history of Tanzania

Images, Videos & Interactives

Map of Tanzania and its surrounding countries, showing international boundaries, major cities such as Dodoma, Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Zanzibar, and neighboring nations including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique. The Indian Ocean borders Tanzania to the east, and a small locator map highlights Tanzania's position in Africa.

Paranthropus boisei skull

Historical map of eastern Africa around 1850 showing major states such as Kefa, Buganda, and the Sultanate of Zanzibar, along with minor states, stateless peoples, and the Maasai. Red lines trace major trade routes connecting inland regions to the Red Sea, Arabian Peninsula, and Indian Ocean, while green arrows indicate directions of expansion by groups like the Oromo and Maasai. Major lakes, rivers, and mountain landmarks are labeled throughout the region.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Historical map of eastern Africa around 1914, showing the region divided among British, German, French, and Italian colonial powers. Different territories are color-coded by colonial ruler, with key locations such as British East Africa (Kenya and Uganda), German East Africa (including present-day Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi), Italian Somaliland, and French Somaliland labeled. Major lakes, rivers, and cities are also marked.

Antique map from 1902 showing central Africa with colonial territories labeled as Kamerun, French Kongo, Kongo Free State, Portuguese West Africa, British East Africa, German East Africa, East Africa, and Rhodesia. The map details rivers, cities, and borders of the era, with an inset map of Madagascar in the lower right corner.

Maji Maji Rebellion

A line of soldiers marches in formation with rifles on their shoulders along a wide street in Dar es Salaam, East Africa, with trees and onlookers in the background.

Map of Africa showing the territorial divisions and colonial possessions by European powers from the late 19th to early 20th century. Countries and regions are color-coded to indicate British, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Belgian, and German control, with independent countries and British-Egyptian condominium also marked. The map highlights the extent and timing of colonization, with most of the continent under European rule except for Ethiopia and Liberia.

history of Tanzania: Media

Videos

Video thumbnail image shows British forces in front of the sultan's palace after the bombardment during the 1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War.

What was the shortest war in history?

An episode of Breaking Bad has a longer run time than the Anglo-Zanzibar...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

Tanzania

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Tanzania and its surrounding countries, showing international boundaries, major cities such as Dodoma, Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Zanzibar, and neighboring nations including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique. The Indian Ocean borders Tanzania to the east, and a small locator map highlights Tanzania's position in Africa.

Tanzania

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Paranthropus boisei skull

Paranthropus boisei skull

Reconstructed replica of “Nutcracker Man,” a 1.75-million-year-old Paranthropus...

© Bone Clones, www.boneclones.com

Historical map of eastern Africa around 1850 showing major states such as Kefa, Buganda, and the Sultanate of Zanzibar, along with minor states, stateless peoples, and the Maasai. Red lines trace major trade routes connecting inland regions to the Red Sea, Arabian Peninsula, and Indian Ocean, while green arrows indicate directions of expansion by groups like the Oromo and Maasai. Major lakes, rivers, and mountain landmarks are labeled throughout the region.

Major states, peoples, and trade routes of eastern Africa, c. 1850

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro

Summit of Kilimanjaro, northeastern Tanzania.

© Shawn McCullars

Historical map of eastern Africa around 1914, showing the region divided among British, German, French, and Italian colonial powers. Different territories are color-coded by colonial ruler, with key locations such as British East Africa (Kenya and Uganda), German East Africa (including present-day Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi), Italian Somaliland, and French Somaliland labeled. Major lakes, rivers, and cities are also marked.

Imperial partitions of eastern Africa, c. 1914

Eastern Africa as partitioned by the imperial powers, c. 1914.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Antique map from 1902 showing central Africa with colonial territories labeled as Kamerun, French Kongo, Kongo Free State, Portuguese West Africa, British East Africa, German East Africa, East Africa, and Rhodesia. The map details rivers, cities, and borders of the era, with an inset map of Madagascar in the lower right corner.

Central Africa, c. 1902

Map of Central Africa from the 10th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica,...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Maji Maji Rebellion

Maji Maji Rebellion

Illustration depicting the Maji Maji Rebellion by Indigenous Africans against German...

© World History Archive/Alamy

A line of soldiers marches in formation with rifles on their shoulders along a wide street in Dar es Salaam, East Africa, with trees and onlookers in the background.

World War I

Soldiers march with guns during World War I (1914–18), Dar es Salaam, German East...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Africa showing the territorial divisions and colonial possessions by European powers from the late 19th to early 20th century. Countries and regions are color-coded to indicate British, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Belgian, and German control, with independent countries and British-Egyptian condominium also marked. The map highlights the extent and timing of colonization, with most of the continent under European rule except for Ethiopia and Liberia.

Colonization of Africa by European countries

Map showing the colonization of Africa by European countries in the early 1900s....

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Julius Nyerere smiling and wearing a light-colored coat, standing outdoors with a blurred figure and car in the background.

Julius Nyerere

Tanganyikan leader Julius Nyerere, pictured here in 1960.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Julius Nyerere, smiling and garlanded with flowers, is lifted by supporters while holding a sign reading complete independence 1961 during celebrations in Dar es Salaam.

“Complete independence”

Julius Nyerere, slated to become Tanganyika's first prime minister on May 1, is carried...

© UPI—Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Map showing the island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania in East Africa, including major towns such as Zanzibar City, Bububu, and Chwaka, as well as nearby islands, reefs, and key geographic features. An inset locates Zanzibar along the eastern coast of Africa.

Zanzibar

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Sultan's palace in Stone Town, Zanzibar City, features whitewashed walls, arched windows, a red-tiled roof, and a palm tree in front.

Palace on the harbor, Zanzibar

The former sultan's palace, facing the harbor at Zanzibar, Tanzania.

© Altrendo Images/Shutterstock.com

Julius Nyerere

Julius Nyerere

Tanganyikan politician Julius Nyerere, c. 1950.

© Photo12—Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Jakaya Kikwete

Jakaya Kikwete

Pres. Jakaya Kikwete, 2009.

Photograph by Pete Souza/The White House

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan, wearing a lavender hijab and glasses, stands at a microphone with blurred lights in the background.

Samia Suluhu Hassan

Tanzanian Pres. Samia Suluhu Hassan, pictured here in 2022.

Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images

Interactives

Colonization of Africa: Maps, Timeline, Decolonization, & Independence

Colonization of Africa: Maps, Timeline, Decolonization, & Independence

Learn about the colonization of Africa, the process of decolonization that led to...

© Encyclopaedia Britannica