Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Arrival of the Europeans
PORTUGUESE
Portuguese influence is still seen in Tanzania's architecture, customs (eg
bull fighting on Pemba) and language. The Swahili
gereza
(jail), from
Portuguese
igreja
(church), dates to the days when Portuguese forts con-
tained both edifices in the same compound.
The first European to set foot in Tanzania was Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama, who
fumbled his way along the coast in 1498 in search of the Orient. Portuguese traders kept
to the coast until the early 18th century, when they were driven out by Omani Arabs. The
Omanis took control of Kilwa and Zanzibar and set up governors in coastal towns on the
mainland. Traders from the coast plied the caravan routes through the interior to the Great
Lakes, flying the blood red banner of the Sultan of Zanzibar. They bought ivory and slaves
in exchange for cheap cloth and firearms. The traders carried with them virulent strains of
smallpox and cholera as well as guns. By the late 19th century, when Europe cast a covet-
ous eye on Africa, East Africa was weakened by disease and violence.
SWAHILI
Although Swahili culture began to develop in the early part of the first millenni-
um AD, it was not until the 18th century, with the ascendancy of the Omani
Arabs on Zanzibar, that it came into its own. Swahili's role as a
lingua franca
was solidified as it spread throughout East and Central Africa along the great
trade caravan routes. European missionaries and explorers soon adopted the lan-
guage as their main means of communicating with locals. In the second half of
the 19th century, missionaries, notably Johan Ludwig Krapf, also began apply-
ing the Roman alphabet. Prior to this, Swahili had been written exclusively in
Arabic script.
There are an increasing number of Tanzanians for whom Swahili is their
mother tongue, although most speak it as a second language, or as a second
mother tongue together with their tribal language.
