Tanzania came into being in 1964, with the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. There are over 120 tribes on the mainland, most of whom migrated from other parts of Africa. Zanzibar, also known as the Spice Island, on the other hand has a history of contact with virtually every Old World civilization except the Roman and Greek – and even they certainly knew of it.
Tanganyika was a component (along with Rwanda and Burundi) of the colony of German East Africa between 1884 and 1918. After the First World War it was administered by the UK under successive League of Nations and United Nations mandates. Tanganyika became independent within the Commonwealth in 1961 after a period of self-government during which the principal nationalist party, the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), emerged as the dominant political force. Its charismatic leader, Julius Nyerere, held the post of President from independence to 1985; he occupied the position of Chairman until 1990.
