History

• Goods involved in precolonial trade


  • Internal goods: Ivory, Slaves
  • External goods: Maros, Guns, Gold, Copper, Silver, Rhinoceros horns
• Indian Ocean Trade


  Trade carried out at the coast between coastal people and Arabs mainly from Arabia and Persia across the Indian Ocean
• Factors that led to the development of Indian Ocean trade

  • Hospitality of coastal people
  • Availability of goods at the coast (ivory, slaves)
  • Favourable weather conditions
  • Presence of ready market for goods
  • Presence of monsoon winds
  • Presence of intermediaries
  • Presence of new goods (mirrors, guns)
  • Support of African leaders/chiefs
• The Indian Ocean acted as the link between the coastal people and the Arabs
• Participants in Indian Ocean trade

  • Arabs, Chinese, Indians, Malaysians
• Trade items in Indian Ocean trade

  • Exports: Gold, Ivory, Slaves, Copper, Honey, Beeswax

  Imports: Guns, Clothes, Beads, Iron, Utensils
• Medium of exchange


  Barter trade, later cowrie shells
• Means of transport


  • Dhows
• Main trading centers


  • Kilwa, Sofala, Zanzibar, Mombasa
• African middlemen


  • Nyika, Yao, Kamba
• The trade was mainly controlled by the Arabs at the coast, while the local people controlled the transportation of commodities from the interior
• The Indian Banyans were the main controllers of the finances at the coast
• Slavery


  A person who is property owned by another person
• Slave trade

  The commercial transaction of buying and selling of human beings
• Reasons for the growth and development of slave trade

  • Wealth from trade
  • Primitive culture of getting rid of criminals
  • High demand for goods
  • Inter-tribal wars
  • Lack of developed means of transport
• Slave trade routes

  • Northern route, Central route, Southern route, Khartoumers' route
• Effects of slave trade

  • Untold suffering and misery to many African societies
  • Frequent tribal wars
  • Massive destruction of property
• Long-distance trade in East Africa


  Involved many interior tribes (e.g. Nyamwezi, Kamba, Yao, Chagga, Baganda) trading with coastal Arabs
• Organization of the long-distance trade

  1. Caravan basis

  2. Over 100 men armed, including porters and medicine men

  3. Goods from interior (ivory, slaves, gold, iron implements)

  4. Goods from coast (beads, glassware, plates, cloths, swords)
• Slaves


  Acquired through raids on villages
• Ivory

  Got through hunting of elephants
• Trade system

  Initially barter trade, later cowrie shells and small copper coins
• Trade control

  Controlled by interior chiefs who negotiated with coastal merchants
• Trading centers

  • Ujiji, Tabora, Bagamoyo
• Taxation

  Traders from coast paid taxes to local chiefs in interior before passage
• Communication

  Kiswahili as business language, interpreters used when needed
• Transport

  Head porterage, Nyamwezi as skilled porters
• Financiers

  Indian banyans provided loans to traders
• Main trade routes

  • Northern trade route
  • Central trade route
  • Southern trade route
  • Khartoumers route
• Problems faced in long-distance trade

  • Hostile tribes
  • Tropical diseases
  • Insecurity
  • Attacks from hostile tribes and animals
  • Poor transport and communication
  • Language barrier
• Problems of long-distance traders

  Similar to problems of Uganda traders today importing goods from Mombasa (heavy taxes, hostility from neighbouring countries, closing of borders, theft, delay of goods in transit, accidents on the road)
• Scramble


  Rush with haste by European powers to acquire colonies in East Africa
• European powers that scrambled for East Africa

  • Britain
  • France
  • Germany
  • Portugal
  • Spain
  • Belgium
  • Italy
• Partition

  Division of East African territories among European countries
• European powers that partitioned East Africa

  • Britain
  • Germany
• Colonization


  Process of establishing foreign control over an indigenous area or people
• Reasons why Europeans and Asians came to East Africa

  • Need for raw materials
  • Secure profitable markets
  • Invest surplus capital
  • Resettle excess population
  • Strategic importance of River Nile
  • King Leopold's activities in Congo
  • Mineral discovery in South Africa
  • Growth of nationalism in Europe
  • Power imbalance in Europe
  • Berlin conference of 1884-1885
  • Stamp out slave trade
  • Spread Christianity
  • Civilize Africans
• Methods used to establish colonial rule in Uganda and East Africa

  • Signing of treaties
  • Use of force
  • Use of collaborators
  • Divide and rule
  • Use of strong and efficient imperialists
  • Intimidation and threats
  • Ineffective rule
  • Use of missionaries
  • Use of traders (chartered companies)
  • Use of explorers
  • Construction of military forts
  • Construction of infrastructure
  • Gun boat diplomacy
  • Use of treachery
  • Use of gifts
• Collaboration


  African societies or individuals co-operating with the colonial powers in the establishment of colonial rule
• Resistance


  African societies or individuals refusing to co-operate with the whites in the imposition of colonial rule