This is a general introduction to Tanzania. It's also a look at Tanzania from a contemporary and historical perspective. The focus is on Tanzania today. Some of the major political, economic and social developments which have taken place in the country especially since the seventies also constitute a significant part of the book. The book is intended for those who are going to Tanzania for the first time and for anybody else who wants to learn some basic facts about the largest country in East Africa. Readers are also going to learn quite a few things about the people of Tanzania and their tribes or ethnic groups and where these groups traditionally live. Also covered in the book are the towns and cities in all the provinces of this large country. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive picture of the country by focusing on a number of areas including a general background of Tanzania; the geography of the country; life in Tanzania today and how life was in the seventies and eighties under socialism known as ujamaa which means familyhood in Kiswahili; the country's transition from socialism to a free market economy; ethnic groups or tribes and their home districts and regions; racial minorities who constitute a significant part of Tanzania's population; the Swahili people and their culture; towns and cities; the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar and its prospects and challenges; and life in Tanzania - in what was then Tanganyika - in the fifties just before independence. There are also chapters on Dar es Salaam, the nation's largest city and commercial centre and former capital, and on the former island nation of Zanzibar. Tanzania also is unique in one fundamental respect. It's the only union of two independent countries ever formed on the African continent. And it's the only one that exists today almost half a century after it was formed. The union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar is one of the subjects covered in the book, and readers are going to learn about one of the most important events in the history of post-colonial Africa on a continent where the quest for unity has remained an elusive dream since independence in the fifties and sixties. The book also includes a lot of information on Tanganyika just before independence and how it became one of the first countries in Africa to emerge from colonial rule. Also included is some material on one of the most interesting ethnic groups in African history and how it came into being. It's the Swahili whose language is also known as Swahili especially among many people around the world who are not native speakers of the language. Among the native speakers, the language is called Kiswahili. It's the main language spoken in Tanzania and Kenya. It's also spoken in several other countries in east-central Africa. And we are going to learn something about this language which transcends ethnicity. Kiswahili is not identified with any African tribe, making it a truly Pan-African language building bridges across ethnicity, cultures and nations especially in the eastern part of the continent. And as you learn about Tanzania, you are also going to learn a few things about an area bigger than Tanzania because of the country's connection to other parts of East Africa and beyond.
