The Imperialist colonization of modern day Tanzania by Germany had devastating consequences for the African country. The Maji Maji rebellion is one devastating consequence that turned out to be a catalyst for independence in the country of Tanzania. The Maji Maji rebellion began in 1905, it was sparked because of a German policy that forced indigenous Tanzanians to grow and harvest cotton. During this two year rebellion an estimated 300,000 people lost their lives. In this essay, I will argue that this rebellion had a lasting significance in the fight for independence in Tanzania. Not only did this rebellion give future revolutionists an idea of what not to do in their revolution, but it started an almost 60 year fight for Tanzanian independence and it brought together tribes from all around the country. 

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            This rebellion opened up the way for people in Tanzania to fight for their freedom. When Germany gained control of Tanzania in the late 1800s they enacted an extremely violent and oppressive regime over the country. This was the catalyst for indeginous and Islamic citizens to start gathering to rebel against the oppressive Germanic rule. The gathering of people and the set up of this rebellion gave the future freedom fighters of Tanzania a better idea of what they needed to do to have a successful revolution.  This article writes, “The uprising also gave birth and inspired future nationalism in Tanganyika. The mistakes of the early revolutionary leaders and the poor methods of organisation were later corrected to give the people of Tanganyika more effective leadership for example, leaders like Julius Nyerere gained a lot from the failure of Maji-Maji uprising.” While this rebellion was started to be successful, there are many moments that future leaders could learn and improve from.

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            The key to a successful revolution is the joining of multiple groups fighting towards a common goal. This is one of the things that chapter three of our textbook stresses. It is also one of the things that the Maji-Maji rebellion did right. The article states, “The war involved a diversity of tribes and a large area stretching from Dar-el-salaam to Kilosa in the North and from Lindi to Songea in the south.”. This joining of tribes was something that lasted for longer than just the two years that the rebellion was fought. Tribes became partners for the next almost 60 years, and when it came time to fight for independence again they were already a joint organization that was strong enough to win independence from their oppressors. 

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            Eustace Palmer, the author of our textbook writes at the beginning of chapter three “In the case of Africa, European conquest actually took place within a comparatively short period of time…” (50). This is significant because even though the Maji-Maji rebellion was two years long, it took almost sixty years to gain independence because of the rebellion failing. This failure stoked the fire for independence and started a decades long fight for independence that ended with Tanzania becoming an independent state. The article tells us that even though they wanted to, Africans learned from their failed revolution but it took them a longer time to try to fight again, “They discovered the mistakes in their organisation hence rather than fight, they resorted to use of diplomacy and negotiations with the Germans.  It took long before Africans picked up arms to fight the Germans again.”. Waiting to fight again until they were ready was a big factor in eventually becoming independent.

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            The Maji-Maji rebellion of 1905, while unsuccessful, had a long lasting impact on the history of Tanzania’s fight for independence. This rebellion led to the joining of tribes which helped Tanzania come together almost 60 years later to win independence. It also helped future revolution leaders know what they did and did not want to do when it came to fighting colonists. This is important because events following this rebellion led to Tanzania becoming a free state that can govern itself in the way it chooses.