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.

The main attraction is the view of elephants grazing in front of the majestic mountain - only visible early in the morning or late afternoon. This flat and dry area was 10,000 years ago a large and permanent lake over 40 meters deep. Since, the whole lake dried up and is today a small seasonal lake existing only after heavy and prolonged rains. Most of the dry-lake bed is covered by alkaline white ashes, remains of the eruption of the Kili a few thousands of years ago. Ashes are responsible of the constant dust in the park, the growing salinity of the soil and the destruction of woodlands!

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.

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.

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.

'''Independence'''

Tanganyika achieved autonomy in September 1960 and became a fully independent state within the Commonwealth in December 1961, with Nyerere as premier. In December 1962, when Tanganyika became a republic, he became the nation's first president. There were communist-inspired army mutinies in January 1964 but these were quelled with British assistance. In April 1964 Zanzibar united with Tanganyika, and in October 1964 the composite state changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania.

Zanzibar to 1964

The island of Zanzibar was settled by Arab traders in the 7th century, and under Portuguese control during the 16th and 17th centuries, whereupon it became a sultanate. In 1822 it was united with the nearby island of Pemba. It was a British protectorate from 1890 to 1963, when it became an independent sultanate again. A left-wing revolution followed, and the sultan was overthrown in 1964, paving the way for union with mainland Tanganyika. Zanzibar continued for many years to follow its own policies, including close relations with the communist countries of the Soviet bloc.