Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 27 - CHI-ELD.pdf/665

 EAST

AFRICA,

and the north-east monsoon in November. In the interior April brings south-east winds, which continue until about the beginning of October. During the rest of the year changing winds prevail. These winds are charged with moisture, which they part with on ascending the precipitous side of the plateau. The heat, though scarcely greater here than in the interior, is sometimes oppressive. Rain comes with the south-east monsoon, and on the northern part of the coast the rainy season is divided into two parts, the great and the little Masika : the former falls in the months of September, October, November ; the latter in February and March. In the interior the climate has a more continental character, and is subject to considerable changes of temperature ; the rainy season sets in a little earlier the farther west and north we proceed, and is well marked, the rain beginning in November and ending in April; the rest of the year is dry. On the highest parts of the plateau the climate is almost European, the nights being sometimes exceedingly cold. Kilimanjaro has a climate of its own; the west and south sides of the mountain receive the greatest rainfall, while the east and north sides are dry nearly all the year. On a mountain of such height all degrees of temperature are to be met with. Malarial diseases are rather frequent, more so on the coast than farther inland. The Kilimanjaro region is said to enjoy immunity. Smallpox is frequent on the coast, but is diminishing before vaccination ; cases of other epidemic diseases are extremely rare. Flora and Fauna.—The character of the vegetation varies with and depends on moisture, temperature, and soil. On the low littoral zone the coast produces a rich tropical bush, in which the mangrove is very prominent. Cocoa-palms and mango trees have been planted in great numbers, and also many varieties of bananas. The bush is grouped in copses on meadows, which produce a coarse tall grass. The river banks are lined with belts of dense forest, in which useful timber occurs. The Hyphcena palm is frequent, as well as various kinds of gum-producing mimosas. The slopes of the plateau which face the rain-bringing monsoon are in some places covered with primeval forest, in which timber is plentiful. The silk-cotton tree (Bombax ceiba), miomba, tamarisk, copal tree (Hymencea courbaril) are frequent, besides sycamores, banian trees {Ficus indica), and the deleb palm {Borassus cethiopum). It is here we find the Landolphia florida, which yields the best rubber. The plateau is partly grass land without bush and forest, partly steppe covered with mimosa bush, which sometimes is almost impenetrable. Mount Kilimanjaro exhibits on a vertical scale the various forms of vegetation which characterize East Africa (see Kilimanjaro). East Africa is rich in all kinds of antelope, and the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus are still plentiful in parts. Characteristic are the giraffe, the chimpanzee, and ostrich. Buffaloes and zebras occur in two or three varieties. Lions and leopards sometimes stray down to the coast. Crocodiles are found in all the larger rivers. Snakes, many venomous, are frequent. Of birds there are comparatively few on the steppe, but rivers, lakes, and swamps abound with them. Locusts have often been observed in late years, and ants of various kinds are often a plague. The tsetse fly {Glossina morsitans) infests several districts ; the sand-flea has been imported by labourers returning from the west coast. Land and water turtles are frequent. Ethnography.—On the coast we find Arab and Indian immigrants, who are agriculturists and merchants. The Waswaheli are a tribe sprung from a mixture of these immigrants with Bantu natives. They are Islamites. In the interior can be distinguished two classes of Bantu negroes ; one with a migratory tendency towards the north and an addition of Zulu immigrants, the other with a similar tendency towards southward expansion and an admixture of Hamitic and Nilotic elements. The older groups of Bantu are chiefly agriculturists and live in conical houses, while the others comprise the cattle-raising tribes, who live in square mud-plastered houses called tembe, which can be easily fortified and defended. The agriculturists are good labourers, and willingly take service with the whites ; they form the great caravans. The cattle-raising tribes are less sociably inclined, and often very warlike. In 1891 the rinderpest brought to the verge of ruin those who, like the Masai, would not adopt agriculture as a means of livelihood. Government.—The coast is divided into six districts {Bczirksaxmtey’), Tanga, Pangani, Bagamoyo, Dar-es-Salaam, Kilwa, Mikindani. In the interior there are ten stations {Stationsbezirke), Victoria Nyanza, Kilimanjaro, Tabora, Kilimatinde, Mpwapwa, Kilossa, Tanganyika, Langenburg, Ulanga, and Lindi. Each station has a chief, who is subordinate to the official of his district, these in their turn being under the governor, who resides in Dar-es-Salaam. The lieutenant-governor is also commander of the colonial force, consisting (1901) of 1635 regular and 168 irregular coloured soldiers, with 44 commissioned, 110 non-commissioned white officers, 12 coloured non-commissioned officers) and 18 medical officers. There are 61 field-guns. The stations have to maintain communication with the native chiefs, and peace in the interior ; they have to introduce as far as possible cultivation of valuable products, and to establish and maintain roads. The district chiefs on the coast administer their districts in the

GERMAN

613

ordinary way, with the assistance of a police force and a regular staff of officials. They have to keep an eye on the suppression of slavery and on the regulation of the supply of labour. They are entrusted with the functions of judges in all cases of litigation between coloured people ; in cases involving amounts exceeding 1000 rupees, appeal to the governor is admissible. There are two ordinary judges and one chief justice in the colony ; the latter conjointly with the governor presides over a court of appeal. Finance.—The revenue is raised by taxes on imports and exports, on consumption and from licences for the sale of spirituous liquors, and wood-cutting, harbour and other dues, and the natives have to pay a hut tax. Receipts for the sale of lands are also beginning to swell the revenue. The expenditure is for civil and military administration, the small fleet of steamers maintained by the colonial government, and the caravans, which keep up communication with the stations in the interior and supply them with European necessaries. In the budget for 1899-1900 the revenue (including Imperial contribution of 5,985,000 marks) and expenditure balanced at 8,495,000 marks. The Imperial contribution for 1900-1901 was 6,830,000 marks. Missions.—There are ten missionary societies—six German, one French, three English. Three of the ten are Roman Catholic. One of the latter, the Mission du Sacre Cceur in Bagamoyo, the oldest mission, has been very successful in training young negroes to be useful mechanics. There are several schools, and the number of young people who can read and write is increasing rapidly. On the coast the inhabitants profess to be Moslems. Communications.—The German East Africa line of Hamburg runs a fleet of first-class steamers to East Africa, which touch at Tanga, Dar-es-Salaam, and Zanzibar. Two steamers go to Bombay once in three weeks ; and of other lines, the Messageries Maritimes and British East India Steam Navigation Company call once a month at Zanzibar. Proper roads only exist where constant traffic keeps them open. A railway has been laid from Tanga to Korogwe. Regular postal communication is maintained with the stations in the interior, through native runners, twice a month. There is a submarine cable from Dar-es-Salaam to Zanzibar, and an overland line connecting all the coast stations. Production.—The country is rich in natural products which are found in the forest or cultivated by the natives. The former are chiefly rubber, copal, bark, various kinds of fibres, orseille, timber, pepper, honey ; the latter cocoanuts, tobacco, sugar-cane, cotton, vanilla, sorghum, panicillaria, eleusine, arachis, sesame, maize, rice, beans, peas, bananas, batatas and yams, manioc and hemp. Animal products are ivory, hides, tortoiseshell, and pearls. On the plateau in the interior large herds of cattle are reared by the natives, who in the lowlands are chiefly agriculturists. The people have many small native smithies. Useful minerals exist, but are not yet exploited. Coal, iron, graphite, and salt have been found, and gold too, though not in paying quantities. The imports and exports have been as follows, in marks :— 1898. Imports. Exports.

2,485,163 4,270,653

7,629,000 3,257,584

16,401,705 5,995,930

The chief exports were ivory, rubber, sesame, and gum. No sooner was German East Africa annexed than companies were formed for the purpose of exploiting the country by trading, planting, and mining. The first was the Deutsch Oestafricanische Gesellschaft, founded in 1885, which now owns large capital, has trading stations in each seaport, and seven flourishing plantations in various parts of the country. It is the owner of vast tracts of land, which in time are expected to become extremely valuable. No fewer than forty trading companies have been established since then, and all are in a more or less thriving condition ; a comparatively large number of private individuals have laid out plantations, from which they are beginning to derive a considerable return. Coffee and tobacco are the chief products, and thrive so well in the northern parts of the littoral zone of the protectorate, that Usambara and Pare have become favourite districts for agricultural enterprise. Authorities.—F. Stuhlmann. Mit Emin Pasha im Herzen von Africa. Berlin, 1894.—Baumann. Lurch Masailand. Berlin, 1894.—Brix Foerster. Deutsch Ostafrica. Leipzig, 1890.—K. Haissert. Deutschlands Kolonien. Leipzig, 1899.— Baumann. Usambara. Berlin, 1891.—Sir H. H. Johnston. The Colonization of Africa, 1899.—J. S. Keltie. Partition of Africa, 1896. Reference should be made to British F. O. Report on East Africa, the German White Books, the Mitteilungen aus den Deutschen Schutzgebiete, and the Annual Report issued by the German Colonial Office. (j. von P.)