Tanga Jiji la Tanga (Swahili) | |
|---|---|
   | |
 Flag | |
| Nickname: Tanga raha | |
  Tanga | |
| Coordinates:5°04′27″S39°05′57″E / 5.07417°S 39.09917°E /-5.07417; 39.09917 | |
| Country |  Tanzania |
| Region | Tanga Region |
| District | Tanga District |
| Incorporated Town | 18911 |
| Incorporated City | 1 July 2005 |
| Government | |
| • Type | City Council |
| • Mayor | Omari Guledi |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 393,429 |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Settler | Swahili |
| • Ancestral | Digo |
| 1TheGermans designated Tanga a township after taking control of the coastal area from theSultan of Zanzibar in April 1891. | |
Tanga (Jiji la Tanga, inSwahili) is a historic city and the capital ofTanga Region. The city is located in the northernport city ofTanzania to the west of theIndian Ocean onTanga Bay. The city had a population of 393,429 in 2022 and is governed by theTanga City Council. The city is also a home to thePort of Tanga. The nameTanga means "sail" inSwahili.[1] The city is also the capital ofTanga District.
Due to close proximity to the equator and the warmIndian Ocean, the city experiences tropical climatic conditions similar to allTanzanian coastal cities. The city experiences hot and humid weather throughout much of the year and has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen:Aw). Annual rainfall is approximately 1,290 mm (51 in), and in a normal year there are two rainy seasons: "the long rains" in April and May and "the short rains" in November and December.[2]
| Climate data for Tanga (1971–2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 32.3 (90.1) | 32.8 (91.0) | 33.0 (91.4) | 31.2 (88.2) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.3 (84.7) | 28.7 (83.7) | 28.6 (83.5) | 29.2 (84.6) | 30.1 (86.2) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.9 (89.4) | 30.7 (87.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.6 (74.5) | 23.8 (74.8) | 23.4 (74.1) | 22.4 (72.3) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.1 (68.2) | 19.8 (67.6) | 20.2 (68.4) | 21.3 (70.3) | 22.4 (72.3) | 23.1 (73.6) | 22.1 (71.7) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 35.0 (1.38) | 27.8 (1.09) | 108.1 (4.26) | 243.1 (9.57) | 290.9 (11.45) | 86.0 (3.39) | 58.9 (2.32) | 69.6 (2.74) | 73.2 (2.88) | 115.8 (4.56) | 134.1 (5.28) | 86.3 (3.40) | 1,328.8 (52.32) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm) | 3 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 106 |
| Source:World Meteorological Organization[3] | |||||||||||||
Major exports from the port of Tanga includesisal,coffee,tea, andcotton. Tanga is also an important railroad terminus, connecting much of the northern Tanzanian interior with the sea via theTanzania Railways Corporation's Link Line and Central Line. Tanga is linked to theAfrican Great Lakes region and the Tanzanian economic capital ofDar es Salaam. The city is served byTanga Airport. The harbour and surrounding is the centre of life in Tanga. It has several markets in several neighbourhoods.Tanga Cement is one of the major industries.
Tanga has a small airport and is currently served by only three regional airlines, providing scheduled services toDar es Salaam,Pemba Island andZanzibar. In 2014 the airport served less than 30,000 passengers.[4] There are also a small number of private airstrips in the surrounding area around the city that facilitate the private estates and surrounding industries.
Tanga city lies approximately 250 km from Chalinze on the A14 highway that runs from Chalinze toMombasa. The town is 75 km away from Segera which is a junction linking the A14 and the B1. The B1 highway is a bypass that linksMoshi and the northern corridor to Tanga.[5]
The port is historically the oldest operating harbour in the nation and its roots date back to around the 6th century.[6] The Port of Tanga is the second largest port in Tanzania and is a vital part to the city's initial development and economy. The port operates at 90% of its installed capacity and its main cargo iscoal for the cement industry and is a new gateway forcrude oil products.[7] The ports authority has major plans to upgrade the port in increasing its capacity and providing an alternative route for cargo flowing into the country.[8]
Tanga is the starting point of the narrow gaugenorthern railway network that ends inArusha. Construction of this line was started in the 19th century by the Germans. In 2018, the Government of Tanzania invested 5.7 billion Tanzanian Shillings to rehabilitate the line. As of July 2019, diesel powered cargo trains are leaving Tanga Railway Station again and passenger transport between Tanga and Arusha is set to start in September 2019.[9]
The first communities that called Tanga their home were theDigo people and theSwahili states of the 11th to 16th Centuries. However, the earliest documentation about Tanga comes from thePortuguese. During their disruption of the previous trading links Tanga settlement remained a small trading post for the colonists during their occupation of the East African coast for 200 years between 1500 and 1700 when they were ousted.[10] TheSultanate of Oman battled the Portuguese and gained control of the settlement by mid-1700 along withMombasa,Pemba Island andKilwa Kisiwani.[11] The town continued to act as a trading port forivory and slaves under the sultan's rule.[12] Tanga continued to be a prosperous trading hub for slaves with the Arab world until 1873 when the European powers invaded and occupied thus abolishing the slave trade that was no longer serving the colonial powers.[11]
In the 19th Century, growing interests by Europeans for theScramble for Africa brought the Germans to Tanga. The Germans bought the coastal strip of mainland Tanzania from theSultan of Zanzibar in 1891. This takeover designated Tanga into a township and was the first establishment inGerman East Africa.[13] The town became the centre of German colonial administration before the establishment ofDar es Salaam in the early 20th century.
Tanga was chosen in 1889 as a military post of German East Africa, and it became a district office in 1891. The town saw rapid expansion and planned growth under the German occupation. A tram line was built in the city for domestic transport and a port was also built for exports. In 1896 the construction of theUsambara Railway began and was extended toMoshi by 1912. Roads, bridges and the railway enabled industrial growth in the region and many buildings and bridges that are still in operation today in the town are from the German colonial period. The local economy was based mainly on the production ofsisal, which had been brought to the colony several years earlier, and population in the area grew rapidly.[14]
As the coastal town closest toBritish East Africa, Tanga was on the front line of theEast African campaign at the beginning ofWorld War I. On 4 November 1914 a landing by British and Empire forces was repelled in theBattle of Tanga.[15] On 13 June 1916 theRoyal NavybattleshipHMS Vengeance andprotected cruisersChallenger andPioneer bombarded Tanga. On 7 July the protected cruiserHMS Talbot andmonitorSevern enteredManza Bay[16] and put troops ashore who occupied the town.[17] After the War, Britain was given a League of Nations Mandate to prepare Tanganyika for independence and continued to develop Tanga in order to develop its agricultural potential, both to feed the population and so stave of the regular famines in the tetritory and for export. In 1919 Tanga was the country's fourth largest city, but at independence it was the second largest city afterDar es Salaam.
In the early stages of independence, thePort of Tanga continued to be a gateway for the export ofsisal from the region. However, following the adopting of theUjamaa policy, global prices in sisal dwindling, the production that served the city's factories closed and the city lost its main source of income. With the government controlling the agriculture trade and the depreciation in the world prices of sisal the port began to lose revenue.[18]
Tanga city medical institutions include:
Nearby tourist attractions includeAmboni Caves, Galanoshot springs, Saadaninational park,Toten Island,URITHI Tanga Museum, war graves and memorials,Tongoni Ruins, Ndumi Village defense works, Mwarongo sand beaches and protected coastalmangroves.
Tanga is represented in theTanzanian Premier League by football clubsCoastal Union,JKT Mgambo, andAfrican Sports (Wana Kimanumanu) from the 2015–2016 season.
Tanga istwinned with:
Eckernförde, Germany (1963)[19]
Kemi, Finland (2007)[20]
Tifariti, Western Sahara[citation needed]
Toledo, United States (2001)[21]
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