Kenya–Tanzania border
The Kenya–Tanzania border is long, stretching from the Indian Ocean south of Mombasa to the middle of Lake Victoria. It was established by the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty signed by Germany and Great Britain in 1890.
Features
The Kenya–Tanzania border is 775 km long and extends from the coast of the Indian Ocean, following an axis perpendicular to it, up to Lake Victoria. Its course is mostly straight, crossing Lake Jipe, but features an offset that places the entire Kilimanjaro massif within Tanzania.History
The border is the result of a compromise established by the two European colonial powers present in the region in the 19th century the German Empire for its East African colony and Great Britain for Kenya.Discussions initially focused on the coastal area at the Berlin Conference. Great Britain, while supporting the sultan of Zanzibar, who claimed sovereignty over the area, eventually agreed to Germany's request to establish a colony. The territory then assigned to Germany extended from 5° north latitude southwards.
On the German side, the inland conquest was carried out through the actions of Carl Peters, initially improvised and without imperial support while the Berlin Conference was still ongoing. However, once the conference concluded, the German government quickly proclaimed its protectorate over the territories acquired by Peters. Otto von Bismarck sent a squadron to Zanzibar, and the sultan recognized Germany's claim in December 1885. Wishing to avoid conflict with Germany, William Ewart Gladstone allowed it, as East Africa was not a priority for him.
The inland conquest, on both the German and British sides, was initially carried out by private companies. Due to the unrest caused, particularly by the multiple taxes imposed by the German concessionaire, Bismarck took direct control of the administration of the territories in 1889. German ambitions in Uganda worried Salisbury, as they conflicted with Cecil Rhodes' Cape-to-Cairo plan, which had captured the interest of British public opinion. At the end of December 1889, Salisbury therefore requested that the German government enter discussions to resolve the dispute. Leo von Caprivi, who had replaced Bismarck and was not particularly interested in colonial conquests, agreed. The discussions quickly resulted in the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, which, among other things, established the boundaries between what would become Kenya and Tanzania. The border was thus the product of negotiations between the colonial powers within a broader framework, with Great Britain ceding Heligoland to Germany and Germany allowing Britain free rein to establish a protectorate over Zanzibar. The reference point at Lake Victoria was set at 1° south latitude.
The offset in the otherwise straight course of the border, passing north of the Kilimanjaro massif, has given rise to claims that it was due to Queen Victoria's desire to "gift" it to Wilhelm II; however, according to François Bart, these claims have no historical basis.e