Bagamoyo, Tanzania, is a town founded at the end of the
18th century. It was (also spelled Bagamoyo) the original capital of German East Africa and
was one of the most important trading ports along the East
African coast.
Now, the town has about 30,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Bagamoyo District,
which was recently considered as a World Heritage Site.
Location
Bagamoyo is located at 6°26′S 38°54′E. It lies 75 kilometres (47 miles) north of Dar-es-Salaam on
the coast of the Indian
Ocean, close to the
island of Zanzibar.
History
Bagamoyo was the most important
trading entrepot of the east central coast of Africa in the late 19th
century. Bagamoyo's history has been influenced by Indian and Arab traders, by
the German colonial government and by Christian missionaries. About 5 km
(3 mi) south of Bagamoyo, the Kaole Ruins with remnants of two mosques and a couple of tombs can be dated back to the 13th
century, showing the importance of Islam in those early Bagamoyo times. Until
the middle of the 18th century, Bagamoyo was a small and insignificant trading
center where most of the population were fishermen and farmers. The main
trading goods were fish, salt, and gum, among other things.
In the late 18th century Muslim families
settled in Bagamoyo, all of which were relatives of Shamvi la Magimba in Oman. They made their living by enforcing
taxes on the native population and by trading in salt, gathered from the Nunge coast north of Bagamoyo. In the
first half of the 19th century, Bagamoyo became a trading port for ivory and the slave
trade, with traders
coming from the African interior, from places as far as Morogoro, Lake Tanganyika and Usambara on their way to Zanzibar. This explains the meaning of the word
Bagamoyo ("Bwaga-Moyo") which means "Lay down your Heart"
in Swahili. It is disputed whether this refers to the slave trade which
passed through the town (i.e. "give up all hope") or to the porters
who rested in Bagamoyo after carrying 35 lb cargos on their shoulders from
the Great Lakes region (i.e. "take the load off and rest"). Since
there is little evidence to support that Bagamoyo was a major slave port
(Kilwa, much further south, has earned this status), and that tens of thousands
of porters arrived at Bagamoyo annually in the latter half of the 19th century,
it is more likely that the name of the town derives from the latter
interpretation.
The slave trade in East Africa was officially
prohibited in the year 1873, but continued surreptitiously to the end of the
19th century.
In 1868, Bagamoyo local rulers, known as
majumbe, presented the Catholic "Fathers of the Holy Ghost" with land for a mission north of the town, the first mission in East Africa.
This caused resistance by the native Zaramo people which was mediated by
representatives of Sultan Majid and, after 1870, by Sultan Barghash. Originally the mission was intended to
house children who were rescued from slavery, but it soon expanded to a church,
a school, and some workshops and farming projects.
But Bagamoyo was not only a trade centre
for ivory and copra; it was also a starting point for renowned European explorers. From
Bagamoyo they moved out to find the source of the River Nile and explored the
African inner lakes. Some of these were Richard Francis Burton, John Hanning Speke, Henry Morton Stanley and James Augustus Grant. Although often believed so, David Livingstone had
never been to Bagamoyo in his lifetime. Only after his death he was laid out in
the Old Church's tower (nowadays named Livingston Tower) to wait for the high
tide to come in and ship his body to Zanzibar.
Bagamoyo was the first capital of
Tanzania while serving as the German headquarters of German East Africa (first
under the auspices of the German East African Company and then the German
Imperial Government) between 1886-1891. Dar es Salaam became
the new capital of the colony in 1891. The town was apparently the (1895)
birthplace of SS-Oberführer Julian Scherner.
During World War I, on August 15, 1916, a British air attack and naval
bombardment was launched on Bagamoyo, the Germans were overrun and the German
garrison taken. When the German Empire decided to build a railway from Dar es
Salaam into the interior in 1905, Bagamoyo's importance began to decline.
Today
Today, Bagamoyo is a centre for dhow sailboat building. The Department of Antiquities in Tanzania is working to maintain
the ruins of the colonial era in and around Bagamoyo and to revitalize the
town. The Bagamoyo College of Arts (“Chuo cha Sanaa”) has been an
internationally famous arts college in Tanzania, teaching traditional Tanzanian
painting, sculpture, drama, dancing and drumming. In 2007 based on the college,
the Bagamoyo Arts and Cultural Institute (TaSUBa) was established.
Because of its varied history and
proximity to Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo is more diverse than some other areas of
the country. Bagamoyo is home to many ethnic groups, including the Wakwere, Wazaramo, Wazigua, Maasai,
and Waswahili. Although Swahili culture dominates, many different cultures
coexist in Bagamoyo, including people of Arab descent.
Port
A new port, called Bagamoyo Port,
is being constructed at Mbegani, near Bagamoyo; the Tanzanian
government has proposed a deepwater port with a two berth container
terminal. China is investing US$10B to make Bagamoyo the most important
port in Africa by 2017.