About Tanzania

The African Great lakes nation of Tanzania formally from 1964 when it was formed out of the union of the much larger mainland territory of Tanganyika and the coastal archipelago of Zanzibar. the former was a colony and part of German East Africa from the 1880s to 1919, when under the League of Nations, it became a British Mandate. It served as a British military outpost. During world war 2, providing financial help, munitions, and solders. In 1947 Tanganyika became a united nations trust territory under British administration, a status it kept until its Independence in 1961. The Island of Zanzibar thrived as a trading hub, successively controlled by the Portuguese, The Sultan of Oman, and then as a British protectorate by the end of the nineteenth century.

The Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Independence leader AND “Baba wa taifa “for Tanganyika (Father of nation) ruled the country for decades, while Abeid Amaan Karume, governed Zanzibar as its president and vice president of the united republic of Tanzania. Following Nyerere’s retirement in 1985, various political and economic reforms began.  He was succeeded in office by President Ali Hassan Mwinyi.

(Early Stone Age) during Tanzania is home to some of the oldest hominid Settlements unearthed by archaeologist’s Prehistoric stone tools and fossils have been found in and around Olduvai Gorge in Northern Tanzania, an area often referred to as “The Cradle of Mankind “. Acheulian stone tools were discovered there in 1931 by Louis Leakey, after he had correctly identified the rocks brought back by Hans Reck to Germany from his 1913 Olduvai expedition as stone tools. The same year Louis Leakey found older, more primitive stone tools in Olduvai Gorge. These were the first examples of the oldest human technology ever discovered in Africa, and were subsequently known throughout the world as Oldowan after Olduvai Gorge. The first hominid skull in Olduvai Gorge was discovered by Mary Leakey in 1959, and named Zinj or Nutcracker Man, the first example of Paranthropus boisei, and is thought to be over 1.8 Million years old. Other finds including Homo habilis fossils were subsequently made. At nearby Laetoli footprints were discovered by Mary Leakey in 1978, and estimated to be about 3.6 million years old and probably made by Australopithecus afarensis. The oldest hominid fossils ever discovered in Tanzania also come from Laetoli and are the 3.6 to 3.8 million-year-old remains of Australopithecus afarensis – Louis Leakey had found what he thought was a Baboon tooth at Laetoli in 1935 (which was not identified as afarensis until 1979) a fragment of hominid jaw with three was found there by Kohl – lersen in 1974-1975 Mary Leakey recovered 42 teeth and several jawbones from the site.

(Middle Stone Age) at the middle stone age, Mumba cave in northern Tanzania includes a middle stone age to late stone age, archaeological sequence. The Middle stone age represents the time period in Africa during which many archaeologists see the origins of modern human behavior.

(Late Stone Age and Pastoral Neolithic) reaching back about 10,000 years in the later stone age, Tanzania is believed to have been populated by hunter – gatherer communities, probably Khoisan – speaking people. Between approximately 4,000 to 3,000 years ago, during a time period known as the pastoral Neolithic, Pastoralists who relied on cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys came into Tanzania from the north.

Two archaeological cultures are known from this time period, the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic (whose peoples may have spoken a southern Cushitic language) and the Elmenteitun (whose peoples may have spoken a southern Nilotic language). Luxmanda is the largest and southernmost – known pastoral Neolithic site in Tanzania.

(Iron Age) about 2000 years ago, Bantu – speaking people began to arrive from western Africa in a series of migrations collectively referred to as the Bantu expansion. these groups brought and develop iron working skills, agriculture, and new ideas of social and political organization. they absorbed many of the Cushitic peoples who had preceded them, as well as most of the remaining Khoisan – speaking inhabitants. later Nilotic pastoralists arrived and continued to immigrate into the area through to the 18^th century. One of Tanzania’s most important iron age archaeological sites is Engaruka in the Great rift valley, which includes an irrigation and cultivation system. In 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama became the first known European to reach the East Africa (Great Africa lakes Coast) he stayed for 32 days. In 1505 the Portuguese captured the island of Zanzibar. The Portuguese control lasted until the early 18^th century, when Arabs from Oman established a foothold in the region.  Assisted by Omani Arabs, the indigenous coastal dwellers succeeded in driving the Portuguese from the area north of the Ruvuma river by the early 18^th century, claiming the coastal strip, the Oman Sultan Seyyid Said move his capital to Zanzibar city in 1840. He focused on the island and developed trade routes that stretched as far as Lake Tanganyika and Central Africa. During this time, Zanzibar became the centre for the Arabs slave trade. Due to the Arabs and Persian domination at this later time, many Europeans misconstrued the nature of Swahili civilization as a product of Arab colonization. However, this misunderstanding has begun to dissipate over the past 40 years as Swahili civilization is becoming recognized as principally African in origin.

Tanganyika (1850 – 1890)

Tanganyika as a geographical and political entity did not take shape before the period of high imperialism, its name only came into use after German East Africa was transferred to the United Kingdom as a mandate by the league of nations in 1920. What is referred to here, therefore is the history of the region that was to become Tanzania. A part of the Great lake’s region namely the western shore of Lake Victoria consisted of many small kingdoms, most notably Karagwe and Buzinza, which were dominated by their more powerful neighbors Rwanda, Burundi, and Buganda.  European exploration of the interior began in the mid- 19^th century. In 1848 the German missionary Johannes Rebmann became the first European to see Mount Kilimanjaro. British explorers Richard Burton and John Speke crossed the interior to Lake Tanganyika in June 1857. In January 1866, the Scottish explorer and Missionary David Livingstone who crusaded against the slave trade, went to Zanzibar from where he sought the source of Nile and established his last mission at Ujiji on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

After having lost contact with the outside world for years, he was found there on 10 November 1871. Henry Morton Stanley who had been sent in a publicity stunt to find him by the New York Herald newspaper, greeted him with the now famous words Dr. Livingstone.  At the Berlin conference of 1885, the fact that Kigoma had been established and supplied from Zanzibar and Bagamoyo led to the inclusion of German East Africa into the territory of the convectional Basin of the Congo, to Belgium’s advantage.  At the table in Berlin contrary to wide spread perception, Africa was not partitioned, rather rules were established among the colonial powers and prospective colonial powers as how to proceed in the establishment of colonies and protectorates. While Belgian interest soon concentrated on the Congo river, the British and Germans focused on Eastern Africa and in 1886 partitioned continental East Africa between themselves.

The Sultanate of Zanzibar and Pemba, remained Independent for the moment. The Congo free state was eventually to give up its claim on Kigoma. (Its oldest station in central Africa) and on any territory to the east of Lake Tanganyika to Germany.

(TANZANIA), Tanzania East   African country situated just south of the equator. Tanzania was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union, therefore separate states of Tanganyika and mainland Tanganyika covers more than 99 percent of the combined territories total area. Mafia Island is administered from the mainland, while Zanzibar and Pemba Islands have a separate government administration Dodoma since 1974 the designated official capital of Tanzania, is centrally located on the mainland.

Dar-es-salaam however remains the seat of most government administration, as well as being the largest city and port in the country. Tanzania official language is Swahili, English.

Official religion none.

Monetary unity is Tanzania shillings (TZS).

Most Interest Fact About Tanzania

(1). Tanzania has the largest animal population density out of any country in the world. That is, there are more animals per square mile of land in Tanzania than in any other country.

(2). Tanzania is home to the famed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa with its summit at 19,340 feet (5,895 meters)

(3). A little more than two of the U.S state of California can fit within Tanzania, as it’s the largest country in East Africa.

(4). Tanzania experiences some of the most Luminescent moon in the world, often so bright that flashlights are not necessary for people to see at night.

(5). Tanzania is divided roughly into thirds between practitioners of folk religion, Christians and Muslims. (Many of whom live on the Tanzanian Island of Zanzibar).  Currently the largest religious denomination in Tanzania is Roman Catholic Christianity, followed by Protestant Christianity, Sunni Islam and Shia Islam.                     

(6). Tanzania have more than 120 tribes from each tribe has their own language and it’s their own cultures and traditions.

(7). Tanzania nature is variable and excellent beautiful environment. We have lakes, volcanoes, mountains, hills, valley, caves and gorge.   

Tanzania Mainland

The Tanzania mainland is bounded by Uganda, Lake Victoria, and Kenya to the North, by the Indian Ocean to the east by Mozambique, Lake Nyasa, Malawi, and Zambia to the South and Southwest, and by Lake Tanganyika, Burundi and Rwanda to the West.