Interactions between Tanzanians and Europeans before colonialism

Interactions between Tanzanians and Europeans before colonialism

The interactions involved the pre-colonial societies of Tanzania and the people from European countries such as Portugal, Greece and Holland

Motives of these interactions

The early Europeans who came to East Africa were motivated by four major factors. The factors included the following:

1. Search for precious metals Europeans travelled to East Africa to search for precious metals. The most important precious metals needed in Europe during this time were gold and silver. These precious metals were also known as bullion. Gold, which came from places like Sofala and Katanga, which found in West Africa. Gold and silver were the mediums of exchange and symbols of power in Europe.
2. Establishing informal colonies Europeans travelled all over the world, looking for places to establish informal colonies. The Portuguese considered Eastern Africa as an important area for establishing spheres of influence that would eventually be their colonies. They established spheres of influence on the coasts of Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya, and on many islands in the Indian Ocean. While the Portuguese were doing this in Eastern Africa, the Dutch established a colony at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Similarly, other European nations such as Spain, Britain and France established colonies in America and Asia.
3. Global explorations The coming of the Portuguese to East Africa, including Tanzania, was part of the efforts by Europeans to explore the world. They wanted to have a deeper understanding of the geography of the world. Thus, advancing knowledge about the world motivated them to travel and establish interactions with societies in Tanzania and in East Africa more generally.
4. Finding an alternative route to India By the 15th century, European nations had established commercial relations with Asian societies such as India, China and Indonesia. Transport from Europe to Asia through the Middle East was difficult because of the conflicts between Europeans and the Arabs. The Europeans needed to find an alternative sea route, so that they could use the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to transport goods and people. The arrival of Europeans in East Africa was enabled by the efforts to find sea routes to Asia through the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (see Figure 3)

Map of the world showing routes from Portugal to India

Phases in the development of interactions between Tanzania and Europe

There were four phases in these interactions, as described below.

1. Greco-Roman interactions The communities on the coast of Tanzania had interactions with Europeans for a long time. The earliest Europeans to arrive on the coast of Tanzania in particular and of East Africa in general were the Greeks and Romans. They arrived on the coast in the first century AD. There were commercial relations between the coast of East Africa and the sea between Southern Europe and Northern Africa.
2. Portuguese interactions Portugal was one of the European nations which established interactions with Tanzanian and other East African coastal communities. Pioneered by Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese arrived on the coast during the late 15th century. When they arrived, they found thriving trading relations between Tanzania and Asia. The Portuguese wanted to control these relations and, therefore, they conquered many coastal city states and removed the Arab traders who dominated East African trade. They conquered city states such as Tanga, Kilwa, Mombasa, Unguja, Pemba and Sofala. They established military forts or garrisons in many parts of the coast, for example in Kilwa and Mombasa. The biggest fort was in Mombasa and was known as Fort Jesus. The Portuguese established their rule on the whole East African coast. They controlled the trade in slave, ivory and gold from the 15th century to the late 17th century. They also controlled the Indian Ocean and disturbed the old trading relations between the East African coast and Asia
3. Interactions through the Oman Arabs and Zanzibar Sultanate Portuguese domination in East Africa ended in the early 18th century when they were overthrown by the Arabs from Oman and the coastal Swahili people. The Arabs and Swahili people invaded Portuguese garrisons, defeated the Portuguese and removed them from the region. In 1840, the Oman rulers under Sultan Seyyid Said shifted their capital from Muscat to Zanzibar. From Zanzibar, they controlled the whole East African region. The overthrow of Portuguese rule led many European groups such as the British, French, Germans and even the Americans to establish contacts with East African societies through the Oman rulers. From the 1840s onwards, through the Sultan of Zanzibar, commercial interactions between Europeans and Tanzanians increased. Europeans obtained commodities such as ivory, horns of rhinoceros, shells of tortoises, cloves and gold through the Sultan of Zanzibar. These forms of interaction continued until around the 1870s and 1880s.
4. Interactions during the prelude to colonialism The final phase in the pre-colonial interactions between European and Tanzanian societies was during the last quarter of the 19th century, especially during the 1870s and 1880s. During this period, the European powers were determined to colonise Tanzania in particular and East Africa in general. They sent explorers, missionaries and traders to East Africa to collect information that would eventually help them to establish colonies in the region. These explorers, missionaries and traders are known as agents of colonialism. The interactions between Tanzania and Europe during this period were largely through them.

In the second half of the 19th century, European nations began establishing colonialism in Tanzania in particular and in Africa in general. The reason behind this was the growing demands of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. At the time, European nations such as Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Portugal were in different stages of industrialisation. The Europeans considered Africa as the best place for getting raw materials for their industries. These requirements included:

1. Raw materials needed in the growing industries;
2. Cheap labourers for the colonial economies and other projects;
3. External markets for selling industrial products; and
4. Areas in which to invest surplus capital.