ABSTRACT
The mainland part of Tanzania – which includes Dar es Salaam – was first colonized by the Germans, who ruled it from 1887–1919. The key to understanding the impact of colonialism on Dar es Salaam is to revisit the idea of total control. The colonial administrations imposed political control through laws such as the British efforts to dictate who had the legal right to reside in the city as a way of excluding African men working in the informal economy. Both the German and British administrations used urban planning policies to segregate Dar es Salaam. In Dar es Salaam, the focus was less about health and instead used construction codes and building ordinances to justify segregation. The Asian community, which is primarily from South Asia, first came to East Africa in the early 1800s. This community is Tanzanian – they speak Kiswahili and they have Tanzanian passports.
