Over a century ago, Tanganyika had virtually no port facility.
Though there was the Indian Ocean, indigenous Tanganyikans used
the waters specifically for fishing with extremely low
technology. Other uses were slave trade from mainland to
Zanzibar. In Tanga, for example, the area where the present port
is was initially a military base during the German colonial era.
In course of time, it was decided that a port facility be built
in 1889 to serve the local economy, particularly sisal, brought
to the colony several years earlier. From then on, Tanga grew
rapidly. It was at this time that a railway line was built with
Tanga, which later earned township status in 1891, established
as railway terminus far the Usambara railway line, then
stretching from Tanga to Moshi. A few years that followed, Tanga
Port was handling agricultural exports -- sisal, coffee and tea
-- from estates primarily owned by settlers. The commodities
were loaded into railway wagons at various rail heads and railed
downwards to the port. But