British colonial rule

Like the Germans, the British provided colonial education to few Africans. Most of the children who attended colonial schools were from the families and relatives of chiefs as well as from the families of civil servants such as clerks and teachers. Christian missionaries also provided education.

Thus, schools in Tanganyika were ran either by the colonial government or by Christian missionaries. While the highest level of education during German colonialism was four years (Standard One to Standard Four) with the exception of Tanga school, which had six years, the British education system increased the years of schooling to eight (Standard One to Standard Eight). It later extended it to Standard Ten and later to Standard Twelve for secondary schools.

The British colonial education had the following objectives:

1. To provide skills that would increase productivity in agriculture;
2. To prepare people who would work in the colonial civil service as clerks and others;
3. To prepare few people, especially children from chiefly families, who would help assume lower level positions in the colonial administration;
4. To inculcate European culture and values into African learners;
5. To prepare people who would be loyal and obedient to the colonial government and its rule; and
6. To undermine indigenous cultural values, traditions, taboos and customs.

Like the Germans, the British established a colonial economy in order to produce raw materials, to exploit cheap labour, to expand markets for industrial products, to invest surplus capital in profitable economies and to solve unemployment in Britain. Like the Germans, the British undermined the indigenous subsistence economies of Tanganyika which were based on barter trade and encouraged the commodification of social and economic relations. They also promoted colonial economies by investing in various sectors such as

1. agriculture
2. industry
3. trade
4. mining.

Agriculture

The British promoted the production of cash crops for export to Europe and industrialised nations. They promoted the cultivation of cotton in Mwanza, Shinyanga, Tabora and Morogoro. They promoted coffee cultivation in Rungwe, Ileje, Mbozi, Kagera, Kilimanjaro and Mbinga. Cashewnuts were grown in Mtwara, Lindi and Tunduru. Tobacco was promoted in Tabora, Urambo, Songea, Iringa and Chunya. Sisal was prominent in Tanga, Morogoro, Lindi and in some parts of Kilimanjaro such as Makanya, Lembeni, Kisangara and Kiruru. Tea was grown in Arusha, Rungwe, Njombe and Mufindi.

The colonial plantations depended on migrant labourers. Some ethnic groups were very popular for supplying migrant labourers. They included the Sukuma, Ngoni, Bena, Nyamwezi, Ha, Fipa, Makonde, Nyakyusa, Ndali, Nyaturu, Nyiramba and Rundi. The colonial government created special institutions for mobilising and recruiting migrant labourers. One of them was the Sisal Labour Bureau (SILABU), which ensured constant supply of labour to the sisal plantations in the coastal areas in Tanganyika. Some institutions found labourers who went to work in such colonies as South Africa, Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia) and Zambia (Northern Rhodesia). One of these institutions was WENELA, which mobilised and recruited migrant labourers who were transported to South African mining centres.

Industries

The British built few industries for producing commodities for immediate consumption by Europeans, Indians, Arabs and few Africans. The commodities included cigarettes, soap, beef, soft drinks and beer. They also built industries for processing agricultural raw materials such as cotton, coffee, tobacco, tea and sisal before they were exported to Europe. They processed them to reduce their bulkiness, and therefore reduce the cost of transporting them to Europe

Mining

Mining was another important economic sector during the British colonial period. The colonial government mined diamond in Mwadui, gold in Chunya (Lupa goldfields) and salt in Bagamoyo, among others. Mining companies were owned by Europeans.

Trade

Trade was also organized as part of the colonial economy. Colonial trade was largely under the control of Indians and Arabs. The colonial government allowed them to engage in retail and wholesale trade. There were also big trading corporations from Britain and America which opened branches in Tanganyika. The companies included the British and American Tobacco (BAT) and Smith Mackenzie. BAT dealt in tobacco, while Mackenzie supplied industrial commodities to many parts of Tanganyika.

Europeans used the following methods to establish and consolidate colonialism:

1. Use of military force. This method was regularly used to establish and consolidate colonialism. It was an effective strategy in areas which refused to accept colonialism, to sign treaties and to respect colonial rule.
2. Using indigenous rulers. Europeans befriended some indigenous rulers and promised them that they would defend them against their local enemies. Such rulers collaborated with the colonial invaders against their neighbours. The Sangu, for instance, accepted to collaborate with the Germans against the Hehe because the two ethnic groups had sour relations.
3. Use of threats. European colonial agents and officials threatened local communities using military forces that roamed in the villages where there were elements of resistance. They used instruments of state power such as colonial armies, the prisons, courts and police to instil fear into African populations. These instruments of state power were also known as coercive forces.
4. Use of colonial education. Europeans used colonial education to make Africans loyal to the colonial government and to promote their acceptance of colonialism. The children who went to school were taught to respect colonial administration and European culture and to despise indigenous cultural values, taboos and traditions.
5. Use of Christianity. Europeans, especially Christian missionaries, used Christian religious doctrines to instil politeness into Africans as well as respect for and loyalty to the colonial regime and its institutions. These were taught as values of Christian life. The missionaries were agents of colonialism who normalised colonialism and made it acceptable among Christians.