On 3 March 1885, the government of the German Empire granted an imperial charter to the German East Africa Company, and a protectorate was established.

German colonial rule in the region lasted until World War I, when the British occupied the colony during the East African campaign.

The British territory of Tanganyika was established on 20 July 1922, when Britain acquired a mandate to administer the region as a result of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.

On 18 April 1946, the mandate was reorganized as a Trust Territory of the United Nations.

Afterwards, the region remained under British administration until it gained independence on 9 December 1961 as Tanganyika.