Dar es Salaam << `dahr` ehs suh LAHM >> (pop. 4,364,541) is the largest city in Tanzania and a chief seaport in eastern Africa. The city lies on the east coast of Tanzania.
Dar es Salaam is a major transportation center. It has an international airport and a port, and railroads and highways link it with the rest of Tanzania. The city also has many churches, libraries, and research centers. The University of Dar es Salaam and the National Museum of Tanzania are in the city.
Foreign trade plays a key role in the economy of Dar es Salaam. Large quantities of imported and exported goods pass through the city’s port. Products manufactured in Dar es Salaam include cigarettes, footwear, furniture, soft drinks, and textiles.
The sultan of Zanzibar, the ruler of a nearby island, founded Dar es Salaam in 1862 as a trading post. Germany took control of the city in 1887 and made it a major trading center for eastern Africa. British forces captured the city in 1916, during World War I. It became the capital of the United Kingdom’s Tanganyika Territory in 1919. Tanganyika gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961 and became part of Tanzania in 1964.
Since the mid-1960’s, the population of Dar es Salaam has risen from about 150,000 to more than 4 million. In 1973, Tanzanians voted to move the capital from Dar es Salaam to the inland city of Dodoma. The move was completed in the early 2000’s.
