Al Bashir ibn Salim al-Harthi ( ar, البشير بن سالم الحارثي) (c.1840 - 15 December 1889), also known by the name Abushiri, was a wealthy merchant and slave-owning plantation owner of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

i Arab parentage who is known for the

Abushiri Revolt The Abushiri revolt, also known as the slave trader revolt (german: Sklavenhändlerrevolte), was an insurrection in 1888–1889 by the Arab and Swahili population of the areas of the coast of East Africa that were granted, under protest, to G ...

against the German East Africa Company in present-day

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. He is credited with uniting local Arab traders and African tribes against German colonialism. Beginning on September 20, 1888, insurrections led by Abushiri attacked German-held trading posts and towns throughout the East African territory. The German trading company, unable to control the uprising appealed to the government in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

for assistance. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck dispatched 34-year-old Lieutenant

Hermann Wissmann Hermann Wilhelm Leopold Ludwig Wissmann, after 1890 Hermann von Wissmann (4 September 1853 – 15 June 1905), was a German explorer and administrator in Africa. Early life Born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Wissmann was enlisted in the Army in 18 ...

as ''

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Ger ...

'' to the colony. Wissmann along with a combination of German, Sudanese and Shangaen soldiers formed the core of the first ''

Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...

'' in the region. With naval assistance they bombarded coastal towns which allowed for German re-occupation. Also the Navy set up a blockade to deny shipments of arms and supplies to reach the rebels. Al Bashir's forces were able to capture most of the towns along the Tanganyika coast and even took the explorers Hans Meyer and

Oscar Baumann Oscar Baumann (25 June 1864 in Vienna – 12 October 1899 in Vienna) was an Austrian explorer, cartographer and ethnographer. He attended classes on natural history and geography at the University of Vienna, and in 1885 was part of an Austr ...

hostage. Nevertheless, towards the end of 1888, much of his alliance with the local tribes had collapsed, and he was forced to hire Arab mercenaries to defend his stronghold at a fortress near

Bagamoyo Bagamoyo, is a historic coastal town founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much older (8th century) Swahili settlement, Kaole. It was chosen as the capital of German East Africa by the German colonial administra ...

. After Abushiri accepted a truce with the Germans, troops led by Wissmann attacked the fortress on May 8, 1889, resulting in 106 Arab deaths. Abushiri escaped and was able to persuade members of the Mbunga tribes to continue with the rebellion. He was then able to lead new assaults on Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo. However, superior German firepower was able to repulse these attacks, and the African tribesmen soon deserted Abushiri. A Zigua headman captured Abushiri and turned him over to the Germans, who hanged him on 15 December 1889.

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Colonial Wars of Imperial Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abushiri Colonial people of German East Africa Year of birth unknown Al Bashir, ibn Salim al-Harthi People executed by Germany by hanging People executed by the German Empire 19th-century executions by Germany Executed Tanzanian people Tanzanian revolutionaries Executed revolutionaries 19th-century Arabs Arab explorers 19th-century Omani people 1833 births