ABSTRACT

Among the prerequisites-both ideological and material-for the colonial occupations of East Africa, were the records and descriptions of the land itself. The perceptions of travelers, missionaries, and resident officials were crucial to the course of the area’s history, as their reports molded colonial projects and directed imperial activity, determining where and how people of subsequent generations lived and worked. By examining European productions of knowledge about the land, and peeling back the tropes and preconceptions of the creators of this knowledge, this chapter will reveal the collaborative processes that drove the creation of Northeastern Tanzania’s cultural landscape. Understanding how the African population generated and re-generated this actual terrain will provide insight into the lives of the colonial subjects and rehabilitate their historical contributions to the East African landscape.