Mada za sehemu hiiInteractions Between Tanzania, Europe And Asia Before ColonialismMada 4
There were two main motives for the interactions between Tanzanian and Asian societies before colonialism, namely economic and social motives.
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Economic motives The main economic motive for the interactions was trade. Traders from Asia came to Tanzania to get commodities such as slaves, wax, natural rubber, ivory, horns of rhinoceros, animal skins, shells of tortoise and cowry shells (see Figure 1). From Asia, they brought to Tanzania commodities such as clothes, porcelains, iron tools (like spears, swords and knives), carpets, rice, guns and bullets (see Figure 2). As you can see, the commodities which the traders from Asia brought to Tanzania were less valuable than those which they took from Tanzania. This trade, therefore, was unequal and exploitative in nature.
Commodities from the East African coast to Asia
Commodities from Asia to Tanzania
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Social motive The social motive for these interactions was the spread of Islam and Islamic culture. Some visitors from the Middle East came to the coast of Tanzania and of East Africa more generally for the purpose of spreading Islam, especially from the 9th century onwards. This became the foundation for the conversion of some Tanzanians to Islam in such coastal areas as Pemba, Unguja, Tanga, Kilwa, Kaole (Bagamoyo), Mafia, Lindi and Mtwara. Islam began to spread to the coast. Similarly, the building of mosques and other Islamic cultures started during this period.
The trading relations between Tanzania and Asia led to the following economic effects:
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Development of unequal trading relations The people from Asia benefited more from the trading relations than Tanzanians. This is because the traders from Asia obtained commodities from Tanzania which were more valuable than the commodities they brought to Tanzania for exchange purposes. For example, commodities such as ivory, animal skin, shells of tortoise and wax from Tanzania were more valuable than commodities such as porcelains, mirrors, guns and clothes, which they brought to Tanzania.
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Development of slave trade One of the objectives of the traders from the Middle East was to obtain slaves. Over time, they captured pre-colonial Tanzanians and made them slaves. In some cases, some Tanzanian local chiefs sold their people to the traders from the Middle East as slaves. The slaves were taken to the Middle East, where they worked as domestic slaves, workers in agricultural plantations, labourers in construction works, soldiers and as objects of entertainment. Because of the slave trade, Tanzania lost a valuable human resource.
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Introduction of new agricultural crops New crops such as cloves and coconuts were introduced during these commercial interactions. Over time, some of the crops or fruits became important cash crops in various parts of Tanzania. Such crops did not exist before the beginning of the interactions between Tanzanian and Asian societies.
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Emergence of merchants Merchants were people who specialised in trade. The merchants were the middle-men who collected commodities and sold them to the merchants and traders from Asia. Some of them became rich through these trading engagements. Most of the merchants were of Arabic or Indian origin.
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Exploitation of Tanzanian resources The process of taking slaves and valuable commodities such as ivory and animal products marked the beginning of the exploitation of the human and natural resources of Tanzania by foreigners. It was also the beginning of the underdevelopment of Tanzania.
The interactions and contacts between Tanzania, the Middle East and Asia had the following political effects:
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Rise of centralised city states A number of centralised city states evolved as political institutions in many of the coastal towns. They evolved in towns such as Kilwa, Zanzibar and Tanga. By the 14th century, Kilwa was the most powerful and richest city state in the whole of the East African coast. It was the first island to use its own currency in East Africa.
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Creation of standing armies Each city state organised and maintained an army. An army was necessary for ensuring peace and security within the state, collecting taxes from the traders who were doing business in the state or passing through the state and protecting the ruling and merchant classes in the state.
Mwalimu
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Ingia ili kumuuliza Mwalimu wa AI wa Sonza kuhusu mada hii.
Ingia ili kuuliza
The interactions and contacts between Tanzania and Asia had the following social effects:
Growth and spread of Kiswahili Because of the growing interactions between Tanzanian and Asian societies, the Kiswahili language evolved and became a medium of communication. It continued to adopt new words from the Far and Middle East such as nazi, karafuu, ustaarabu, uungwana, shikamoo and mwinyi.
Intermarriages Marriages between Asian traders and Tanzanian women were some of the social effects of the interactions in question. Some male traders from Asia started sexual relationships with women in Tanzania. The women gave birth to children of mixed colour. Their children were known as chotara, a Swahili word which originated from the Hindi language of India.
Spread of Islam As the Arab traders established commercial interactions with some of the communities in Tanzania, they also converted some people to Islam. This started around the 9th and 10th centuries. This conversion marked the beginning of Muslim social communities in Tanzania, especially in such coastal areas as Unguja, Pemba, Kilwa and Tanga. As trade expanded between the coast and the interior, Islam also spread to places as far as Ujiji in Kigoma.
Spread of Arabic culture As the interactions and contacts expanded, the Arabs introduced some aspects of their culture into Tanzania. Islam was one of them. Other cultural aspects included dressing styles, architectural designs, money and languages.
Growth of Swahili civilisation Swahili civilisation emerged as a result of the integration of Asian culture and Tanzanian culture. These two cultures co-existed without replacing each other; they hence grew together. Swahili civilisation was seen in dressing, eating and architecture.
Rise of towns and urban cultures A number of towns developed because of the growing commercial and social interactions in many parts of the coastal areas of Tanzania. Examples of the towns that developed as a result of these interactions were Unguja, Pemba, Kilwa, Bagamoyo and Tanga. These towns became important trading centres. They also became important cultural centres. Rich merchants lived in these towns.