BAGAMOYO: A place to Must Visit when in Tanzania

These days, Bagamoyo is a centre for dhow sailboat building on the Tanzanian coast. A quiet village with a few German colonial buildings still standing, it was once one of the most important trading ports on the East African coast, and the penultimate stop of
slave and Ivory caravans travelling on foot from Lake Tanganyika on their way to Zanzibar. Missionaries active in abolishing the slave trade made Bagamoyo a centre of their activities. The name 'Bagamoyo' means 'lay down your heart' in swahili, and this is particularly poignant given that the town was the last stop on the mainland before captured slaves were sent to destinations unknown from Zanzibar, never to return.

Bagamoyo is a small historical town, which lies approximately 70 kms, north of Dar es Salaam along the splendid sandy beach, curved palm, and winged with the unpolluted water of the Indian Ocean

Bagamoyo is one of the most fascinating towns in East Africa, with a host of historical associations. It boasts as one of the east Africa’s largest assembly of 18th century architecture.
There is still controversy over the etymology of the word Bagamoyo. One explorer claimed that the name signified “Coeur de l Afrique” – thus suggesting that the town was the gate way to the interior of Africa

Some say its name is derived from the word “Bwagamoyo”, which means, “here I throw down my heart” reflecting the desperation and despair of the ‘broken hearted’ captives whose voyage into the unknown began here. Caravan porters praised the town as “Bwagamoyo”-“to throw off melancholy”, while slaves lamented it as “Bagamoyo”, Kiswahili for “crush down your heart”
A more frequent explanation is that the word is a version of “Bwaga – moyo”:
“A double interpretation developed: the first theory holds that the town’s name originated with the lament of slaves who knew that, although they were to be shipped to distant lands, their hearts would forever remain in their beloved homeland. The second theory (which is thought to be more probable) contends that Bagamoyo was named by the caravan porters who felt they had reached the end of their long arduous journey from the interior – now cease this enter port was popularly known as Bagamoyo. They foresaw compensation of words for all the hardships they had endured and perhaps thought this combination of words a symbol of hope and encouragement.

Bagamoyo was the terminus for caravan from the interior coming far to bagamoyo; the caravan porters name this town “Bwagamoyo” meaning throw off your melancholy. Later bagamoyo became the terminus for thousand of slaves who gave in new name to the town “bagamoyo” meaning crush your heart