INTRODUCTION TO TANZANIA

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The name comes from a combination of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, united in March 1964. Kenya’s neighbour to the south – west, Tanzania is less developed than Kenya, but is as fascinating and exciting as any safari destination in the world.

Most commonly known is Tanzania’s “northern circuit” which includes Lake Manyara, the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater and the vast Serengeti National Park. But this is a far more fascinating country, from the beaches and resorts of Zanzibar (The Spice Island) to the wild virgin bush of Ruaha and Selous with their abundant wildlife, and the highest free – standing mountain in the world, the snow-capped Kilimanjaro.

Tanzania is a modern, progressive state with a rich cultural and historical heritage that began almost four million years ago when our primitive ancestors first left the forest and walked upright on the plains. Spread across the vast topographical tapestry are twenty-six million people made up of more than 100 loosely defined “tribes”. Some of these cultural groups can trace their ancestry back to pre-historic times, while others are merely immigrants of the last 100 years.

The population is unevenly distributed, this being decided geographically, due to poor soil for cultivation throughout much of the country. The major centers of population are scattered along the coast.

At the start of World War 1 the British controlled Zanzibar, Uganda, and what were to become Malawi, Zambia and Kenya. Tanganyika, remained the only territory of German East Africa, effectively surrounded and their troops out-numbered. By the end of 1916 the British and Belgian forces controlled all the land north of the central railway line. At the end of the war, under the treaty of Versailles, Germany surrendered all her overseas territories to the allies. Tanganyika was given to the British.

On 9th. December 1961 Tanganyika was declared independent without a single shot being fired, under the ruler-ship of a school teacher, Julius Nyerere. Now only one thing remained for total unity, Zanzibar was still a British protectorate. Then in March of 1964, after a bloody revolution, a blue band, representing the sea, was added to the flag and Zanzibar and Pemba Islands joined with the main land to become the “United Republic of Tanzania”.

Nyerere ruled Tanzania as a socialist state until President Ali Hassan Mwinyi was elected in 1985. He was succeeded by the present President Benjamin Mkapa, democratically elected in October 1995.