Maji Maji Uprising

Maji Maji Uprising, native rebellion against colonial rule in German East Africa (now Tanzania) from 1905 to 1907. The immediate cause of the uprising was a government-instituted programme of cotton culture, to which black farmers objected, but the underlying reason was a general resentment of harsh colonial policies that included forced labour and ruthless tax collection. The rebellion began in July 1905 with the murder of German settlers, missionaries, and traders in the hills south and west of Dar es Salaam. The rebellion spread quickly and was reinforced by the distribution of special water, maji, believed to render the warriors immune to gunfire. The German authorities were unprepared for the conflict but, in addition to military action, adopted a scorched-earth policy which crushed the rebellion. Some 70,000 Africans perished in the uprising.