Kasanga
Encyclopedia
Kasanga is a town in southwestern Tanzania
. It is located at around 8°27′30"S 31°8′10"E, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika
, 810 m above sea level.
colonial period by the explorer Ludwig Wolf and the German East Africa Company
. The settlement was named after Otto von Bismarck
. In 1893 Anton Reichenow
published Die Vogelfauna Der Umgegend von Bismarckburg (The Birdfauna of the Bismarckburg region) in Berlin
, an important source of information about birdlife in the area for this period. The research station's charter was repealed in 1894 during administrative reforms and the German colonial regime set up a first rate education system in the area. According to the 1920 Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon
the town was for a long time the seat of the regional military district (the Militärbezirk). On 1 April 1913 it became the seat of the district office (Bezirksamts). The small port in Bismarckburg serviced small steamers on Lake Tanganyika
and until 1920 was called Wissmannhafen after Hermann von Wissmann, a German
explorer (later Reichskommissar
and Governor of German East Africa
). There were approximately 3900 inhabitants by 1913.
Over 1914-1915 the town was the site of a minor incident in the East African Campaign (World War I)
. In September 1914 a small German
military unit had sallied across the border into British
Northern Rhodesia
and attacked Abercorn. A British
flotilla, consisting of the Mimi, Toutou, HMS Fifi
and Vengeur was organised on Lake Tanganyika
to support the land forces of the British army
marching north from Northern Rhodesia
in May. On 5 June 1915 the flotilla arrived off Bismarckburg. Finding the harbour defended by a German fort, Lieutenant-Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson
decided not to attack, and withdrew to Kituta. This allowed the German Imperial Army (the Reichsheer) to escape in a fleet of dhows, an act that provoked the anger of the army commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Murray. The British army and the naval expeditionary force entered Bismarckburg on 8 June, where Spicer-Simson was chastened to learn that the fort's guns were in fact wooden dummies. In 1918 the German General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
and his remarkable Schutztruppe
army of Askari
s surrendered nearby at Abercorn.
After 1920 the British Mandate
regime of Tanganyika Territory
dropped the German
name of the town and changed it to Kasanga. Following Independence in 1961 the economy and development of the town was criminally neglected by the Socialist regime of Julius Nyerere
. In 2008 a major investment revamp of the harbour facilities was announced, with the hope of cashing in on trade opportunities with neighbouring Congo
and Zambia
.
There appears to have been strikingly little effort to cash in on the German heritage and potential links (trade, tourism or otherwise).
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. It is located at around 8°27′30"S 31°8′10"E, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
, 810 m above sea level.
History
A research station (Forschungsstation), the ruins of which are still visible, was founded in 1888 during the GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
colonial period by the explorer Ludwig Wolf and the German East Africa Company
German East Africa Company
The German East Africa Company was an organization established at the start of the German colonization of East Africa. This company, in short, was responsible for the activities in the new colony such as setting up leadership, future explorations, and the development of the region.In 1888, the...
. The settlement was named after Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
. In 1893 Anton Reichenow
Anton Reichenow
Anton Reichenow was a German ornithologist.Reichenow was the son-in-law of Jean Cabanis, and worked at the Humboldt Museum from 1874 to 1921. He was an expert on African birds, making a collecting expedition to West Africa in 1872 and 1873, and writing Die Vögel Afrikas...
published Die Vogelfauna Der Umgegend von Bismarckburg (The Birdfauna of the Bismarckburg region) in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, an important source of information about birdlife in the area for this period. The research station's charter was repealed in 1894 during administrative reforms and the German colonial regime set up a first rate education system in the area. According to the 1920 Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon
Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon
"Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon" is the German title for the "Encyclopedia of German colonies" which was published in 1920. The text had been finished by 1914 before World War I but was not printed due to the war...
the town was for a long time the seat of the regional military district (the Militärbezirk). On 1 April 1913 it became the seat of the district office (Bezirksamts). The small port in Bismarckburg serviced small steamers on Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
and until 1920 was called Wissmannhafen after Hermann von Wissmann, a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
explorer (later Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar , in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and the Nazi Third Reich....
and Governor of German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
). There were approximately 3900 inhabitants by 1913.
Over 1914-1915 the town was the site of a minor incident in the East African Campaign (World War I)
East African Campaign (World War I)
The East African Campaign was a series of battles and guerrilla actions which started in German East Africa and ultimately affected portions of Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia, British East Africa, Uganda, and the Belgian Congo. The campaign was effectively ended in November 1917...
. In September 1914 a small German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
military unit had sallied across the border into British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
and attacked Abercorn. A British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
flotilla, consisting of the Mimi, Toutou, HMS Fifi
HMS Fifi
HMS Fifi was an armed paddle steamer, captured from the Germans by Royal Navy units during the Battle for Lake Tanganyika, and used to support Anglo-Belgian operations on the lake and its surrounding areas...
and Vengeur was organised on Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
to support the land forces of the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
marching north from Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
in May. On 5 June 1915 the flotilla arrived off Bismarckburg. Finding the harbour defended by a German fort, Lieutenant-Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson
Geoffrey Spicer-Simson
Commander Geoffrey Basil Spicer-Simson DSO was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Mediterranean, Pacific and Home Fleets...
decided not to attack, and withdrew to Kituta. This allowed the German Imperial Army (the Reichsheer) to escape in a fleet of dhows, an act that provoked the anger of the army commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Murray. The British army and the naval expeditionary force entered Bismarckburg on 8 June, where Spicer-Simson was chastened to learn that the fort's guns were in fact wooden dummies. In 1918 the German General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of the German East Africa campaign. For four years, with a force that never exceeded about 14,000 , he held in check a much larger force of 300,000 British, Belgian, and Portuguese troops...
and his remarkable Schutztruppe
Schutztruppe
Schutztruppe was the African colonial armed force of Imperial Germany from the late 19th century to 1918, when Germany lost its colonies. Similar to other colonial forces, the Schutztruppe consisted of volunteer European commissioned and non-commissioned officers, medical and veterinary officers. ...
army of Askari
Askari
Askari is an Arabic, Bosnian, Urdu, Turkish, Somali, Persian, Amharic and Swahili word meaning "soldier" . It was normally used to describe local troops in East Africa, Northeast Africa, and Central Africa serving in the armies of European colonial powers...
s surrendered nearby at Abercorn.
After 1920 the British Mandate
British Mandate
British Mandate may refer to:*British Mandate for Palestine*British Mandate of Mesopotamia...
regime of Tanganyika Territory
Tanganyika Territory
Tanganyika Territory was a British colony between 1919 and 1961. Prior to the end of the First World War was part of the German colony of German East Africa. After the war had broke out, the British invaded the German East Africa, but were unable to defeat the German Army...
dropped the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
name of the town and changed it to Kasanga. Following Independence in 1961 the economy and development of the town was criminally neglected by the Socialist regime of Julius Nyerere
Julius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985....
. In 2008 a major investment revamp of the harbour facilities was announced, with the hope of cashing in on trade opportunities with neighbouring Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
and Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
.
There appears to have been strikingly little effort to cash in on the German heritage and potential links (trade, tourism or otherwise).
Literature
- Heinrich Schnee, Deutsches Koloniallexikon, Bd. 1 - 3, Leipzig 1920.
- Meyers Enzyklopädisches Lexikon.
- Der große Weltatlas, Kartographisches Institut Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1963.
- Kiester, Edwin, An Incomplete History of World War I, (Murdoch Books, 2007) ISBN 1740459709.
- Foden, Giles, Mimi and Toutou Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle for Lake Tanganyika (Penguin, 2005), ISBN 1-141-00984-5.