Bagamoyo (Mji wa Bagamoyo, in Swahili) is a historic coastal town and capital of Bagamoyo District in the Pwani Region of Tanzania. Much of the settlement was founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much older (8th century) Swahili settlement, Kaole. It was chosen as the capital of German East Africa by the German colonial administration and it became one of the most important trading ports for the Germans along the East African coast along the west of the Indian Ocean in the late 19th and early 20th century. Bagamoyo lies 75 kilometres (47 miles) north of Dar-es-Salaam on the coast of the Zanzibar Channel, across from the island of Zanzibar. The town hosts Bagamoyo Historic Town, that is a National Historic Site of Tanzania. In 2011, the town had 82,578 inhabitants.[1]
In Kiswahili, Bagamoyo's name translates to "take a load off your heart." Your load is supposed to be lifted by the words in order to help you feel at peace. This is a reference to Bagamoyo's renown as a town of porters in the nineteenth century. The mediaeval settlement served as the destination for thousands of porters who travelled with the caravan and carried, on average, 70-pound loads across their shoulders, principally ivory tusks. After a taxing journey and months of hiking over dangerous terrain, Bagamoyo appealed as a destination for recreation and rest.[2][3]
The original settlement, Kaole, was founded c.800 CE, and grew into an important trading town by the 13th century. The Kaole Ruins contain the remnants of two mosques and 30 tombs, dated back to the 13th century. Until the 18th century, Bagamoyo, the settlement 5 kilometres (3mi) north of Kaole, was a small trading center where most of the population were fishermen and farmers. Their main trading goods were fish, salt and gum, among others.[4] Around the 17th century this area began growing in prosperity and by the 18th century it was an important stop in the caravan and slave trade, acquiring the name Bagamoyo. It became the most important trading entrepot of the east central coast of Africa in the late 19th century.[5]
In the late 18th century, Muslim families settled in Bagamoyo, all of which were relatives of Shamvi la Magimba in Oman. They made their living by enforcing taxes on the native population and by trading in salt, gathered from the Nunge coast north of Bagamoyo. In the first half of the 19th century, Bagamoyo became a trading port for ivory and slave, with traders coming from the African interior – places as far as Morogoro, Lake Tanganyika and Usambara- on their way to Zanzibar. This explains the meaning of the word Bagamoyo ("Bwaga-Moyo") which means "Lay down your Heart" in Swahili. It is disputed whether this refers to the slave trade which passed through the town (i.e. "give up all hope") or to the porters who rested in Bagamoyo after carrying 16-kilogram (35lb) cargoes on their shoulders from the Great Lakes region (i.e. "take the load off and rest"). There is considerable debate regarding the extent of the slave trade as a major export in Bagamoyo, with archival analysis suggesting that ivory was the primary export over slaves, and that many of the caravan porters on the ivory route were free wage laborers as opposed to slaves.[6][7] However, the history of the slave trade features prominently in the shared culture of its residents and organizations such as UNESCO emphasize its importance as a cultural heritage site memorializing the slave trade in East Africa.[8][9]
The Kaole Ruins
The slave trade in East Africa was officially prohibited in the year 1873, but continued surreptitiously to the end of the 19th century.[9]
A Muslim man in Bagamoyo
In 1868, Bagamoyo local rulers, known as majumbe, presented the Catholic "Fathers of the Holy Ghost" with land for a mission north of the town, the first mission in East Africa. This caused resistance by the native Zaramo people which was mediated by representatives of Sultan Majid and, after 1870, by Sultan Barghash. Originally the mission was intended to house children who were rescued from slavery, but it soon expanded to a church, a school, and some workshops and farming projects.
But Bagamoyo was not only a trade centre for ivory and copra; it was also a starting point for renowned European explorers. From Bagamoyo they moved out to find the source of the River Nile and explored the African inner lakes. Some of these were Richard Francis Burton, John Hanning Speke, Henry Morton Stanley[10]:55 and James Augustus Grant. Although often believed so, David Livingstone had never been to Bagamoyo in his lifetime. Only after his death he was laid out in the Old Church's tower (nowadays named Livingston Tower) to wait for the high tide to come in and ship his body to Zanzibar.
Bagamoyo was the first capital of the colony while serving as the German headquarters of German East Africa (first under the auspices of the German East African Company and then the German Imperial Government) between 1886–1891. Dar es Salaam became the new capital of the colony in 1891. The town was apparently where SS-OberführerJulian Scherner was born in 1895. When the German Empire decided to build a railway from Dar es Salaam into the interior in 1905, Bagamoyo's importance began to decline.
A kite balloon flown by HMSManica directed a naval bombardment of German positions ashore. A seaplane from Himalaya bombed German trenches in the town, and then assisted in directing naval gunnery.[13]
The Imperial German Army defended Bagamoyo with 60 German troops and 350 AskariSchutztruppe, commanded by German officers. However, many of the defenders were at Mtoni, about 6 kilometres (4mi) west of Bagamoyo, defending a crossing over the Kingani River.[12]
Part of the German garrison
The German defences of Bagamoyo included trenches along the shore, around the Arab and German forts, and on a hill just south of the town. German artillery included at least two small field guns on the shore, plus one of the 105 mm naval guns that had been salvaged from the cruiser SMSKönigsberg, and installed in an emplacement on the hill[13] with 100 rounds of ammunition.[12]
Königsberg's gun engaged the monitors Severn and Mersey, which were some distance out to sea, but it could not be lowered enough to engage vessels nearer the shore. Three smaller Royal Navy vessels, including the armed tugboatHMSHelmuth, got within 500 metres of the German gun and opened fire on it with their 3-pounder guns. A British machine gun section then attacked the hill, eventually forcing the German artillerymen to abandon their gun and retreat.[13] This was the first of Königsberg's guns to be captured by British forces.[12]
Many civilians, whatever their religion, took refuge in the church at the Catholic mission. One British 12-inch shell hit the church, damaging the baptistry, and the two priests in charge of the mission moved the civilians to the Mission House. By the evening, German forces were retreating from their trenches. Royal Marines, supported by Zanzibar Rifles, captured the German Governor's house. The remainder of the town fell to British forces thereafter.[13]
British forces lost one Royal Marine officer[12] and ten men. German forces lost two officers[12] and ten men, and another 19 were captured by the British.[citation needed]
2006–present
Bagamoyo is a center for dhow sailboat building. The Department of Antiquities in Tanzania is working to maintain the ruins of the colonial era in and around Bagamoyo and to revitalize the town.[14] In 2006, the department applied for World Heritage Site status, in the cultural category.[9] The Bagamoyo College of Arts ("Chuo cha Sanaa") has been an internationally famous arts college in Tanzania, teaching traditional Tanzanian painting, sculpture, drama, dancing, and drumming. In 2007 based on the college, the Bagamoyo Arts and Cultural Institute (TaSUBa) was established.[14]
Its history and proximity to Dar es Salaam has led Bagamoyo to be more diverse than some other areas of the country. Bagamoyo is home to many ethnic groups, including the Wakwere, Wazaramo, Wazigua, Maasai, and Waswahili. Although Swahili culture dominates, many different cultures coexist in Bagamoyo, including people of Arab descent.[15]
In 2018, the new port construction began that will transform the area.[16]
Transport
Ships at BagamoyoCycling in Bagamoyo
Port
In 2013, a large two berth intermodal container deepwater port terminal was proposed by Tanzanian government. Called Bagamoyo Port, it will be constructed at Mbegani, near Bagamoyo.[17] China planned to invest US$10B to make Bagamoyo the most important port in Africa by 2017.[18][19] The port is part of the Maritime Silk Road.[20][21][22]
In 2018, the project got the go ahead and work started in about June/July. It will be built in association with the state-owned China Merchants Port, it will include a special economic zone. The US$ 10bn project is backed by an Omani sovereign wealth fund.[16][23][24]
In 2019 Tanzanian President John Magufuli announced the suspension of the project.[25]
Public transport
Bagamoyo is served by the Bagamoyo Daladala stand near Bagamoyo road south east of Bagamoyo.
Dar es Salaam is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
The modern-day African Great Lakes state of Tanzania dates 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 II, providing financial help, munitions, and soldiers. 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 Sultanate of Oman, and then as a British protectorate by the end of the nineteenth century.
Zanzibar is an insular semi-autonomous region which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 km (16–31 mi) off the coast of the African mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja and Pemba Island. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre, Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.
Tanga is a historic city and the capital of Tanga Region. The city is the most northernly port city of Tanzania to the west of the Indian Ocean on Tanga Bay. The city has a population of 393,429 in 2022. and is governed by the Tanga City Council. The city is also home to the Port of Tanga. The name Tanga means "sail" in Swahili. The city is also the capital of Tanga District.
Tippu Tip, or Tippu Tib, real name Ḥamad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jumʿah ibn Rajab ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al Murjabī, was an Afro-Omani ivory and slave owner and trader, explorer, governor and plantation owner. He worked for a succession of sultans of Zanzibar and was the Sultan of Uterera, a short-lived state in Kasongo, Maniema ruled by himself and his son Sefu who was an emir of the local WaManyema.
Stonetown of Zanzibar, also known as Mji Mkongwe, is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo, Swahili for 'the other side'. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago. Former capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate, and flourishing centre of the spice trade as well as the Indian Ocean slave trade in the 19th century, it retained its importance as the main city of Zanzibar during the period of the British protectorate. When Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined each other to form the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar kept a semi-autonomous status, with Stone Town as its local government seat.
The Abushiri Revolt, also known as the Slave Trader Revolt, but generally referred to by modern historians as the Coastal Rebellion, was an insurrection in 1888–1889 by the Arab, Swahili and African population of the coast of what is now Tanzania. This coast had been leased, under protest, to Germany by the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1888. The rebellion was eventually suppressed by a German expeditionary force commanded by Hermann Wissmann.
HMS Manica was a merchant steamship that was built in England in 1901 and was scrapped in Japan in 1931. She was built as a dry cargo ship but spent the latter part of her career as an oil tanker.
Unyamwezi is a historical region in what is now Tanzania, around the modern city of Tabora to the south of Lake Victoria and east of Lake Tanganyika. It lay on the trade route from the coast to Lake Tanganyika and to the kingdoms to the west of Lake Victoria. The various peoples of the region were known as long-distance traders, providing porters for caravans and arranging caravans in their own right. At first the main trade was in ivory, but later slaving became more important.
Manyema (WaManyema) (Una-Ma-Nyema, eaters of flesh) are a Bantu ethnic group, described in the past as powerful and warlike, in the African Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa and Central Africa.
Pangani is a historic town and capital of Pangani District in the Tanga Region of Tanzania. The town lies 45 km (28 mi) south of the city of Tanga, at the mouth of the Pangani River in which the town is named after. Administrately the town Pangani is situated within two wards, Pangani Mashariki and Pangani Magharibi. The town is currently the largest settlement in Pangani District and is a major tourist attraction in Tanga region and is a home to Muhembo, a Tanzanian National Historic Site.
The Swahili coast is a coastal area of East Africa, bordered by the Indian Ocean and inhabited by the Swahili people. It includes Sofala ; Mombasa, Gede, Pate Island, Lamu, and Malindi ; and Dar es Salaam and Kilwa. In addition, several coastal islands are included in the Swahili coast, such as Zanzibar and Comoros.
HMS Helmuth was a German tug that the Royal Navy captured at the beginning of World War I and armed as a picket boat. She served in the East African campaign including the battles of Zanzibar and Tanga, she survived a German attack at Dar es Salaam, and took part in blockading SMS Königsberg in the Rujifi Delta. In 1916 she took part in an amphibious assault on the coastal town of Bagamoyo.
Kaole is a national historic site located in Bagamoyo District of Pwani Region in Tanzania. The site is located three miles east of the historic city of Bagamoyo on the Indian Ocean coast. The area contains old Swahili coral stone ruins dating to a period between the 13th century and the 16th century. Some of the ruins date back to the 13th century and consist of two mosques and 30 tombs.
Muhammad bin Khalfan bin Khamis al-Barwani, commonly known as Rumaliza, was an Arab trader of slaves and ivory, active in Central and East Africa in the last part of the nineteenth century. He was a member of the Arabian Barwani tribe. With the help of Tippu Tip he became Sultan of Ujiji. At one time he dominated the trade of Tanganyika, before being defeated by Belgian forces under Baron Francis Dhanis in January 1894.
Holy Ghost Mission is located in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The pioneer mission was established by the Holy Ghost Fathers. The original Holy Ghost Church, built in 1872, is reportedly the oldest church on the mainland of East Africa, while the new church was built 1910–1914. In 1874, David Livingstone was interred for a night at the Holy Ghost Mission; the Livingstone Tower, a part of the original church, is named in his honor.
The Bagamoyo Port or Port of Bagamoyo is one of the oldest ports in Tanzania. The port is located in the town of Bagamoyo in Bagamoyo District of Pwani Region. The port was once a main entry from the Zanzibar Channel to Bagamoyo Historic Town before the establishment and rise of the Port of Dar es Salaam in the 1860s. Reconstruction and mass expansion of the Port of Bagamoyo is set to be constructed in the mid 2020s. It is planned to be one of the largest government infrastructure projects in the country. The Bagamoyo port and its affiliate industrial zone is meant to address congestion at the old port and support Tanzania to become East Africa’s leading shipping and logistics centre.
National Historic Sites of Tanzania is an official list of places in Tanzania that have been designated as National Historic Sites as per the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism of Tanzania under the Antiquities Division. The list is not complete and is currently being updated.
Kunduchi is a Medieval Swahili National Historic Site located in Kunduchi ward, located in Kinondoni District of Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. There is an excavated 15th-century mosque on the site. An 18th-century cemetery with the biggest collection of pillared tombs in East Africa, situated in a baobab woodland, and embellished with Ming era's porcelain plates. The pottery discovered here demonstrates the medieval town's affluence and trading connections with imperial China.
Bagamoyo Historic Town or Bagamoyo Stone Town, is the historic section of Bagamoyo town in Bagamoyo District of Pwani Region. Due to its historic significance spanning centuries and empires, Old Bagamoyo is a National Historic Site of Tanzania. The settlement was first inhabited in the 8th century as a Zaramo village and then a Swahili stone settlement, satellite to Kaole. One of the most significant trading hubs on the coast of East Africa, Bagamoyo served as the last halt for ivory caravans making their way on foot from Lake Tanganyika to Zanzibar.
↑ Fabian, Steven. "East Africa’s Gorée: Slave Trade and Slave Tourism in Bagamoyo, Tanzania." Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des Études Africaines, vol. 47, no. 1, 2013, pp. 95–114. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43860408. Accessed 24 Sept. 2023.
↑ Brown, Walter Thaddeus. A pre-colonial history of Bagamoyo: Aspects of the growth of an East African coastal town. Boston University Graduate School, 1971.
↑ Fabian, Steven. "East Africa’s Gorée: Slave Trade and Slave Tourism in Bagamoyo, Tanzania." Canadian Journal of African Studies, vol. 47, no. 1, 2013, pp. 95–114. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43860408. Accessed 8 Aug. 2022.
↑ Fabian, Steven (2013). "East Africa's Gorée: slave trade and slave tourism in Bagamoyo, Tanzania". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 41:1: 95–114. doi:10.1080/00083968.2013.771422. S2CID142785283.
↑ Rockel, Stephen (2009). "Slavery and Freedom in the Nineteenth Century East Africa: The Case of Waungwana Caravan Porters". African Studies. 68:1: 87–109. doi:10.1080/00020180902827464. S2CID161968318.
↑ Hill-Yates, Erica Alane (2012). "What's in a Tale?: Slavery, Memory and the Intersections of Race, Class and Gender in Coastal Tanzania". Race, Gender & Class. 19 (1/2): 336–352. ISSN1082-8354. JSTOR43496877.
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