Happy Independence Day!

Tanzanian flag!

This past Monday, December 9th, marked the 52nd anniversary of Tanzanian's independence. I was surprised at how quiet Moshi was during the celebratory day. I'm not sure I was expecting parades and fireworks but there was literally nothing out of the ordinary to differentiate the day from any other. Maybe the buzz was killed by the death of Nelson Mandela (flags were at half mast) or maybe Moshi is just too sleepy to hold any type of  celebration.

Aside from some festivities in Dar es Salaam, the only other thing I have heard is that the president tends to give out pardons to criminals over 70 or those terminally ill in prison. This seems like a good idea but after reading the previously linked article I can't help but be a bit skeptical of the exercise.

Brief History
Tanzania's location on the East African coast resulted in early interactions with Arab and slave traders who operated in the area heavily from the fourteenth century. There was a hint of French influence in the economic possibilities of the region in the mid-eighteenth century, but the first established European interest came in the form of missionaries from the German Church Missionary Society. East Africa was seen as an opportunity for German colonial expansion and by the late nineteenth century, an area including Tanzania had become known as German East Africa. German methods of colonial administration were met with fierce local resistance but control was briefly established until the outbreak of World War One. Following Germany's defeat, Britain administered the region, which it renamed the Tanganyika region.

When the Second World War had ended, the Tanganyika region was placed under United Nations (UN) Trusteeship, which mandated Britain with the development of the region. Various independent movements sprung up around this time, including the Tanganyika Africa National Union (TANU), headed by Julius Nyerere. Support for TANU grew, and by 1960, the first elections were planned for Tanganyika. On 9 December 1961, Tanganyika became an independent republic and became known from then on as Tanzania (the name coming from the combination of Tanganyika and Zanzibar). In 1962, it became a one party state under Julius Nyerere.