Tanganyika ( ; ) was a

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

, comprising the mainland part of present-day

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, that existed from 1961 until 1964. It first gained independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 9 December 1961 as a

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the re ...

headed by Queen Elizabeth II before becoming a republic within the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

a year later. After signing the Articles of Union on 22 April 1964 and passing an Act of Union on 25 April, Tanganyika officially joined with the

People's Republic of Zanzibar The People's Republic of Zanzibar () was a short-lived African state founded in 1964, consisting of the islands of the Zanzibar Archipelago. It existed for less than six months before it merged with Tanganyika to create the "United Republic of T ...

to form the

United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar The modern-day African Great Lakes state of Tanzania dates formally from 1964, when it was formed out of the union of the much larger mainland territory of Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika and the coastal archipelago of Zanzibar. The former w ...

on Union Day, 26 April 1964. The new state changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania within a year.

History

Tanganyika originally consisted of the

Tanganyika Territory Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various forms from 1916 until 1961. It was initially administered under military occupation. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a League o ...

—the British share of

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...

—which the British took under a

League of Nations mandate A League of Nations mandate represented a legal status under international law for specific territories following World War I, involving the transfer of control from one nation to another. These mandates served as legal documents establishing th ...

in 1922, and which was later transformed into a United Nations Trust Territory after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The next largest share of German East Africa was taken into Belgian trusteeship, eventually becoming present-day

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

and

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. The ( 10 & 11 Eliz. 2. c. 1) transformed the United Nations trust territory into the independent

of Tanganyika, with

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

as Queen of Tanganyika. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly exercised by the Governor-General of Tanganyika. Tanganyika adopted a new constitution in 1962 that abolished the monarchy, and the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

(the majority of whom were members of the Tanganyika African National Union Party) thoroughly revised the new constitution to favour a strong executive branch of government, namely a president. Tanganyika then became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with

Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian politician, anti-colonial activist, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as presid ...

as the President of Tanganyika. After the Union of Zanzibar and Tanganyika, an interim constitution adapted from the 1962 Constitution became the governing document. Although meant to be temporary, the constitutions remained effective until 1977. The unification of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964 followed Nyerere's principle of ''

Ujamaa Ujamaa ( in Swahili language, Swahili) was a Socialism, socialist ideology that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic Economic development, development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961. Mor ...

'' which entailed a strong "territorial nationalism."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanganyika (1961-1964) Tanganyika Former republics Tanganyika Government of Tanzania Politics of Tanzania States and territories established in 1961 States and territories disestablished in 1964 Tanzania and the Commonwealth of Nations

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

1961 establishments in Africa 1964 disestablishments in Africa

History

See also

References