Tanganyika (territory)

For the former sovereign state, see Tanganyika (1961–1964).

Territory of Tanganyika
1916-1961
Flag Coat of arms
League of Nations mandates in the Middle East and Africa, with no. 11 representing Tanganyika
Status	Mandate of the United Kingdom
Capital	Dar es Salaam
Common languages	English (official)
Religion	Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam and others.
Monarch
• 1916-1936	George V
• 1952-1961	Elizabeth II
Governor
• 1916-1925	Horace Archer Byatt
• 1958-1961	Richard Turnbull
History
• Anglo-Belgian invasion	1916
• Mandate created	20 July 1922
• Independence	9 December 1961
Currency	East African shilling
Preceded by Succeeded by German East Africa Tanganyika
Today part of	Tanzania

Tanganyika was a territory located on the continent of Africa, and administered by the United Kingdom from 1916 until 1961. The UK initially administered the territory as an occupying power with the Royal Navy and British Indian infantry seizing the territory from the Germans in 1916. ^[1] From 20 July 1922, British administration was formalised by Tanganyika being created a British League of Nations mandate. From 1946, it was administered by the UK as a United Nations trust territory.

Before the end of World War I, the territory was part of the German colony of German East Africa (GEA). After the war started, the British invaded GEA but were unable to defeat the German army. The German leader in the African Great Lakes, Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, did not surrender until notified about the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war. After this, the League of Nations formalised the UK's control of the area, who renamed it "Tanganyika". The UK held Tanganyika as a League of Nations mandate until the end of World War II after which it was held as a United Nations trust territory. In 1961, Tanganyika gained its independence from the UK as Tanganyika. It became a republic a year later. Tanganyika now forms part of the modern-day sovereign state of Tanzania.

Etymology

The name of the territory was taken from the large lake in its west. HM Stanley had found the name of "Tanganika", when he travelled to Ujiji in 1876. he wrote that the locals were not sure about its meaning and conjectured himself that it meant something like "the great lake spreading out like a plain", or "plain-like lake". ^[2]

The name was chosen by the British with the Treaty of Versailles, and as such the name took effect when Britain was given control of Tanganyika in 1920. Britain needed a new name to replace "Deutsch Ostafrika" or "German East Africa". Various names were considered, including "Smutsland" in honour of General Jan Smuts (denied for being "inelegant"), "Eburnea," "New Maryland," "Windsorland" after the British Royal Family's new family name, and "Victoria" after both the Lake and the Queen. The Colonial Secretary insisted that "a native name prominently associated with the territory" be selected. "Kilimanjaro" analogous to "Kenya" named after the country's highest mountain and "Tabora" after the town and trading centre near the geographical centre of the country were proposed and rejected. Then, the deputy undersecretary to the Colonial Secretary proposed "Tanganyika Protectorate" after Lake Tanganyika; the name was modified after a "junior official suggested that 'Territory' was more in accordance with the [ League of Nations mandate]" and that was adopted. ^[3]

History

Main article: History of Tanzania

In the second half of the 19th century, European explorers and colonialists traveled through the African interior from Zanzibar. In 1885, the German Empire declared its intent to establish a protectorate in the area, named German East Africa (GEA), under the leadership of Carl Peters. When the Sultan of Zanzibar objected, German warships threatened to bombard his palace. Britain and Germany then agreed to divide the mainland into spheres of influence, and the Sultan was forced to acquiesce. The Germans brutally repressed the Maji Maji Rebellion of 1905. The German colonial administration instituted an educational programme for native Africans, including elementary, secondary, and vocational schools. ^{[4] [5]}

After the defeat of Germany during World War I, GEA was divided among the victorious powers under the Treaty of Versailles. Apart from Ruanda-Urundi (assigned to Belgium) and the small Kionga Triangle (assigned to Portuguese Mozambique), the territory was transferred to British control. "Tanganyika" was adopted by the British as the name for its part of the former German East Africa.

In 1927, Tanganyika entered the Customs Union of the East Africa Protectorate and the Uganda Protectorate, which eventually became the independent countries of Kenya and Uganda, and the East African Postal Union, later the East African Posts and Telecommunications Administration. Cooperation expanded with those protectorates and, later, countries in a number of ways, leading to the establishment of the East African High Commission (1948–1961) and the East African Common Services Organisation (1961–1967), forerunners of the East African Community. The country held its first elections in 1958 and 1959. The following year it was granted internal self-government and fresh elections were held. Both elections were won by the Tanganyika African National Union, which led the country to independence in December 1961. The following year a presidential election was held, with TANU leader Julius Nyerere emerging victorious. In the mid-20th century, Tanganyika was the largest producer of beeswax in the world. ^[6]

See also

• Tanzania portal

• List of colonial heads of Tanganyika

References

1. 7 Jul 1916 - Tanga occupied by Royal Navy and Indian Infantry - The Great War in Africa Association: Great War in East Africa – Chronology and articles
2. Stanley, Henry M. (1878). Through the Dark continent, or, The sources of the Nile : around the great lakes of equatorial Africa and down the Livingstone River to the Atlantic Ocean, Volume II. Harold B. Lee Library. London : Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, Rivington. p. 16.
3. Iliffe, John (1979). A Modern History of Tanganyika. Cambridge University Press. p. 247. ISBN   9780521296113.
4. East, John William. "The German Administration in East Africa: A Select Annotated Bibliography of the German Colonial Administration in Tanganyika, Rwanda and Burundi from 1884 to 1918." [London? 1989] 294 leaves. 1 reel of microfilm (negative.) Thesis submitted for the fellowship of the Library Association, London, November 1987.
5. Farwell, Byron. The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1989. ISBN   0-393-30564-3
6. Gunther, John (1955). Inside Africa. Harper & Brothers. p. 409. ISBN   0836981979.

Further reading

• Cana, Frank Richardson (1922). "Tanganyika Territory"  . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company.
• Iliffe, John. A modern history of Tanganyika. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521296113.
• Gordon-Brown, A. (editor), The East Africa Year Book and Guide, London, 1954, 87pps, with maps.
• Hill, J.F.R., and Moffett, J.P., Tanganyika – a Review of its Resources and their Development, published by the Government of Tanganyika, 1955, 924pps, with many maps.
• Mwakikagile, Godfrey, Life in Tanganyika in The Fifties, New Africa Press, 2008, 428pps, with maps and photos.
• Moffett, J.P., Handbook of Tanganyika, published by the Government of Tanganyika, 1958, 703pps, with maps.

External links

• The British Empire - Tanganyika