Tanzania is the quintessential Africa - it encompasses the beaches of Zanzibar, the crime ridden streets and slums of Dar Es Salaam, the Savannah we have seen in National Geographic and David Attenborough has talked about all our lives, and Mount Kilimanjaro, the goal we have been working towards for the past six months.
In 1961 Tanganyika was established as a republic under the rule of President Nyerere. The Zanzibar Archipelago, then a British Protectorate, was not declared independent until two years later in 1963. A year later, after much turmoil and violent revolution the Sultan was replaced and in 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar formed the United Republic of Tanganyika, later renamed to Tanzania.
In 1967 Nyerere committed Tanzania to a socialist policy which forced 85% of the population to relocate onto collective farms. This policy drove the country into decline and with the breakup of European socialism and under increasing local pressure, the country held it's first democratic elections in 1995. Since then the country has flourished.
Tanzania has just under 40 million people from over 120 different tribal groups, 40% of whom are Muslim. With a land area of 940,000 square kilometres, the highest and lowest points in Africa, over four million wild animals, 12 National Parks, 14 Wildlife Reserves, and home to one half of the annual Wildebeest migration. This truly is Africa.
