Having assisted Seyyid Said to consolidate his power in Oman, the British East Indian Company pressurized Seyyid Said to make his claims over East African coast known to other powers (Portugal and France). Why?
• Because Britain feared that the region would fall in the hands of the French who were already along the East African coast since 1770s buying slaves from Zanzibar and Kilwa for their sugarcane and coffee plantations in Mauritius and the Reunion and for export in West Indies (New Land) where they also had plantations and mining centers .
• French occupation of East African coast would endanger British East Indian company commercial interests in the region, since Zanzibar, for example, was an important trading centre along the East African coast.

• Continuation…….
• Therefore by backing up Sultan’s claims over the East African coast, the British East Indian company hoped that the sultan would help to protect British commercial interests in the region.
• It is important to establish at this point that, Sultan’s claims to rule East African coast were not entirely driven by the Sultan himself and his Oman Arabs, but rather, they were partly driven by British capitalist motives to secure reliable sources of markets and raw materials in the region.
• Thus, with the help of the British forces, the sultan was able to establish his effective control over East African coastal towns by 1840. This control began with the occupation of the rebellious towns along the coast of Kenya (Lamu 1813 and Pate 1822). This was followed by the occupation of other coastal towns such Tanga and Pangani along the coast Tanzania.
• Continuation…..
• From Tanga and Pangani, the Sultan extended his influence further south to Kilwa archipelago and Lindi.
• Mombasa under the Mazrui dynasty, was the only coastal town that posed a strong and protracted resistance to Sultan’s efforts to extend his influence along the East African coast. This ruling family highly resisted Sultan’s influence because of three major reasons:
– They were determined to retain their own independence and freedom
– They wanted to exercise effective control over the whole of the Kenyan coastal towns
– They wanted to maintain their control of Pemba island, which was their main source of food.
• Thus, Mombasa made protracted resistances until 1837 when it was finally conquered, making the Sultan an overall ruler of the entire East African coast.
• Continuation……
 To ensure effective control of the region, the Sultan had to shift his government headquarters from Muscat Oman to Zanzibar in 1840. His decision to locate his capital city in Zanzibar was attributed to a number of reasons:
– Great fertility of the islands promised the development of successful agricultural economy.
– Good climate, cool and wet/humid climate when compared to Oman hot and dry climate.
– Presence of good natural harbors which could easily facilitate the calling of ship, loading and unloading of cargo (goods)
– Zanzibar was just opposite to the mainland which was a greater source of ivory and slaves
– Good revenue which the Sultan had started collecting from ivory and slave trade of Kilwa and other towns in the southern Swahili coast through Zanzibar before he transferred his capital to Zanzibar.
• Establishment of the Zanzibar Commercial Empire
• The prosperity of trading or commercial activities in Zanzibar in particular and the East African coast and the interior in general was a result of the creation of the Oman Zanzibar sultanate by Seyyid Said between 1820s and 1840s.
• The creation of Zanzibar sultanate in turn created conducive environment for the expansion of commercial activities between Zanzibar and its adjacent interior.
• In ensuring further expansion and prosperity of commercial activities in his area of control, Sultan Seyyid Said adapted several measures:
– He signed commercial agreements or treaties with representatives from America, Britain, France, and Germany government between 1830s and 1840s. He did so in order to secure markets for the main products, ivory and cloves
• Continuation……
– He encouraged Oman Arabs to migrate to Zanzibar to establish clove and coconut plantations even before transferring his capital to Zanzibar.
– Having recognized that his own people (Oman Arabs) were not skilled enough in money matters, he invited Indian merchants (Banyans). These had distinguished themselves as skilled businessmen and had proved to him (back home) to have good ability of financial management . These Indian merchants played a double role in the Zanzibar sultanate:
üThey worked as custom officials of the sultan at different ports
üThe richest became money lenders. They gave loans in the form of trade goods to Arab - Swahili traders who led the caravan in the interior of mainland Tanzania. This situation encouraged more Swahili traders to participate in the caravan trade in search of ivory and slaves in the interior.

– He also reduced obstacles/ barriers to trade at all the coastal ports by introducing a uniform five percent (5%) custom duty (amount of money paid as tax for imported and exported goods). Before his arrival in Zanzibar, each coastal town had its own rate of custom duty.
– He introduced some Indian money known as Pice in order to facilitate the flow of trade in Zanzibar.
• Effects of coastal trade on the development of social, economic and political formation
• It is important to analyze the contribution made by the development of external trade along the East African coast and its societies during the period of nearly two millennia (2nd century BC to 18th century AD). Why?
• Because this analysis would help us to understand how external trading contacts impacted political, social, cultural and economic evolution of coastal societies and the interior in general. Some of the major effects are:
 During the first phase (2nd century BC to 7th century AD):
§ During the first phase, there was hardly any significant contribution made by the coastal trade. This was due to two major reasons:
– One, there was lack of continuous and constant trading contacts, traders made periodic visits along the coast. Two, even trading centers and towns of considerable size had not developed

 The only position or achievement of this early phase of trading contacts along the coast was to expose East Africa and its resources to the outside world.
  During the 2nd phase (8th century AD to the 18th century AD)
The second phase produced reasonable political, social, economic and cultural impacts along the East African coast because it was in this period that the coast achieved the height of its civilization due to :
ü Increased commercial activities, especially trade in gold
ü Growth of coastal city states as important trading centers
ü Establishment of the Zanzibar commercial empire.
q The effects of this phase can be described as follow:
• A general significant development during this phase was the rise of coastal culture and civilization commonly regarded as the Swahili culture/civilization. Swahili civilization that developed along the coast was characterized by :

ü Development of a common coastal language, Kiswahili which was an important means of communication in the process of trading interaction
ü Spread of Islam as a religion . Islam began to spread gradually among the coastal societies from the 9th century when the coast started receiving Islamized traders. From the coast, Islam was carried by the same traders to the interiors especially from the 18th century.
ü Development of Arabic style of architecture (building). This included the construction of flat roofed buildings using stones and lime. Thus, most of the coastal city states were characterized by attractive structures such palaces (official home of a king/queen) and mosques. Husuni Kubwa and the Great Mosque in Kilwa are examples of such structures.
• Continuation…..
ü Development of mode of production out of he city states societies. This mode of production was basically a slave mode of production. This mode of production was featured by ;
• Existence of two major classes, the dominant class ( slave masters) and the subordinate class (slaves)
• Specific form of division of labor, the slaves and the were the laborers while the slave masters were non laborers.
• Slaves were legal properties of the slave master. The slave masters owned both, the slaves and the product of his labor
• Many people from different parts of the interior were either employed as porters to carry ivory to the coastal ports or were taken to Zanzibar and Pemba as slaves to work in cloves and coconut plantations.
ü In this way human labor was drained away from the traditional economy of the interior. This marked the beginning of the earliest form of migrant labor in the East Africa.


• Areas bordering the coast became suppliers of food to Zanzibar and Pemba to feed the labor force in the clove plantation, and the ruling families and merchant classes in towns. Usambara for example became a big exporter of sorghum, where as Uzigua exported millet and rice annually.
• Many people bordering the trading centers and caravan routes in the interior had to supply food to resident coastal traders and to caravans travelling between the coast and the interior.
ü People around Tabora for example found it important to produce more food than before in order to feed coastal traders and their large numbers of porters and slaves residing there on transit to slave market.

• Trade in essential goods or basic goods like iron tools, salt, ports, foodstuff, handcraft products, and animal products was replaced by trade in luxury goods such as cotton cloth, beads, looking glasses, copper wire, alcoholic drinks and guns. Foreign traders were not interested in traditional products produced in the interior, they were instead, looking for slaves, ivory and gold.
• Development of trading centers in the interior. These towns began as collection centers for ivory, slaves and food for the caravans. They gradually grew into large trading centers most of which were located along the central route from Bagamoyo (East) to Lake Tanganyika ( West).
• Continuation…
• The contact led to cultural, ethnic, and linguistic changes in the coastal towns and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. For example:
ü Large migrations of Africans from the interior to the coastal towns and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba as slaves resulted to high population in the coastal towns and the islands. Hence, the population in these areas became more and more ethnically mixed up than ever before.
ü The use of African women as concubine by Arabs produced a relatively large Swahili speaking Afro-Arab group (mulatoes). For example most of Seyyid Said’s wives were Africans and his children spoke Kiswahili rather than Arabic.
• Continuation….
• Increased power struggle between different ruling families in each state. This was triggered by the acquisition of fire arms by the Batemi and other members of the ruling families.
ü For example, in the Kingdom of Unyanyembe, the death of Ntemi Fundikira (1858) marked the beginning of power struggle within the royal family.
ü The struggle began when the rightful successor, Mwanasele was overthrown in 1860 by one of his relatives named Kiyungi with the help of the Zanzibar Arab traders who resided in Tabora.
ü These Arabs did not like Mwanasele because he had imposed heavy taxes on them soon after his installation in 1858. On this ground, Arab traders used military power to assist Kiyungi to remove him

• The spread of fire arms in the western region eventually led to the rise of military rulers or war lords in the 1870s. The most outstanding among them were Mirambo (Tabora), Nyungu ya mawe( Ukimbu), Simba of Ukonongo in Mpanda District, Ntinginya of Busongo in Igunga District and Kapela of Bukune in what is now Kahama district
ü These new kind of rulers disregarded completely the traditional norms of succession to kingship and the traditional political boundaries in the region (How?). Instead they used guns and mercenaries (Rugaruga) to get political power and create entirely new larger states by forcibly uniting several small states.
Thus, rulers like Mirambo and Nyungu ya mawe were able to expand their areas of control and committed great atrocities against small states because of the fire arms they acquired from the coast through trading contact.