Maji Maji Rebellion

Part of the aftermath of the Scramble for Africa

Map of German East Africa with the areas affected by the rebellion highlighted in red.

Date	July 1905 – July 1907
Location	German East Africa (modern Tanzania)
Result	German victory

Belligerents

German Empire

German East Africa

Matumbi, Ngoni people, and other Tanganyikans

Commanders and leaders

Gustav Adolf von Götzen

Kinjikitile Ngwale

Strength

c. 2,000

~5,000

Casualties and losses

15 Europeans and 382 Askari

~250,000-300,000

German Empire

The Maji Maji Rebellion (German: Maji-Maji-Aufstand), sometimes called the Maji Maji War (Swahili: Vita vya Maji Maji, Maji-Maji-Krieg), was an armed rebellion against German colonial rule in German East Africa (modern-day Tanzania). The war was triggered by a German policy designed to force the indigenous population to grow cotton for export, and lasted from 1905 to 1907.

After the Scramble for Africa among the major European powers in the 1880s, Germany had reinforced its hold on several formal African colonies. These were German East Africa (now Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and part of Mozambique), German Southwest Africa (present-day Namibia), Cameroon, and Togoland (today split between Ghana and Togo). The Germans had a relatively weak hold on German East Africa. However, they did maintain a system of forts throughout the interior of the territory and were able to exert some control over it. Since their hold on the colony was weak, they resorted to using violently repressive tactics to control the population.

Germany began levying head taxes in 1898, and relied heavily on forced labor to build roads and accomplish various other tasks. In 1902, Carl Peters ordered villages to grow cotton as a cash crop (for export). Each village was charged with producing a quota of cotton. The headmen of the village were left in charge of overseeing the production, which set them against the rest of the population.

The German policies were not only unpopular, as they had serious effects on the lives of the natives. The social fabric of society was being changed rapidly. The social roles of men and women were being changed to face the needs of the communities. Since men were forced away from their homes to work, women were forced to assume some of the traditional male roles. Also, the fact that men were away strained the resources of the village and the people's ability to deal with their environment and remain self-sufficient. There was thus a lot of animosity against the government at this period. In 1905, a drought threatened the region. All that as well as opposition to the government's agricultural and labor policies led to open rebellion against the Germans in July.

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Wikipedia