CHAPTER TWO HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 37. Tanzania has a proud and impressive history. Spanning an area that is often boasted of as ‘The Cradle of Mankind’3, the United Republic of Tanzania is a large, peaceful and stable country that has successfully built up a strong national identity in the midst of great ethnic, regional, and religious diversity. Enviably, the country remained unscathed by the ethnic rivalries and political upheavals that plague many countries on the African continent. Tanzania hosts over 120 ethnic groups, co-existing harmoniously to a large degree, and earning the country the distinction of being known as a beacon of stability on a continent rife with tribalism and civil strife. 38. In 2011, Mainland Tanzania, formerly Tanganyika, celebrated its 50th independence anniversary. The monthlong celebration was a symbolic celebration of progress since political independence from Britain in 1961 and, at the same time, was a reflection on challenges that lie ahead. In the course of its five decades of uhuru (independence), Tanzania has, without any doubt, made significant progress in eliminating poverty, ignorance and disease. Box 2.1: Tanzania as the Cradle of Mankind There is a general consensus amongst scientists that the origins of humanity are to be found in the Great Rift Valley which dominates the landscape of much of East Africa. Northern Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge has provided rich evidence of the area’s prehistory, including fossil remains of some of humanity’s earliest ancestors. In 1959, Dr. L. S. B. Leakey, a British anthropologist, discovered the fossilised remains at Olduvai Gorge in NE Tanzania of what he called Homo habilis, who lived about 1.75 million years ago. Tanzania was later the site of Paleolithic cultures. 39. However, as President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete stressed during the independence celebrations, Tanzanians still have a very long way to go in the struggle for national development. Addressing the nation at the climax of celebrations marking the 50th independence anniversary of Mainland Tanzania, President Kikwete stated that the country had experienced rapid economic and social transformation when compared to its situation during 77 years of German and British colonial rule. In the early part of the 20th century, Tanganyika was part of Deutsch Osta Afrika (German East Africa) that included Burundi and Rwanda for 34 years until 1918, when Britain assumed control of the territory. 40. For a better appreciation of Tanzania’s remarkable achievements, especially the peace and political stability that the country has enjoyed over the last five decades, knowledge of the historical perspectives and the contemporary context is required. Below is a summary of the United Republic of Tanzania’s history from the pre-colonial period to the present day. 2.1. Brief Political History Pre-colonial 41. 3 During the pre-colonial period, the territory known today as ‘Mainland Tanzania’ was linked to the coastal region through trade. Although not much is known about the hinterland, oral history indicates that indigenous people and their trade caravans travelled across the territory from the coast. These are the same routes along which Arab traders used to move inland in search of slaves and ivory. Those following the southern route obtained mainly The earliest recorded footsteps of hominoid man at Olduvai Gorge, in the Ngorongoro Highlands, bear witness to the very beginnings of mankind. 31