TANZANIA

Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south. To the east it borders the Indian Ocean.

MISSIONARIES:

HISTORY:

Archeologists speculate that trade between the East African coast and Arabia was established as early as the 1st Century AD and by the 8th Century had developed a series of villages and trading posts. The 1400s marked the Portuguese arrival, who then claimed control over the coastal regions of Tanganyika without colonizing the area. Little attempt was made to move into the interior part of the country until the middle of the 18th Century. European exploration began in the mid 19th Century and in 1866 David Livingstone established his last mission at Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika as part of his crusade against the slave trade.

At the end of the 19th Century, German colonization began in Tanganyika as the Germans formed treaties with local tribal chiefs. During the German occupation there was a boom period in the development of roads, railroads and agriculture. By 1890 the Germans had drawn up an agreement with the British dividing up the East African territory.

In 1905 the Maji Maji Rebellion began and was to last for two years ending with the death of approximately 120,000 Africans. Many Tanzanians regard this as their first moment of a nationalistic movement. The Germans lost control of this territory after World War I to the British under the League of Nations agreement.

Following World War II, Julius Nyerere, a former schoolteacher founded the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) in 1954 and the progress towards independence and self-government began. In 1961 independence became a reality and Nyerere became Tanganyika’s first president. Shortly afterwards the British deferred their control of Zanzibar back to the local Arab leaders. Shortly thereafter the country revolted and joined the Tanganyika and the resulting union along with Pemba resulted in what we now know as Tanzania.

An economic union between Tanzania, Uganda & Kenya established at the beginning of the 1960s where common telecommunications systems, transportation and customs were created had failed irrevocably by 1977. Today moves are underway to revive this union between these three countries and stimulate growth by slowly re-establishing regional cooperation in selected fields. To date the process appears to be having some success.

RELIGION:

Although the religions in Tanzania coexist peacefully, there are still religious divisions in the society. According to the last census, and the CIA fact book, approximately 35% of the population adheres to an indigenous religion, 35% adhere to the Islamic faith, and 30% follow various Christian beliefs.