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Decline of the Kilwa Sultanate

Type Event Region Africa Time 1521–1530

In the 1520s the long-established Kilwa Sultanate on the East African coast continued to decline under Portuguese colonial pressure and competition f…

Timeline

  1. 1521–1524Kilwa · TanzaniaThe trauma of the Portuguese capture of Kilwa in 1505 continued to fester: the sultanate lost control over the southern Swahili city-states, gold and ivory trade revenues plummeted, and the city-state alliance system collapsed.
  2. 1524–1526Swahili Coast · Swahili CoastIn Indian Ocean monsoon trade, Mombasa and Malindi replaced Kilwa as the main ports of call; Arab and Gujarati merchants gradually bypassed Kilwa, and the sultanate's economic lifeline shrank further.
  3. 1525–1530Kilwa Archipelago · LindiBy around 1525, the Kilwa sultan's overlordship over coastal city-states existed in name only, port facilities lay derelict, and the population emigrated to Mombasa and elsewhere. The former East African trade hegemon was reduced to a marginal port.

Sources