Maji Maji Essay

436 Words2 Pages
The Maji Maji rebellion was one of the greatest African resistances to colonialism that lasted from 1905 to 1907. For the German East Africa, the Maji Maji rebellion was the first resistance to colonialism. Although the sense of unity was a problem to all Africans during the colonial period, the people of Tanganyika over come their differences In this short essay, I will be discussing the rise, the success, and the fall of the Maji Maji rebellion. Despite without prior political unity, the people were mobilized and organized for action. The people have utilized a sense of common grievance arising form the economic pressure of German rule. The Germans have violated the traditional way of living by forcing men and women to work together on governmental plantation. Traditionally, men and women do not work together. In addition, brutal method tax collection was an important factor for the rise of the maji-maji rebellion. The people were forced to meet certain quota system on cotton production. If not met with the quota, there were a sever consequence. The success of the maji-maji rebellion has to do different reasons. One of the reasons is the there was no central leadership. The movement was hard to control because it was neither from particular groups of people nor it was from a specific area. Women, specifically prostitute, played an important role by stealing weapons and important documents from the soldiers. The other reason was the use of indigenous religion. They would sprinkle their body with the maji-maji water, which they believed would turn the bullets of their enemies into water. This belief was on the reason the people came together and gave them a great deal of hope. The people came together for the same purpose the idea that is to defeat colonialism and attain their independence. Although the movement was strong and great, it did not gain them
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