Tanzanians in The United Kingdom - History

History

There is a long and complex history of Tanzanians in the UK, with various individuals of various ages, occupations and races migrating to the UK for numerous reasons. Central Tanzania is predominantly Christian whilst the coastal areas are largely Muslim. Prior to the Zanzibar Revolution of 1964, the Arab and South Asian diasporas in Tanzania (then two separate nations named Tanganyika ad Zanzibar) had a hard and tough lifestyle, but when violence erupted during the revolution they were targeted and attacked even more so. During the 1970s a large percentage of the nation's South Asian community were forced out, with ultimately 50,000 seeking refuge in the UK and Canada. This alongside the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972 significantly increased the number of South Asians in the United Kingdom. Besides the early migration of East African Asians from Tanzania to the UK, since the 1990s there has been an increasing presence of the nation's indigenous Black African population. Despite this there were already numerous Black Africans who had migrated to the UK during the country's rule over Zanzibar and Tanganyika between the mid-19th century and 1964. Tanzanians in the UK tend to have a lower average age than the average of British people as a whole, the majority of Tanzanian-born individuals in the UK are youths and young adults who came to the country for economic reasons, to study or simply escape the Tanzanian political regime. Despite being in general more peaceful than some of its neighbouring nations, Tanzania has been known for significant amounts of political unrest during election periods. The country became a dangerous place to be in 1995, 2000 and again in 2004. This each time has forced many youths to flee the nation, with the UK being a popular choice of destination due to its already long established Tanzanian diaspora which is the largest on earth.