The advent of independence

At the end of World War I, the Germans relinquished control over the area and handed it over to British administration that governed by a system of indirect rule.

A fledgling national movement in opposition to colonial economic policies was founded in the 1930′s and by the early 1950′s, the movement came into its own. In 1954, an internal constitution was drawn up and resistance unified under the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) with Julius Nyerere elected as its president.

After further elections in 1959, Britain established an internal self-government within the country and by 1962 the independent Republic of Tanganyika was formed with Nyerere as president.

Meanwhile, a popular revolution on the island of Zanzibar ousted the Omani sultan and in 1963, the archipelago gained its independence from British influence and Arab rule. One year later, leaders Nyerere and Karume, the first president of Zanzibar, signed an act of union to create the United Republic of Tanzania, which includes the Republic of Tanganyika and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.