In his book, “Africa”, Eustace Palmer defines imperialism as “the annexation and occupation of an alien country and the subjection of its people” (Palmer, 50). In 1891, Tanzania came under German rule, until 1914 when Germany lost the war as well as their African colonies. During Germany’s colonization, they used extreme force and violence as a means of establishing authority over Tanzania. As a result of the German imperialism in Tanzania, the Maji Maji rebellion arose, which had long lasting significance in Tanzania. To this day, the Maji Maji rebellion is known as being the most significant challenge to German imperialism (Beverton, 2009). 

 

    While the Maji Maji rebellion only lasted two years (1905-1907), it had a long-lasting impact on Tanzania. The name “Maji Maji” derives from their belief in “sacred water” that could turn bullets to water, which they believed to be a resolution to warfare. This belief in Maji Maji was significant because it created unity among the people of Tanzania (previously known as Tanganyika) against Germany, and this unity was extremely rare, as it involved twenty different ethnic groups and involved people over 10,000 square miles. The unification of these diverse people all across Africa against colonial imperialism inspired others to come together against colonial control. 

 

    The Maji Maji rebellion was quite successful in the beginning, however it eventually took a turn for the worse. The Germans eventually shut down their retaliation against them by using violent means, such as starvation, which resulted in the death of over 70,000 people. Palmer mentions that the Germans used the title “pacifists” to describe their process of ending the rebellion against them and to establish their authority, which is completely false because they acted in a way that was completely opposite in order to establish control over them. Palmer states that it was “the most brutal suppression of all resistance in order to bring about the total subjugation of the African people involved” (Pamler , 67). In addition to the mass casualties at the hands of German imperialism, elephants entered east-central Tanzania after countless years, bringing diseases with them (Scholarblogs). 

 

     In September of 2017, the Minister of Defense and National Service of Tanzania, Hussein Mwinyi, stated that the Tanzanian government is pushing for Germany to compensate for the mass casualties that they caused during the Maji Maji rebellion(Ayeko-Kümmeth, 2017). However, in May of 2018 the Tanzanian Foreign Minister rejected these demands for compensation, saying that there are better ways that the two countries could support each other. In addition, he did not ask for Germany to return the Tanzanian artifacts that they kept in a museum, and instead said that he would help them with archaeological projects (ENCA, 2018). Instead, the German foreign minister is to lay a wreath for African victims of the war at a memorial in Dar es Salaam.

 

     As a result of the German imperialism in Tanzania, the Maji Maji rebellion arose, which had long lasting significance in Tanzania. The rare unity amongst the various people of Africa during the Maji Maji rebellion influenced other interethnic people to come together against colonial power. The rebellion eventually came to an end when the Germans used violence and starvation as a means of putting an end to their resistance and establishing their authority, which resulted in mass casualty. Despite what the people of Tanzania have suffered, they have yet to receive compensation or justice for the suffering that they went through. This event made me think back to the TED talk, “The Danger Of A Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie, because while I learned that Germany colonized Africa, I only remember learning about a “single story” of all of the good things that Germany was introducing to Africa, such as schools, etc.