Bagamoyo, Tanzania

In the first half of the 19th century, Bagamoyo became a trading port for ivory and slave, with traders coming from the African interior – places as far as Morogoro, Lake Tanganyika and Usambara- on their way to Zanzibar. This explains the meaning of the word Bagamoyo ("Bwaga-Moyo") which means "Lay down your Heart" in Swahili. It is disputed whether this refers to the slave trade which passed through the town (i.e. "give up all hope") or to the porters who rested in Bagamoyo after carrying 16-kilogram (35 lb) cargoes on their shoulders from the Great Lakes region (i.e. "take the load off and rest"). There is considerable debate regarding the extent of the slave trade as a major export in Bagamoyo, with archival analysis suggesting that ivory was the primary export over slaves, and that many of the caravan porters on the ivory route were free wage laborers as opposed to slaves. However, the history of the slave trade features prominently in the shared culture of its residents and organizations such as UNESCO emphasize its importance as a cultural heritage site memorializing the slave trade in East Africa.

The slave trade in East Africa was officially prohibited in the year 1873, but continued surreptitiously to the end of the 19th century.

In 1868, Bagamoyo local rulers, known as majumbe, presented the Catholic "Fathers of the Holy Ghost" with land for a mission north of the town, the first mission in East Africa. This caused resistance by the native Zaramo people which was mediated by representatives of Sultan Majid and, after 1870, by Sultan Barghash. Originally the mission was intended to house children who were rescued from slavery, but it soon expanded to a church, a school, and some workshops and farming projects.

But Bagamoyo was not only a trade centre for ivory and copra; it was also a starting point for renowned European explorers. From Bagamoyo they moved out to find the source of the River Nile and explored the African inner lakes. Some of these were Richard Francis Burton, John Hanning Speke, Henry Morton Stanley and James Augustus Grant. Although often believed so, David Livingstone had never been to Bagamoyo in his lifetime. Only after his death he was laid out in the Old Church's tower (nowadays named Livingston Tower) to wait for the high tide to come in and ship his body to Zanzibar.

Bagamoyo was the first capital of the colony while serving as the German headquarters of German East Africa (first under the auspices of the German East African Company and then the German Imperial Government) between 1886–1891. Dar es Salaam became the new capital of the colony in 1891. The town was apparently where SS-Oberführer Julian Scherner was born in 1895. When the German Empire decided to build a narrow gauge railway from Dar es Salaam into the interior in 1905, Bagamoyo's importance began to decline.

In the East African campaign of World War I, British and Empire forces attacked Bagamoyo in August 1916. The Royal Navy bombarded the town with the protected cruiser HMS Talbot on 1 August and battleship HMS Vengeance on 4 August.

Before dawn on 15 August a flotilla anchored off Bagamoyo that included Vengeance, the protected cruiser Challenger, the monitors Severn and Mersey, the armed merchant cruiser Himalaya, and several auxiliary ships. The Royal Navy landed a force of 176 armed sailors, 65 Royal Marines and 55 Zanzibar Rifles to attack the town.

A kite balloon flown by HMS Manica directed a naval bombardment of German positions ashore. A seaplane from Himalaya bombed German trenches in the town, and then assisted in directing naval gunnery.

The Imperial German Army defended Bagamoyo with 60 German troops and 350 Askari Schutztruppe, commanded by German officers. However, many of the defenders were at Mtoni, about 6 kilometres (4 mi) west of Bagamoyo, defending a crossing over the Kingani River.

The German defences of Bagamoyo included trenches along the shore, around the Arab and German forts, and on a hill just south of the town. German artillery included at least two small field guns on the shore, plus one of the 105 mm naval guns that had been salvaged from the cruiser SMS Königsberg, and installed in an emplacement on the hill with 100 rounds of ammunition.

Königsberg's gun engaged the monitors Severn and Mersey, which were some distance out to sea, but it could not be lowered enough to engage vessels nearer the shore. Three smaller Royal Navy vessels, including the armed tugboat HMS Helmuth, got within 500 metres of the German gun and opened fire on it with their 3-pounder guns. A British machine gun section then attacked the hill, eventually forcing the German artillerymen to abandon their gun and retreat. This was the first of Königsberg's guns to be captured by British forces.