Ras Kutani

The tranquil Indian Ocean shores of Tanzania today belie the centuries of turbulent and often bloody history that raged along this coast in past centuries, shaping the destiny of Africa itself. Only the distant billowing of the scimitar-shaped sail of an Arab dhow, unchanged for millennia, will give the modern day visitor an indication of a past that witnessed the waves of traders, explorers, adventurers, pirates, slavers and invaders that came with the tides of time. As European nations bargained with each other in the 20th century "scramble for Africa", East Africa was partitioned and Tanganyika, as it was then known, became a German colony. The First World War saw a major struggle for European influence in East Africa with the British finally gaining control of the territory and ruling as a colonial power until Tanzania gained independence in 1961.