And I think the high country was viewed as a particularly significant asset in the British Colonies. It wasn't for any tactical or military advantage but rather for the comfortable living it afforded the British colonial ruling class during the hot seasons in Africa and India and Asia...
On the low-lands, the climate in tropical regions during the hot season is either sweltering hot and humid or just bakingly hot and dry, neither of which is very pleasant for people. But climb up as little as a few hundred meters and things get much nicer. Its not just that the temperatures get lower with increasing altitude in a predictably steady way. The mountains actually generate completely different climates and cause rainfall and "tropical" suddenly becomes "temperate".
And on the thought that Tanzania has a lot less of the high-country than Kenya, its interesting to note that when the British and Germans were originally drawing border lines on the map in Africa, Kenya also included Mt Kilimanjaro as well... There is a distinct "kink" in the border between the two countries and its there because the British "gifted" Mt Kilimanjaro to the Germans (the royal families were very close blood relations at the time)... And its said that it was done since "it seemed unfair that Kenya should have both of Africa's highest peaks while Tanzania had none"... But I think it was more to do with the associated fertile, productive, and comfortable high-country around the mountains rather than their peaks :)
Anyway, while riding around I saw lots of Coffee growing and more recently I also saw lots of Tea plantations... And the plantations were both very large and very small, but as far as I could see they were mostly still being harvested by hand rather than by machine... One of the "advantages" of having a very large unskilled and under-employed population "at your disposal" !
