Muslim Communities, Long-distance Traders and Wage Labour along the Central Caravan Road, Tanzania 19th Century

This paper focuses on the areas of the interior of present-day Tanzania in the 19th century. The first sections are devoted to the analysis of the characteristics that can be considered as peculiar for the understanding of capitalism in the area: the development of trade and urban life, the emergence of a class of wage labourers and the influence of local political authorities on trade. A final section provides an overview of the available evidence on the earliest conversions to Islam in the interior, with special reference to the most important urban centres that developed along the central caravan road, connecting Bagamoyo, on the coast, to lakes Tanganyika and Victoria.