Tanzania

Thesis

The late colonization of Tanzania by the British and its nationalist independence movement allowed for the socialist policies of Julius Nyerere. The socialist economic policies instituted by Julius Nyerere led to Tanzania’s current stable political climate.

Link to Website

https://sites.google.com/a/oxy.edu/tanzaniarevolution/home

Summary

Tanzania was first penetrated by European powers in the late 19th century, namely by Dr. Karl Peters of the German Colonization Society. Peters entered the region now known as Tanzania to obtain lands from local chiefs of native societies. The British, however, were also looking to expand their empire into this region, resulting in Anglo-Germanic tensions that were later resolved by the Anglo-German Agreement of 1886, which divided the region now known as Tanzania into two parts for two western powers. The south, German, and the north, British. The Germans then began a violent campaign of exploitation that resulted in forced labor, high taxes on natives, and murder to any resisters of German rule.

The first insurrection in Tanzania was led by the spiritual leader Kinjikitile Ngwala, who led the Tanganyikan people to rise in arms against the Germans. This revolt, known as the Maji Maji rebellion, was crushed with the deaths of 75,000 Maji Maji warriors. Soon after this rebellion came sweeping reforms by the Germanic government in relation to its African colonies.

During the First World War, the British invaded the region of Tanganyika (Tanzania), and destroyed all Germanic influence, both economic and political, in the area. After the First World War, the League of Nations mandated the British to be “responsible for the administration of the territory (Tanganyika) under conditions which…guarantee freedom of conscience and religion.” In 1923, the British issued a policy known as the Land Ordinance of 1923, which was established to ensure African land rights against non-natives, protecting Tanganyika land from settler exploitation.

One of the governors, Charles Cameron, who ruled from 1925-31 established the Native Authority Ordinance of 1926 and the Native Courts Ordinance of 1929. These ordinances, in summary, allowed the native authorities to exercise rule and govern over their people, even though they were still technically under British rule. This kind of administrative policy had been unseen in most British colonies in Africa.

As argued by the creators of the Tanzania Revolution website, the occupancy of British power and their implementation of fairly liberal policies allowed for the “regression” of indigenous peoples into their pre-colonial livelihoods, which in turn, was instrumental for the Tanganyika people to regain their sense of identity. This, in turn, was key in fostering nationalistic growth that would eventually result in an independence movement.

The Tanzania group argues that the nationalist independence movement of Tanzania paved way for Julius Nyerere’s socialist policies and his ascension to the Presidency of Tanzania after their independence from Britain. Trade Unions and cooperative societies were critical in the development of a nationalist Tanzanian ideology. The working class of Tanzania first became conscious of their power and nationalism after the strikes in the dock of Dar es Salaam. Workers protested for rights and higher wages, but were unsuccessful in their initiative, as the dock companies replaced the striking workers with new and cheap unskilled labor. These workers did not give up. In September of 1947, prices rose and goods became scarcer, resulting in a new round of strikes that resulted in a 40-50% rise in wages for dock workers. These strikes led to the creation of Dockworkers and Stevedores Union in October 1947. In 1950, another strike had occurred, but resulted in violent actions, compelling the British government to ban trade unions. The government then realized the effect the banning of unions had on local economics, so they hosted the creation of the Tanganyika Federation of Labour (TFL), whose purpose was to coordinate and organize all other unions. The TFL’s role promoted the growing political consciousness of workers in Tanzania. Unions played a decisive role in the independence movement by organizing strikes, boycotts, and protests regarding economic policies and workers rights. The unions were successful in halting sectors of the Tanzanian economy. Cooperative societies were formed to promote African crops and prove an African ability in business by small farmers. Cooperative societies were important in empowering rural farmers in the independence movement. These cooperative societies, 617 total by the eve of independence, marketed the entirety of cotton produced in the country, as well as other crops.

The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was formed in 1954 by Julius Nyerere and his supporters, becoming the leading political organization in Tanzania with some 200,000 members by 1957. TANU coordinated protests with TFL, resulting in bus strikes and other events that were instrumental in the liberation of Tunisia from British power. Non-violent resistance was encouraged and used by the Tanzanian protesters to undermine the legitimacy of the British colonial government. The British attempted to reconcile these events by hosting elections for the Legislative Council. One-third of the seats went to native Tanzanians in a country made up of 90% of that demographic. In 1960, at the eve of Tanzanian independence, Tanzanians held their own elections and filled seventy out of seventy one seats in their new House of Representatives. Nyerere was then appointed as Prime Minister and declared the ultimate goal of independence in 1961. The transition of power was peaceful.

Many unjust policies and regulations motivated the Tanzanians to unite behind the TANU and overthrow the British colonial government, fostering the growth of their nationalist cause. Various policies that legitimized British settlers and de-legitimized the African end of indirect rule served as inspiration for the masses to rise up against British rule. The United Nations Trusteeship Council held the British accountable for their actions in Tanzania and helped the liberation movement by exposing important statistics with reports that called for more educational resources for Africans and constitutional amendments to allow for the representation of more Africans in government.

Tanzania is the creation of two nations: Zanzibar and Tanganyika. These two nations were created after the revolution in Zanzibar in 1964. President Nyerere of Tanganyika flew to Zanzibar to negotiate the unification of two countries with Abeid Amani Karume, resulting in what is now known as Tanzania. The creation of Tanzania, according to Nyerere was inspired by his belief in African Unification, but some argue that Zanzibar’s Communist sympathies were absorbed and neutralized by Tanzania.

Some of the post-revolutionary policies implemented in Tanzania followed a socialist model. The Arusha Declaration began the move towards socialism. . It states that socialism is ‘absence of exploitation’, ‘existence of democracy’, and ‘major means of production under control of the worker, while outlining the dangers of foreign aid and recognizing the government’s limits in terms of providing social services and the need to develop rurally before developing urbanly. This laid the basis of Ujamaa socialism, Nyerere’s model which he described as an attitude of mind, and a matter for the individual and his conscience. Nyerere saw socialism as how wealth was distributed and not produced. Ujamaa socialism also led to the creation of Ujamaa villages, which were small groups of farmers which lived and worked in a communal style. These villages were voluntary, but mandatory to live in at one point between 1973-75.

Tanzania had a short lived state of self-sufficiency before it had to turn to the IMf and the World Bank for economic assistance. The IMF’s involvement led to currency devaluation, reductions in external arrears, constraints on the growth credit and government deficits, limits on borrowing, and liberalizing free market-oriented policies. Trade was also liberalized in Tanzania after the election of  Ali Hassan Mwinyi.

Tanzania is a relatively stable country, and although it still suffers from pervasive poverty, their economy is now growing. The country has remained strong because of its nationalistic attitudes and strong foundations created in their post-revolutionary state by Nyerere.