Tanzania

A republic in eastern Africa, south of UGANDA and north of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Dar es Salaam (House of Peace). It was formed in 1964 by a merger of the countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The country has been dominated successively by Arabs, Portugal, Oman, Zanzibar, Germany, and Britain. It became a British mandate in 1920 as Tanganyika and became independent in 1961. It united with Zanzibar in 1964 as Tanzania. Tanganyika was named for the lake of that name, kou tanganyika meaning to join, i.e., the place where waters met and Zanzibar, from Zeni or Zengj, the name of a local people, meaning black + the Arabic barr, coast or shore. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1186 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p533, 609).