Unyamwezi
Unyamwezi Kingdoms Utemi ya Unyamwesi (Kinyamwezi) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c.16th Century–1962 | |||||||||
Map of Unyamwezi c.1950s | |||||||||
| Status | Kingdom | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Mntemi (King) | |||||||||
• c.1860s-1884 | Mirambo | ||||||||
| Historical era | |||||||||
• Established | c.16th Century | ||||||||
| 6 December 1962 | |||||||||
• Formal abdication | 6 December 1962 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1957 | 72,000 km2 (28,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1880s | ~200,000 | ||||||||
• 1920s | ~260,000 | ||||||||
• 1957 | 363,254 | ||||||||
| Currency |
| ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Tanzania | ||||||||
Area and population not including colonial possessions | |||||||||
| Person | Mnyamwezi |
|---|---|
| People | Wanyamwezi |
| Language | Kinyamwezi |
| Country | Unyamwezi |
Unyamwezi or Unyamwezi states and kingdoms (Falme za Unyamwezi in Swahili) is a historical region and former Pre-colonial states in what is now modern central Tanzania, around the modern city of Tabora in Tabora Region to the south of Lake Victoria and east of Lake Tanganyika. It lay on the trade route from the coast to Lake Tanganyika and to the kingdoms to the west of Lake Victoria. The region home to the Nyamwezi people became an empire under Mirambo in the 1860s. The various peoples of the region were known as long-distance traders, providing porters for caravans and arranging caravans in their own right. At first the main trade was in ivory, but later in the 19th century enslaving became more important part of the economy.