Mirambo’s Empire

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Mirambo’s Empire

  • Mirambo was born around the 1830s in Nyamwezi land to one Ntemi chief.
  • He spent his early years in Bugomba where he had been captured by the Ngoni.
  • He mastered the Ngoni tactics of warfare and used them to build a strong army of the Ruga Ruga.
  • It was this army that helped Mirambo to build a big empire.
  • Mirambo attacked the Vinza, Sukuma and Iramba to extend his influence.
  • By 1876, Mirambo established his capital at Urambo.
  • His empire extended Northwards and Eastwards to control the central caravan trade route from Tabora to Karagwe, Ujiji, Buganda and Bunyoro.

Why Mirambo was able to build such a big empire

  • Mirambo was a person of boundless courage and energy which he used to build his empire.
  • He personally led his army in battle which encouraged and gave morale to his army to fight on.
  • Mirambo spent a lot of years in Bugomba as a captive of the Ngoni which helped him to master the ngoni military tactics.
  •  He used the ngoni military tactics to build a strong army called Ruga-Ruga that was very instrumental in his rise to prominence.
  • He absorbed the conquered people, recruited the youth into his army to boost his fighting force.
  • Mirambo was a man of high determination who took no nonsense from any one. E.g. he insisted on homage and tributes from foreigners passing through his territory.
  • The acquiring of guns and gun power from the coastal Arabs helped Mirambo to extend his empire wide.
  • Mirambo highly paid the Ruga –Ruga who helped him to build such a big empire.
  • Mirambo’s empire was strategically located in central Tanganyika which made it the center of trade.
  • Mirambo exploited the weaknesses of his neighbours like Vinza, Zinza, Sukuma, Ha and Samba to acquire territories from them.
  • The Nyamwezi lived in small chiefdoms that were weak and disorganized and this made it easy for Mirambo to conquer them.
  • Mirambo was also far –sighted and an ambitious man who knew what he wanted and always looked for a way of getting it.
  • Trade also helped Mirambo extend his power and influence because it brought in revenue or taxes e.g. He controlled two trade routes, one to Ujiji and the second one to Bunyoro and Buganda.
  • Mirambo also established diplomatic ties with many Europeans, Arabs e.g. He invited missionaries to come to his area.
  • Mirambo also made friendly relations with many African chiefs. He tried to establish diplomatic ties with Muteesa 1 of Buganda, sultan of Zanzibar and Tippu Tip.
  • Mirambo equally respected foreigners/strangers passing through his land. This brought in many visitors that he benefited from in terms of skills and trade.

The collapse of Mirambo’s empire

  • The death of Mirambo led to collapse of the empire because it lacked a strong foundation.
  • The empire was built around Mirambo’s personality and without him it was bound to collapse.
  • Mirambo’s successor Mpandashalo was too weak and could not keep the empire intact.
  • The empire was too big to be ruled effectively by one person.
  • Mirambo always found it hard to enforce law and order from his subjects due to the vast size.
  • Unity was also lacking i.e. Mirambo had left the various areas he had conquered under their traditional rulers and upon his death many of them declared themselves independent.
  • Mirambo’s neighbours were not happy about his success e.g. the Sukuma and this encouraged various states under him to rebel.
  • Mirambo’s army of the Ruga-Ruga was not dependable and became a menace after his death e.g. looting and burning people’s property.
  • The confusion created by the Ruga Ruga forced the Germans to occupy Tanganyika in 1885.
  • The decline of the Long distance trade and abolition of slave trade also led to the collapse of his empire.
  • Mirambo lost contact with the Arabs who used to supply him guns and gunpowder.
  • Mirambo’s chiefs were weak since many were appointed just because they belonged to the ruling class. They did not merit their positions which further weakened Mirambo’s empire.
  • Increasing Europeans interests in E.A finally brought Mirambo’s empire to an end in 1885.
  • The Germans came under the excuse of abolishing slave trade and stop the Ruga- Ruga and they stamped their authority in Tanganyika.