Kiko: Difference between revisions

Although Tanganyika still exists within Tanzania, the name is no longer used formally for the territory and its use can be politically sensitive, not only as throwback to colonial times, but also if it implies opposition to the union with Zanzibar. These days the name Tanganyika is used almost exclusively to mean the lake.

'''Lake Amboseli'''  

The salted lake of Amboseli, most of the time dry, is a large area of dusty desert. Once you crossed this arid dry-lake bed, beautiful green swamps, hidden nature's treasures irrigated by ground water coming from the largest single mountain of the world, Mt Kilimanjaro, offer an amazing ecosystem, a reminder of paradise and freshness.

The majestic Mt Kilimanjaro (5,985 m - 17,685 ft), the greatest single moutain of the world standing amidst large herds of elephants wandering in the swamps.

'''History'''

The Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania has yielded some of the earliest known hominid remains, dating from some 2 million years ago. Bantu-speaking peoples from western Africa migrated into the Tanganyika area (the mainland part of what is now Tanzania) in the earlier part of the 1st millennium AD, bringing with them iron working technology. There were trading contacts between the coast and Arabia (and possibly even India) from the beginning of the millennium, and there were Arab settlements along the coast throughout medieval times, introducing Islam.

From around the 16th century Arab domination of the coast was challenged by the Portuguese. Zanzibar emerged as an important port in the 18th century and Arab traders penetrated the interior in search of slaves and ivory. In the early 19th century, they opened up the great slave route from Bangamoyo on the Indian Ocean to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika. The British explorer Richard Burton first entered the territory in 1856, and was soon followed by John Speke, David Livingstone, and Henry Morton Stanley. In 1873, the British fleet forced the Zanzibar sultan to declare an end to the slave trade, although a reduced illegal slave trade continued.

'''German colonization'''

Tanganyika was visited in 1884 by the German Karl Peters, who concluded several treaties with the local chiefs. This enabled establishment of a German protectorate, as agreed at the Berlin Conference of 1885 when East Africa was partitioned between Germany and Britain (which held Kenya). German Christian missionaries entered the area, attempts were made to destroy local tribal structures and traditions, and there was forced labour for cotton plantations. This provoked African revolts in 1889, 1902, and 1905. The last, known as the Maji Maji rebellion, was crushed with great cruelty, and African casualties were enormous.