History of Tanzania - British East Africa

British East Africa

The mandate to administer the former German colony was conferred on the United Kingdom under the terms of the Supreme Council of the League of Nations. With the concurrence of the Supreme Council, the United Kingdom transferred the provinces of Ruanda-Urundi, in the northwest, to Belgium. These provinces contained three-sevenths of the population and more than half the cattle of the colony. The boundaries of the East Indies Station were enlarged in 1919 to include Zanzibar and what was the littoral of German East Africa. Dar-es-Salaam remained the seat of Government of the colony and the first Administrator was Sir Horace Archer Byatt CMG. He embarked it on its course as an African country, improved its health and agriculture and made slavery illegal. He also did much for its economy. In Dar-es-Salaam you can see the house he rebuilt – now lived in by the President. The native troops went back quietly to their villages and the few Germans that remained were reported as settling down under the new administration.