Tables of Modern Monetary Systems by Kurt Schuler ( Return to home page )


Tanzania

Political sketch

Tanganyika was formerly part of German East Africa; Zanzibar was long part of the sultanate of Oman; and both were part of British East Africa. Independent from the United Kingdom on 9 December 1961 (Tanganyika) and 10 December 1963 (Zanzibar); Tanganyika and Zanzibar united to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964.

By 100 A.D., trading contacts existed between Arabia, East Africa, and perhaps India. The coastal trading centers, which traded slaves and ivory, were mainly Arab settlements. The Portuguese, who arrived in the late 1400s, undermined the Arab position on the coast, including in Zanzibar. However, Portuguese power waned in the 1600s. Omani Arabs displaced the Portuguese as rulers of Zanzibar in 1650. In the late 1840s two German missionaries working on the mainland for the British Church Missionary Society sighted Mount Kilimanjaro, which stimulated German interest in the area. By 1885 German colonists had penetrated the area, and by 1907 the Germans obtained full control of Tanganyika, the mainland of what is now Tanzania. Zanzibar, which had become an independent sultanate from Oman in 1861, became a British protectorate in 1890, after Germany and the United Kingdom had gained concessions for the sultan's territory on the mainland coast. During the First World War British, Belgian, and Portuguese troops fought against a small German and native force, which surrendered undefeated at the end of the war. Tanganyika became a League of Nations mandate administered by the United Kingdom, and after the Second World War a United Nations trust territory.

Tanganyika became independent from the United Kingdom on 9 December 1961; Zanzibar followed on 10 December 1963. A coup of January 1964 overthrew Zanzibar's sultan, and the island merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964. Under president Julius Nyerere, Tanzania adopted a type of centrally planned economy outlined in the Arusha Declaration of 1967. Tanzanian socialism involved massive forced relocation of farmers to villages and resulted in falling agricultural output and a declining economy. In 1978 Ugandan troops invaded northwestern Tanzania. Tanzanian troops and rebels opposed to the brutal government of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin recaptured the territory and overthrew Amin. The war put further strain on Tanzania's impoverished economy. In 1985, Nyerere voluntarily relinquished power. His successor began a gradual return to a market economy. Today (2005) the Tanzanian mainland is democratic, although Zanzibar's elections have been marked by irregularities. Tanzania is very poor. Most of its people are subsistence farmers and herders. Its main exports are gold, coffee, and cashew nuts.

Wars since 1500

Portuguese-Omani Wars in East Africa, 1652-1730; Bushiri's Uprising (Arab Uprising in German East Africa), 1888-1890 (local Arabs against Germany); Wahehe War, 1891-1893 (local Arabs against Germany); Maji Maji Uprising, 1905-1907; First World War in East Africa, 1914-1918 (Germany against United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Portugal); Zanzibar Rebellion of 1964; Ugandan Civil War of 1978-1979 (Tanzania supported anti-government forces).

Convertibility

German colonies:

During the First World War, Germany was cut off from its colonies. Germany's African colonies, surrounded as they were by the colonies of Allied countries, were cut off from one another. Therefore convertibility among them in effect ceased in August 1914. All German colonies were conquered during the war; those in Africa were annexed by Belgium, France, South Africa, or the United Kingdom.

The sterling area:

On 2 August 1914, soon after the First World War began, the United Kingdom issued a proclamation imposing a one-month moratorium of payment for bills of exchange accepted before 4 August; an act of 3 August 1914 gave legislative sanction to the proclamation. The moratorium was subsequently extended for a month and ended on 4 November 1914. Legally the pound sterling remained convertible into gold and could be exported, but the risk to shipping from German submarines made the cost of shipment prohibitive, so the United Kingdom was in effect off the gold standard. The British government refused to include private shipments of gold in its war-risk insurance scheme. After the war, the export of gold was prohibited from 1 April 1919 under regulations that were given statutory form in 1920. On 28 April 1925 the government announced that the act would not be renewed when it expired on 31 December 1925. On 13 May 1925 the United Kingdom resumed the gold standard.

The United Kingdom abandoned the gold standard on 21 September 1931. The currencies of British colonies were almost all linked to the pound sterling through currency boards; being on a sterling-exchange standard rather than a gold-exchange standard, they followed the pound sterling off gold. Over the next few years, some former British colonies (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) and other countries that had important trade links with the United Kingdom switched from gold to the pound sterling as their official or actual anchor. The result was termed the sterling area. The United Kingdom imposed exchange controls on 4 September 1939, the day after entering the Second World War. Most countries that were not current or former British colonies soon left the sterling area. Among the remaining countries, both current- and capital-account transactions were free of restrictions within the sterling area, but were restricted in dealings with outside countries. After the Second World War, the United Kingdom returned to the gold standard under the Bretton Woods system. It removed exchange controls on 15 August 1947, but reimposed them on 20 August 1947 after suffering a large loss of foreign reserves. Sterling had a dual exchange rate from 1961 until the United Kingdom abolished exchange controls. The sterling area remained in existence because sterling was not fully convertible. It began to crumble after the United Kingdom again abandoned the gold standard on 23 June 1972. By January 1973 the sterling area had shrunk to the British Isles and a few small British colonies; even Hong Kong had abandoned sterling as its anchor currency. The United Kingdom abolished exchange controls on 24 October 1979, ending the sterling area.

The East African Currency Board:

In 1921, Kenya, Tanganyika (now mainland Tanzania), and Uganda were switching from silver coins to the pound sterling as their anchor currency. At one point the market rate of the Indian silver rupee fell as low at 16 Indian rupees = UK£1, versus an official conversion rate of 10 Indian rupees = UK£1 in East Africa. To discourage arbitrage between the market rate of and the official rate, the East African Currency Board on 12 February 1921 limited to UK£35,000 a week the amount it would allow banks to remit through it to London. The limit excluded remittances for the account of colonial governments. The limit was removed perhaps after July 1921.

Tanzania alone:

Tanzania extended the exchange control treatment previously in effect for countries outside the sterling area to all countries within the sterling area, except Kenya and Uganda, on 11 June 1965. Tanzania extended exchange controls to transactions with Kenya and Uganda on 6 February 1967, and imposed exchange controls on transactions with Kenya and Uganda from 7 February 1967-12 June 1967. Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda all left the sterling area on 23 June 1972.

After establishing separate central banks, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania continued to cooperate monetarily in some ways. Until late 1971, the notes of any of the three countries could be exchanged without restriction in any commercial bank of the other states. Uganda suspended such convertibility of its notes in late 1971; Tanzania and Kenya soon followed, so that by early 1972 it was illegal to carry more than 100 shillings of each country's currency across national borders, nor did commercial banks in one country any longer exchange notes of the other two countries. On 31 December 1995, convertibility within the East African countries was re-established.

Other

The East African Currency Board gained much of its initial circulation in 1920 by exchanging its own notes and coins for Indian rupee coins. At the time, the rupee was floating against the pound sterling, which had in effect abandoned the gold standard when the First World War broke out in 1914. The price of silver, the metal of which the rupee was made, was at a high level against the pound sterling in 1920. The East African Currency Board had not secured a promise from the government of India about the exchange rate against the pound sterling at which India would redeem rupee coins. Between the time East African Currency Board notes and coins replaced Indian rupees and the time the currency board presented the rupees to the Indian government, the price of silver fell substantially. The board incurred similar losses replacing German East African silver rupees previously circulating in Tanganyika (now the mainland of Tanzania). As a result, the East African Currency Board began its existence with foreign reserves of less than 100%, although the board maintained 100% reserves at the margin and acted in an orthodox manner. In 1925, reserves were only 43.6% of the board's East African £5.61 million of notes and coins in circulation. During the worldwide depression that began in 1929, circulation fell, hitting a low of East African £3.57 million in 1932. Reserves fell even faster, to only 9.9% in 1932. Member governments extended a guarantee of East African £1.5 million to the board to borrow pounds sterling if necessary, but the board never used the guarantee because its reserves soon began to increase as prosperity returned. Circulation increased substantially during the Second World War as British victories over Italian forces in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia resulted in the East African shilling replacing the Italian lira as currency. The foreign reserves of the currency board first reached 100% in 1950, which was also the first year the board made payments of seigniorage to member governments. (This information comes from various issues of the East African Currency Board's annual report.)

After establishing national currencies to replace the East African shilling in 1966, the Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Ugandan shillings continued to be equal, except for a few brief periods, until 20 January 1979, when Tanzania devalued and definitively ended the tradition of the successor currencies moving in lockstep.

Defaults on or restructurings of debt to the private sector (mainly from Purcell and Kaufman 1993 and Standard & Poor's 2004): 1984-present (foreign currency bank debt, oil and interest rate shocks).

Reinhart and Tokatlidis (2000: 33) dating of recent financial liberalization: Domestic (notably interest rates) 1991, external (notably foreign-exchange market and participation by foreign financial institutions) 1996.

Banking crises (data since 1970s mainly from Caprio and Klingebiel 1999 and Frydl 1999): A brief run on Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas) in May 1951; a crisis in late 1980s-1990s; by 1992 the main bank, with 95% of deposits, was insolvent.

Frankel and Rose (1996) list of currency crashes: 1984, 1992.

References

Primary sources:

--Laws and decrees:

Germany. Overseas gazette. 1890-1921. Deutsches Kolonialblatt. Issued by Kolonial-Abtheilung des Auswärtigen Amts (1890-1907); Reichs-Kolonialamt (1907-1919); Reichskolonialministerium (1919-1920); Kolonialzentralverwaltung, Reichsministerium für Wiederaufbau (1920-1921). Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn.

Germany. 1892-1910. Die deutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung. Sammlung der auf die deutschen Schutzgebiete bezüüglichen Gesetze, Verordnungen, Erlasse, und internationale Vereinbarungen mit Anmerkungen und Sachregister. Edited by various persons. Berlin: D. Reimer, later Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn, later Alfred Zimmermann. (The first volume was published in 1898 but covers the period starting in 1892.)

Great Britain (United Kingdom). Gazette. 1665-present. Oxford Gazette (1996-1666); London Gazette (1666-present). Oxford (1665-1666); London (1666-present): His/Her Majesty's Stationery Office from 1903. Online at <http://www.gazettes.online.co.uk>; as of September 2005, gazettes since 1900 are available.

Tanganyika. Gazette. 1919-1964. The Tanganyika Territory Gazette (1919-1956); The Tanganyika Gazette (1956-1964). Dar Es Salaam. (Successor to Tanganyika [German East Africa] gazette.)

Tanganyika (German East Africa). Gazette. 1900-1914. Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Zeitung, with supplement Amtliche Anzeigen für Deutsch-Ostafrika and Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Rundschau, with supplement Amtlicher Anzeiger für Deutsch-Ostafrika. Dar Es Salaam: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Zeitung. (Succeeded by Tanganyika gazette.)

Tanzania. Gazette. 1964-present. The Gazette of the United Republic of Tanzahyia and Zanzibar (The Gazette of the United Republoic of Tanzania) (1964-1964); Gazette of the United Republic of Tanzania (1964-1970, with contents in Swahili);Gazeti la jamhuri ya muungano wa Tanzania (1970-present). Dar Es Salaam: Government Printer. (There are also supplements to the current gazette.)

Zanzibar. Gazette. 1914-1964. The Official Gazette of the Zanzibar Government. Zanzibar Town. (Continuation of an unofficial gazette called Gazette for Zanzibar and East Africa [1892-1909] and Zanzibar Gazette [1909-1914].)

--Publications of monetary authorities:

Bank of Tanzania. Annual report. 1966/1967-present. Economic and Operations Report (June 1967-1985/1986); Economic and Operations Report for the Year Ended 30^th June... (1986/1987-present). Dar Es Salaam: Bank of Tanzania.

Bank of Tanzania. Bulletin. 1969-present. Economic Bulletin (1969-1986); Economic Bulletin for the Quarter Ended ...(1986-present). Dar Es Salaam: Bank of Tanzania.

Bank of Tanzania. 1966-1968. Economic Report. Dar Es Salaam: Bank of Tanzania. (This publication was dated December, halfway between issues of the annual report. Only three issues were published.)

Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank. 1905-1916? Annual report. The bank must have issued an annual report, but I have found no reference to it.

East African Currency Board. Annual report. 1920/1921-1971/1972. Report of the East African Currency Board for the Year ending 30^th June... (1920/1921-1959); Report for the Year Ended 30^th June ... (1961/1962-1970/1971); The Final Report of the East African Currency Board (1971/1972). London: Waterlow and Sons (1920/1921-1958/1959); Nairobi: Government Printer, Kenya (1959/1960-1964/1965), Printing and Packaging Corporation (1965/1966-1970/1971); East African Currency Board (1971/1972).

--Web site of the current monetary authority (viewed 20 September 2005):

<http://www.bot-tz.org>

--Other publications or Web sites:

Great Britain (United Kingdom). Colonial Office. Report on Tanganyika. 1922-1938, 1946-1960. Report on Tanganyika Territory for the Year 1922 (1922); Report by His Britannic Majesty's Government on the Mandated Territory of Tanganyika for the Year ... (1923-1924); Report by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Council of the League of Nations on the Administration of Tanganyika Territory (1925-1938);Report by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Administration of Tanganyika under United Kingdom Trusteeship for the Year ...(1946-1956); Tanganyika Under United Kingdom Administration: Report by Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the General Assembly of the United Nations for the Year ... (1957-1960). London: His/Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

National Development Corporation. 1965-present. Annual Report and Accounts, Dar Es Salaam: National Development Corporation.

Main secondary sources:

Bank of Tanzania. [1976]. Central Banking in Socialist Transformation of Tanzania: A Special Publication to Commemorate the 1th Anniversary of the Founding of the Bank of Tanzania. [Dar es Salaam]: Bank of Tanzania.

Bank of Tanzania. 1979. Bank of Tanzania: Its Role and Functions. Dar es Salaam: Bank of Tanzania.

Bank of Tanzania. 1983. Tanzania, Twenty Years of Independence (1961-1981): A Review of Political and Economic Performance. Dar es Salaam: Bank of Tanzania.

Caselli, Clara. 1975. The Banking System of Tanzania. Milan: Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde.

Darley-Doran, Robert E. and Elizabeth. 1990. Trkh al-nq d f Saltanat `Umn / History of Currency in the Sultanate of Oman. Masqat / Muscat: al-Bank al-Markaz al-`Umn / Central Bank of Oman. (Has information on Zanzibar, which Omani rulers controlled for many years.)

Deeken, Matthias. 1913. Das Geldwesen der deutschen Kolonien. Münster in Westfalen, Germany: Druck der Westfälischen Vereinsdruckerei.

Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon. 1920. Edited by Heinrich Schnee, 3 v. Especially article "Handelsbank für Ostafrika," v. 2, p. 16. Dresden: Quelle und Meyer. Online at <http://www.ub.bildarchiv-dkg.uni-frankfurt.de/dfg-projekt/Bildprojekt/Lexikon/lexikon.htm>, viewed 21 September 2005.

Henry, J[ames] A., and H. A. Siepmann. 1963. The First Hundred Years of the Standard Bank. London: Oxford University Press. (The Standard Bank operated widely in Africa.)

IMF ARER. 1950-present. International Monetary Fund. Annual Report on Exchange Restrictions (1950-1978), Annual Report on Exchange Arrangements and Exchange Restrictions (1979-1988), Exchange Arrangements and Exchange Restrictions: Annual Report (1989-present). Washington: International Monetary Fund. (Contains information on IMF member countries and some of their dependencies.)

Kimei, Charles Stephen. 1987. Tanzania's Financial Experience in the Post-War Period. Studia Oeconomica Upsaliensis 13. Uppsala, Sweden: Acta Universitatas Upsaliensis, distributed by Almqvist and Wicksell International, Stockholm.

Meyer, Claus-Peter. 1996. Das Geld-, Bank- und Währungswesen im ehemaligen deutsche Schutzgebiet Deutsch-Ostafrika.Aachen: Verlag des Augustinus-Buchhandel. (I have not seen this.)

Mittelman, James H. 1981. Underdevelopment and the Transition to Socialism: Mozambique and Tanzania. New York: Academic Press.

Njala, A. S., and S. A. Obura. 1971. "Evolution of the East African Currencies."Quarterly Bulletin (Bank of Uganda), v. 13, no. 2, March: 51-5.

Pauw, Ernest-Josef. 1969. Das Bankwesen in Ostafrika. Munich: Weltforum.

Tyson, Geoffrey William. 1963. 100 Years of Banking in Asia and Africa, 1863-1963. London: National and Grindlays Bank. (A history of the National Bank of India and Grindlays Bank, which merged to form National and Grindlays Bank.)

Wehling, Franz. 1929. Die Entwicklung der deutsch-ostafrikanischen Rupie: ein Beitrag zur deutschen Kolonialpolitik.Münster in Westfalen, Germany: Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung.

Monetary authorities: Tanganyika and Tanzania

Dates	Type	Name	Source	Remarks
23 June 1905 -30 November 1905	government issue (of coins; little use of notes)	government of Tanganyika (headquarters Dar Es Salaam, Tanganyika [now Tanzania])	Germany, prime ministerial (Reichskanzler) order (Allerhöchste Ordre) of 23 December 1903, in Deutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung,v. 7: 283, cited in Deeken (1913: 39); prime ministerial decree (Verordnung) of 28 February 1904, inDeutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung,v. 8: 52, cited in Deeken (1913:42)	The first bank was the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank (headquarters Berlin, Germany), in Dar Es Salaam, on 23 June 1905 (Deeken 1913: 48). The name of the currency came from the Indian rupee, which was widely used along the coast of East Africa. Coins were made as early as the 1000s; the first coins under German rule were issued in 1890.
1 December 1905 -mid 1916	private monopoly issue (as part of a currency union)	Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank (headquarters Berlin, Germany)	Germany, charter of Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank, 30 October 1904, inDeutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung,v. 8: 3, cited in Deeken (1913: 48); Germany, prime ministerial (Reichskanzler) order (Allerhöchste Ordre) of 15 January 1905, inDeutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung,v. 9: 23, cited in Deeken (1913: 48); Tanganyika, governor's decree (Bekanntmachung) of 1 December 1905, inDeutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung,v. 9: 274, cited in Deeken (1913: 49)	The Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank began issuing notes. Its charter gave it the right to do so but did not promise it a monopoly. The bank was registered as a colonial company under Germany, Schutzgebietgesetzes of 10 September 1900, section 11. A rival bank, the Handelsbank für Ostafrika (headquarters Berlin, Germany), opened on 1 December 1911 in Tanga (Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon1920, v. 2: 16). It had no power to issue notes. I classify Tanganyika as being in a monetary union with Ruanda-Urundi (now Rwanda and Burundi) even though bank notes were little or not at all used in Ruanda-Urundi.
mid 1916 -30 July 1920	dollarization alongside government issue (of coins only, and only residually)	Kenyan rupee (issued by East Africa Protectorate, Currency Board [headquarters Mombasa, Kenya]) alongside Indian rupee (issued by Indian government [headquarters New Delhi, India]) alongside Tanganyika rupee coins (issued by former German colonial government)	general histories	The British army introduced Indian and Kenyan rupees when it conquered Tanganyika during the First World War. It captured Dar Es Salaam in early September 1916. German forces in Tanganyika, which did not surrender until 25 November 1918--11 days after the war ended in Europe--issued their own emergency notes but controlled little of the country. The notes were of such poor quality that they were easily counterfeited by British intelligence operatives. They were eventually accepted by the East African Currency Board (see below) at only 14% of their face value (Njala and Obura 1971: 53).
31 July 1920 -1956	joint currency board (as part of a currency union)	East African Currency Board (headquarters London, England / Nairobi, Kenya from 22 August 1960)	United Kingdom, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Regulations Defining the Constitution, Duties and Powers of the East African Currency Board, 22 May 1920, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1921: 7-9; East Africa and Uganda Currency (No. 2) Order in Council, 26 April 1920, cited in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1921: 2; East Africa Protectorate, Proclamation No. 80, 19 July 1920; see also East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1921: 4-5	The United Kingdom created the East African Currency Board to gain seigniorage for its colonies of Kenya, Tanganyika (now the mainland of Tanzania), and Uganda; they were later joined by Zanzibar, British Somaliland (now part of Somalia), and Aden (now southern Yemen). The currency board also served Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland (now part of Somalia) during and after the Second World War. The board issued notes first; it did not issue its own coins until January 1922, though it did take over liability for the coins of Kenya's predecessor currency board. Although the currency board operated in an orthodox manner, it did not attain 100% net foreign reserves against the monetary base until 1950 because of mistakes in its initial exchange policy. For details, see the remarks in the "Other" section above.
1956 -13 June 1966	joint currency board-like (as part of a currency union)	East African Currency Board (headquarters Nairobi, Kenya)	United Kingdom, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Regulations Defining the Constitution, Duties and Powers of the East African Currency Board, as Revised and Approved on 16th September 1955, 16 September 1955, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1955: 10-11	The East African Currency Board was allowed to hold up to East African £10 million in local securities, which at the time was equal to roughly 15% of its notes and coins in circulation. The maximum was raised to East African £20 million in 1957 (United Kingdom, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Regulations Defining the Constitution, Duties and Powers of the East African Currency Board, as Revised and Approved on the 23rd December, 1957, 23 December 1957, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 20 June 1958: 8), and East African £25 million in May 1963. In November 1960 the board was allowed to engage in crop-related financing up to East African £5 million, raised to East African £10 million in December 1962 (East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1961: 7; 30 June 1963: 12). The board made partial use of these powers. Tanganyika joined the IMF on 10 September 1962.
14 June 1966 -5 February 1967	central bank	Bank of Tanzania or Benki Kuu Ya Tanzania (headquarters Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania)	Tanzania, Bank of Tanzania Act, No. 12, 6 January 1966, cited in Bank of TanzaniaEconomic Report,July-December 1966: 3	Different views about economic policy led Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to establish national central banks rather than continue with the East African Currency Board or convert it into a joint central bank. Tanzania was the first to announce it would pull out when it became apparent that the East African states would not form a political federation. The central bank issued its first notes on 14 June 1966 and its first coins on 1 August 1966 (Bank of Tanzania Economic Report, July-December 1966: 4). They were issued in both Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which had united politically on 26 April 1964. East African Currency Board notes and coins ceased to be legal tender on 14 September 1967 (Tanzania, presidential proclamation of 19 April 1967, cited in Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1967: 19).
6 February 1967 -1991	monobank	Bank of Tanzania or Benki Kuu Ya Tanzania (headquarters Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania)	Tanzania, Arusha Declaration, 5 February 1967, cited in Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1967: 3; see also the same source, pp. 12-14	Tanzania nationalized its banks as part of a move to comprehensive central economic planning. The government-owned National Commercial Bank became the only bank in the country of any importance. The government-owned National Development Corporation developed an internal bank based on switching funds between units with surpluses and deficits, but the government ended the practice in 1971 (National Development Corporation annual report 1971: 17-18). Notes issued by the East African Currency Board ceased to be legal tender in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganga on 14 September 1967, while coins issued by it ceased to be legal tender in all three countries on 10 April 1969 (East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1968: 1; 1969: 1).
1991 -present (2005)	central bank	Bank of Tanzania or Benki Kuu Ya Tanzania (headquarters Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania)	Tanzania, Financial Institution and Banking Act, April 1991, cited in Bank of Tanzania annual report, 30 June 1992: 45	Returned to a genuine two-tier banking system. The first private bank was Meridien Bank BIAO (the headquarters of its holding company, Meridien International Bank, was in Nassau, Bahamas), opened in 1993 in Dar Es Salaam.

Monetary authorities: Zanzibar (to 1966)

Dates	Type	Name	Source	Remarks
1893 -31 December 1907	dollarization alongside government issue (of coins only)	Indian rupee (issued by Indian government [headquarters New Delhi, India]) alongside Zanzibar rial coins issued by Omani sultan (headquarters Muscat, Oman)	Darley-Doran (1990: 66)	The first bank was the National Bank of India (headquarters London, England), in Zanzibar Town, in 1893 (Tyson 1963: 111, 221). The second bank was the Standard Bank of South Africa (headquarters London, England), in Zanzibar Town, in 1911, but it withdrew in 1913 (Henry and Siepmann 1963: 162). Pemba counterstamped coins in 1872. Zanzibar issued its first coins in 1883 (Darley-Doran 1990: 66).
1 January? 1908 -31 December 1935	government issue	government of Zanzibar (headquarters Zanzibar Town, Zanzibar)	Darley-Doran (1990: 70-1)	The government issued notes whose purpose was apparently to capture seigniorage. I have placed the starting date as 1 January 1908 because it is the date on the government notes; actual issuance may not have occurred until later in 1908.
1 January 1936 -1956	joint currency board (as part of a currency union)	East African Currency Board (headquarters London, England / Nairobi, Kenya from 22 August 1960)	United Kingdom, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Regulations Defining the Constitution, Duties and Powers of the East African Currency Board, 22 May 1920, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1921: 7-9; Zanzibar, Currency Decree of 1935, cited in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1936: 1	Zanzibar joined the East African Currency Board and detached itself from the Indian rupee area. See the remarks in the "Other" section above about the board's reserve ratio in its early years.
1956 -13 June 1966	joint currency board-like (as part of a currency union)	East African Currency Board (headquarters Nairobi, Kenya)	United Kingdom, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Regulations Defining the Constitution, Duties and Powers of the East African Currency Board, as Revised and Approved on 16th September 1955, 16 September 1955, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1955: 10-11	The East African Currency Board was allowed to hold up to East African £10 million in local securities, which at the time was equal to roughly 15% of its notes and coins in circulation. The maximum was raised to East African £20 million in 1957 (United Kingdom, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Regulations Defining the Constitution, Duties and Powers of the East African Currency Board, as Revised and Approved on the 23rd December, 1957, 23 December 1957) and East African £25 million in May 1963. In November 1960 the board was allowed to engage in crop-related financing up to East African £5 million, raised to East African £10 million in December 1962. The board made partial use of these powers. Zanzibar united monetarily with Tanganyika after this period; for its subsequent history, see the table for Tanganyika and Tanzania.

Exchange rate arrangements: Tanganyika and Tanzania

Dates	Official arrangement	Source	Unofficial arrangement, if different	Remarks
1888 -30 April 1904	fixed; used Indian rupee	Tanganyika, German governor's decree (Verordnung) of 20 September 1893, effective 1 November 1893, in Deutsche Kolonialgeseztgebung,v. 2: 38, cited in Deeken (1913: 35)		Substantial German colonization of Tanganyika began in 1888. The Indian rupee was the predominant currency for trade around the Indian Ocean. The German East Africa Company had copper baisa coins struck in 1890, 1891, and 1892 (as permitted by its charter of 20 November 1890, inDeutsche Kolonialgeseztgebung,v. 1: 382, cited in Deeken 1913: 33). The baisa, or pice, was 1/64th of a rupee, so the currency was not decimalized.
1 May 1904 -mid 1916	pegged (as part of a currency union); 1.33-1/3 (German) East African rupees = 1German mark	Germany, prime ministerial (Reichskanzler) order (Allerhöchste Ordre) of 23 December 1903, in Deutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung,v. 7: 283, cited in Deeken (1913: 39); prime ministerial decree (Verordnung) of 28 February 1904, inDeutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung,v. 8: 52, cited in Deeken (1913:42)		Introduced a local, decimal currency linked to the German mark as a means of asserting German control over the country. The (German) East African rupee was initially equal to the Indian rupee, after which it was named. The exchange rate was pegged because Tanganyika did not simply use German currency; it used a different unit of account issued by the colonial government not backed by a currency board-type arrangement.
mid 1916 -30 July 1920	fixed (as part of a currency union); used Indian and Kenyan rupees along with continued use of (German) East African rupees	general histories		The British army introduced Indian and Kenyan rupees when it conquered Tanganyika during the First World War. It captured Dar Es Salaam in early September 1916, though it did not control the whole country until after the First World War had ended in Europe. The Kenyan rupee was a decimal currency; while the Indian rupee was not.
31 July 1920 -31 December 1921	fixed (as part of a currency union); 10 East African rupees/florins = UK£1 (see Remarks)	United Kingdom, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Regulations Defining the Constitution, Duties and Powers of the East African Currency Board, 22 May 1920, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1921: 7-9; East Africa and Uganda Currency Order in Council, 2 March 1920, cited in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1921: 2; East Africa and Uganda Currency (No. 2) Order in Council, 26 April 1920, cited in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1921: 2; East Africa Protectorate, Proclamation No. 80, 19 July 1920		Introduced a regional currency. At first the currency was to have been called the East African rupee, but before it was actually issued the British government decided, at the request of British settlers, to change the name to the florin (the name of the British coin worth two shillings, or one-tenth of a pound sterling). Small amounts of East African rupee notes and coins were manufactured and circulated early in the period. The East African currency was introduced at 1 East African rupee/florin = 1 Kenyan or Indian rupee. The East African rupee and florin were both decimalized. There was also a unit of account called the East African pound, equal to the pound sterling. Indian coins ceased to be legal tender on 23 July 1921 (Great Britain, report on Tanganyika 1924: 26).
1 January 1922 -1956	fixed (as part of a currency union); 20 East African shillings = UK£1 (1 East African shilling = 1 UK shilling)	United Kingdom, Kenya and Uganda (Currency) Order in Council, No. 1830, 10 August 1921, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1922: 10-13; Kenya and Uganda (Currency) (No. 2) Order in Council, No. 1831, 7 November 1921, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1922: 14		Changed the unit of account from the East African florin to the East African shilling, named after the UK shilling. The rate of conversion was 2 East African shillings = 1 East African florin. The period for exchanging (German) East African rupees at 1 (German) East African rupee = 1 East African florin was 9 June 1922-31 March 1923, extended to 31 December 1923 for small holdings of currency by Africans.[Precise citation from East African Currency Board annual report still to come]
1956 -13 June 1966	pegged (as part of a currency union); 20 East African shillings = UK£1 (1 East African shilling = 1 UK shilling)	United Kingdom, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Regulations Defining the Constitution, Duties and Powers of the East African Currency Board, as Revised and Approved on 16th September 1955, 16 September 1955, reprinted in East African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1955: 10-11		The currency board became a currency board-like system, so the exchange rate changed from fixed to pegged.
14 June 1966 -17 November 1967	pegged; 20 Tanzanian shillings = UK£1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.124414g gold	Tanzania, Bank of Tanzania Act, No. 12, 6 January 1966, cited in Bank of TanzaniaEconomic Report,July-December 1966: 3		Tanzanian shilling notes and coins replaced the East African shilling upon the breakup of the East African Currency Board. At this exchange rate, 250 Tanzanian shillings = 1 troy ounce gold.
4 August 1966 -5 February 1967	pegged; 20 Tanzanian shillings = UK£1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.124414g gold, or 7.14286 Tanzanian shillings = US$1	IMF ARER (1967: 586, 592)		Tanzania agreed to a gold parity with the IMF on 3 August 1966 and registered it the next day. In effect doing so established an exchange rate link to the US dollar.
6 February 1967 -17 November 1967	repressed (pegged); 20 Tanzanian shillings = UK£1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.124414g gold, or 7.14286 Tanzanian shillings = US$1	Tanzania, Arusha Declaration, 5 February 1967, cited in Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1967: 3		Tanzania moved to comprehensive central economic planning, so the exchange rate became a repressed rate.
18 November 1967 -24 August 1971	repressed (pegged); 17.1429 Tanzanian shillings = UK£1, or 7.14286 Tanzanian shillings = US$1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.124414g gold	Bank of TanzaniaEconomic Report,December 1967: 10	RR: Parallel market premium in mid double digits from July 1970, when data begin.	In a coordinated response, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda did not follow the devaluation of the pound sterling on 18 November 1967.
25 August 1971 -21 December 1971	repressed (pegged); 7.14286 Tanzanian shillings = US$1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.124414g gold	Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1972: 11; IMF ARER (1972: 408)	RR: Parallel market premium peaks at above 100%. Managed float.	Gold convertibility for all countries ended in practice when the United States abandoned the gold standard on 15 August 1971. At the start of this period, Tanzania switched from the pound sterling to the US dollar as its anchor currency. Kenya and Uganda did so on 11 October 1971.
22 December 1971 -16 February 1973	repressed (pegged); 7.141826 Tanzanian shillings = US$1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.114592g gold (nominally)	Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1972: 35-6	RR: Parallel market premium persistently over 100%. Managed float.	Followed the devaluation of the US dollar against gold on 18 December 1971. Tanzania adopted wider margins.
17 February 1973 -1 July 1973	repressed (pegged); 7.141826 Tanzanian shillings = US$1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.103133g gold (nominally)	Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1973: 10	RR: Parallel market premium around 100%. Managed float.	Devalued against gold, as the US dollar had done on 12 February 1973.
2 July 1973 -13 January 1974	repressed (pegged); 6.90 Tanzanian shillings - US$1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.10673g gold (nominally)	Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1973: 10; IMF ARER (1974: 419)	RR: Parallel market premium around 100%. Managed float, then freely falling / managed float from December 1973.	Revalued against the US dollar with Kenya and Uganda.
14 January 1974 -24 October 1975	repressed (pegged); 7.14286 Tanzanian shillings = US$1, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.103133g gold (nominally)	Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1974: 10; IMF ARER (1975: 458-9)	RR: Parallel market premium peaks above 200%. Freely falling / managed float, then managed float from April 1975.	A slight devaluation with Kenya and Uganda during a period of turbulent foreign-exchange markets.
25 October 1975 -31 March 1978	repressed (pegged to rigid basket); 9.66 Tanzanian shillings = 1 SDR, or 1 Tanzanian shilling = 0.103133g gold (nominally)	Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1976: 16; IMF ARER (1976: 436, 438)	RR: Parallel market premium variable, peaking at over 200% but never lower than high double digits. Managed float; in June 1976 parallel market premium hit 255%.	Switched from the US dollar to the SDR as the anchor currency with Kenya and Uganda. This was a devaluation, since the initial middle rate against the US dollar was 8.16 Tanzanian shillings = US$1.
1 April 1978 -19 January 1979	repressed (pegged to rigid basket); 9.66 Tanzanian shillings = 1 SDR	International Monetary Fund, Board of Governors, Resolution No. 31-4, 30 April 1976 ("Second Amendment")	RR: Parallel market premium falling from high to mid double digits.	The system of gold par values officially ended by agreement of IMF members.
20 January 1979 -7 March 1982	repressed (flexible basket)	Bank of Tanzania annual report, June 1977: 37; IMF ARER (1980: 392)	RR: Parallel market premium frequently above 200%. Managed float.	Devalued to 10.7333 Tanzanian shillings = 1 SDR (8.289364 Tanzanian shillings = US$1) and then switched to an undisclosed basket as the anchor. The exchange rate continued to be based on daily quotations of the SDR.
8 March 1982 -31 December 1982	repressed (flexible basket) (another type)	IMF ARER (1983: 450)	RR: Parallel market premium peaks at 350%. Managed float.	The central bank devalued the central rate from 8.44 to 9.28435 Tanzanian shillings = US$1 and announced that henceforth the exchange rate would be determined by a basket consisting of the currencies of Tanzania's main trading partners, rather than on daily quotations of the SDR as previously.
1 January 1983 -30 June 1986?	repressed (flexible basket,  multiple rates)	IMF ARER (1984: 466; 1985: 479)	RR: Parallel market premium peaks above 700%. Managed float to August 1983; freely falling / managed float September 1983-May 1985; managed float from June 1985.	Effective 1 January 1983, apparently, an export rebate scheme amounting to multiple exchange rates came into force. On 6 June 1983 the central bank devalued the central rate from 9.743 to 12.17875 Tanzanian shillings = US$1 (IMF ARER 1984: 466). On 15 June 1984 it devalued the central rate from 12.59 to 17 Tanzanian shillings = US$1 (IMF ARER 1985: 479). On 7 June 1986 it devalued the central rate from 30 to 40 Tanzanian shillings = US$1 (World Currency Yearbook 1986-1987: 182).
1 July 1986? -3 November 1988	repressed (flexible basket); see Remarks about multiple rates	IMF ARER (1987: 481)	RR: Parallel market premium above 100%. Managed float.	Multiple rates disappeared when the export rebate scheme was abolished. The IMF classifies Tanzania as having a single exchange rate, but broken cross rates with foreign currencies apparently still existed.
4 November 1988 -1991	repressed (flexible basket)	IMF ARER (1988: 475)	RR: Parallel market premium falls to mid double digits. Managed float to August 1991; freely falling / managed float from September 1991.	Devalued from 98.20 to 120 Tanzanian shillings = US$1 and eliminated broken cross rates. The US dollar was the intervention currency. On 29 December 1989, Tanzania depreciated the currency to 192.90 Tanzanian shillings = US$1.
1991 -2 August 1993	flexible basket	Tanzania, Financial Institution and Banking Act, April 1991, cited in Bank of Tanzania annual report, 30 June 1992: 45	RR: Parallel market premium falls to single digits. Managed float.	Moved from away from a repressed exchange rate as part of the retreat from central economic planning. Foreign exchange bureaus were allowed to open starting 21 April 1992 (Bank of Tanzania annual report, 30 June 1992: 38).
3 August 1993 -14 July? 1996	independent float, multiple rates	IMF ARER (1994: 497)	RR: Parallel market premium in single digits. De facto crawling band around US dollar.	Unified the official and "bureau" exchange rates and floated. Other multiple rates remained. An interbank foreign-exchange market replaced weekly central bank auctions on 30 June 1994.
15 July? 1996 -present (2005)	independent float	IMF ARER (1997: 834, 838, 957)	RR: Parallel market premium in single digits to December 1998, when data end. De facto crawling band around US dollar. Parallel market rates in single digits until December 1998, when data cease.	Fully unified the exchange rate. The Bank of Tanzania bulletin (September 1996: 8) said the bank smoothed fluctuations and ensured a "competive external environment." Tanzania accepted Article VIII of the IMF Articles of Agreement on 15 July 1996. Countries that accept Article VIII agree not to impose restrictions on current-account payments. IMF ARER (1997: 834), which covers events in 1996, is the first issued to list Tanzania as having a unified exchange rate, but gives no specific date. Unification could have occurred earlier.

Exchange rate arrangements: Zanzibar (to 1966)