End of the Middle-Ages view of Kilwa by the Portuguese.
-----------------------------------
Note these words:
naos: ships, vessels
Parias/ pareas: tribute to the king
Leagues: 6km
Taken from: The first Booke of the Historie of the Discoverie and Conquest of the East Indias by the Portingals, in the time of King Don John, the second of that name. By Hernan Lopes de Castaneda. Translated into English by Nicholas Lichefield 1582.
(Voyage of Pedro Alvarez Cabral to India in 1500)
……… the general continued his voyage to Mozambique; where he arrived on the 20th of July and took in a supply of water, and procured a pilot to carry him to the island of Quiloa, towards which he directed his course. In this part of the voyage, he saw several fertile islands, belonging to the king of Quiloa, who is a powerful prince; his dominions extending from Cape Corientes almost to Mombaza, along nearly 400 leagues of coast, including the two islands near Sofala, that city itself, and several others to Mozambique, many more all the way to Mombaza, with a great number of islands; from all which he derives large revenues. Yet he has few soldiers, and lives in no great state. His constant residence is in an island named Quiloa, near the continent of Ethiopia, a hundred leagues from Mozambique. This island is full of gardens and orchards, with plenty of various kinds of fruits, and excellent water, and the country produces abundance of corn and other grain, and breeds great numbers of small cattle; and the sea affords great plenty of excellent fish. The city of Quiloa is in lat. 9°25' S. and long. 40°20' E., handsomely built of stone and lime, and pleasantly situated between fine gardens and the sea, having abundance of provisions from its own island and from other places on the continent. The king and the inhabitants of the city are Moors of a fair color using the Arabic language, but the original natives of the country are Negroes. The Moors of Quiloa are richly dressed, especially the women, who wear many golden ornaments. They are great merchants, enjoying the principal trade in gold at Sofala, whence it is distributed over Arabia Felix, and other countries; and many merchants resort thither from other places. Hence there are always many ships in this port, which are all hauled up on the beach when not in use. These ships have no nails, but are sewed together by rope made of cairo, and have their bottoms sealed with wild frankincense, as the country produces no pitch. The winter here begins in April and ends in May.
On arriving at Quiloa, and receiving a safe-conduct for that purpose, the general sent Alonso Hurtado, attended by seven of the principal officers, to wait upon the king, signifying that Cabral had come here with the fleet of the king of Portugal to settle a trade in the city, and had great store of merchandise fit for that purpose; and to say that he was desirous to confer with his highness on this subject, but had been forbidden by the king his master to go on shore. The king agreed to give Cabral an audience afloat; and, on the following day Cabral waited for the king in his boat, which was covered over with flags, and attended by all the other captains in their boats; as now Sancho de Toar and other two ships had joined company again. The king came in an almadia (dug-out), accompanied by many principal Moors in other boats, all decked with flags, and with many trumpets, cornets, and sackbuts (trombone), making a great noise. On the arrival of the king, the whole Portuguese ordnance was fired off, by which the king and his train were much alarmed, not having been accustomed to such a salute.
After mutual civilities, the letter from the king of Portugal was read, proposing the settlement of trade between the two nations, to which the king of Quiloa assented, and agreed that Alonso Hurtado should wait upon him next day with an account of the kinds of merchandise the Portuguese had to dispose of, for which he promised to give gold in exchange. But when Hurtado went next day on shore, the king made many excuses for not performing his promise, pretending to have no need of the commodities, …… (Pedro Alvarez Cabral has to leave without any results.)
(The Second Voyage of De Gama to India in 1502)
On leaving Mozambique, De Gama sailed for Quiloa, having orders to reduce the king of that place to become tributary, as a punishment for his unfriendly conduct towards Cabral. On his arrival in that port, Ibrahim the king came on board to visit the admiral, afraid of being called to account for the injuries he had done to Cabral. De Gama, knowing that he was not to be trusted, threatened to make him a prisoner under the hatches, if he did not immediately agree to pay tribute to the king of Portugal. [According to De Faria, De Gama began by cannonading the city of Quiloa; till the king consenting to become tributary] The king from fear engaged to pay 2000 miticals (4.25gr) of gold yearly, and gave one Mehemed Alcones, a principal man among the Moors whom he hated, as an hostage for the payment. The reason of his dislike to Mehemed was this: Ibrahim was himself an usurper, having seized the government in prejudice to the right heir, and was afraid that Mehemed intended to dethrone him. When the king found himself at liberty, in consequence of this arrangement, he refused to send the promised tribute, in hope that De Gama might put the hostage to death, by which means he might get rid of his enemy. But the Moor, on finding the tribute did not come, was fain to pay the same himself, by which means he procured his own liberty. While at Quiloa, the fleet was joined by the squadron of five ships under Stephen de Gama.
(Voyage of Alonso and Francisco de Albuquerque to India in 1503)
(On the return) Ruy Lorenzo was parted from (the fleet) in a storm which drove him to Mozambique, whence he held on his course for Quiloa, where he took some small prizes (= he behaved as a pirate).
Taken from: Da Ásia de João de Barros, dos feitos que os Portuguezes fizeram no descubrimento e conquista dos mares e terras do Oriente ; João de Barros 1552. (first decade)
(Voyage of Pedro Alvarez Cabral to India in 1500)
Pedralvares left Mozambique with the faithful sails left behind, he always came along the coast with the precaution of not running past the City of Quiloa, where he arrived on the twenty-fifth of July, in which a Moor by the name of Habrahemo reigned (The 47th Sultan of Kilwa (R1499-1505) Ibrahim ibn Suleiman; 'Emir Ibrahim', 'Mir Habraemo' in Portuguese), who was on that coast a very esteemed man, and the City was one of the oldest that they founded there, (of which we will make a more detailed account later), which through being overlord of Cofala, which having spent a long time under his hand, had made him rich, and powerful, and with him ElRey sent Pedralvares to see him, and make peace, and for that he brought him letters.
(At Quiloa Joao da Nova) found Antonio Fernandes Carpinteiro the convict, which Pedralvares left, …… And among some things, that Antonio Fernandes told him about what was going on among those barbaric and unfaithful people, was that there was a Moor called Mafamede Anconij there, who had done him a lot of honor, and so much, that he believed for him it was not, some Moors would have killed him.
However, as he was Clerk of El Rey in Quiloa's dominion, a powerful man in the land for his love and also fearing that El Rey could punish them for this, the civil people did not hear about killing him from this beast that persecuted him the most. And that in addition to the benefit he received from Mafamede Anconij, he felt that he was a man who was faithful to our things, for many of the things he was aware of that they did for their good and favor, and that he felt from him Pedralvares Cabral during the days he spent there. Joao da Nova, having experienced what Antonio Fernandes said to him about Mafamede, began to make use of him, whom he found so faithful, that despite the betrayals, which ElRey set up for him by welcoming him, faith for him was not revealed, as it had never happened to him some disaster. And because of that he did not show that he distrusted him, with the greatest caution that João da Nova could ……
Note: This man appears also in the Chronicle of Kilwa (on p137 and p142) . He is called Muhammad Rokn ad-din (=Mahamed Anconij or Arcone). He was a very rich man from Kilwa who collaborated with the Portuguese from the moment they arrived. He was crowned by Don Francisco d'Almeida in 1505 as Sultan of Kilwa. He was murdered by a local king of Mafia at the instigation of Sultan Ibrahim.
Taken from: The East African coast; select documents from the first to the earlier nineteenth century By Freeman-Grenville 1962.
Translated from Joao de Barros Da Asia 1552 Decade I, Book VIII, Ch III-VIII
P85
In the report on Francisco d'Almeida's attack on Kilwa in 1505 we read:
This town of Kilwa, although situated in Zanguebar, on the coast of the mainland., is surrounded by the sea, which forms a strait that makes Kilwa an island. It is very fertile in palms and all kinds of thorny fruit trees, and in the vegetables that we have in Portugal. It has some cattle of different kinds and a large number of hens, pigeons, turtle doves, and other kinds of birds unknown to us. The ordinary food of the people is millet, rice, different kinds of cultivated roots, and a large quantity of wild fruit, with which the poor maintain themselves. The water is obtained principally from wells, and is not very healthy, as the land is marshy and the town situated on the coast of the strait, where it encroaches on the shore and forms a kind of bay.
The greater number of the houses are built of stone and mortar, with flat roofs, and at the back there are orchards planted with fruit trees and palms to give shade and please the sight as well as for their fruit. The streets are narrow as these orchards are large, this being the custom among the Moors, that they may be better able to defend themselves. Here the streets are so narrow that one can jump from one roof to the other on the opposite side. At one part of the town the king had his palace, built in the style of a fortress, with towers and turrets and every kind of defense, with a door opening to the quay to allow entrance from the sea, and another large door on the side of the fortress that opened on the town. Facing it was a large open space where they hauled the vessels up, in front of which our ships had anchored. From our ships the fine houses, terraces, and minarets, with the palms and trees in the orchards, made the city look so beautiful that our men were eager to land …………
According to Stéphane Pradines 2004 the description of the kings palace fits quite well with Husuni Ndogo, dated between the 13th and 15th centuries by Neville Chittick's surveys. Husuni Ndogo would be contemporary with the palace of Husuni Kubwa, built by Al-Hasan b. Sulayman II (1310-1333) or Dawud ibn Sulayman (1333 to 1356). The 14th century was a period of prosperity in Kilwa, the Mahdali dynasty undertook many urban developments, including the enlargement of the Friday mosque and the creation of a new palace. This vast building was erected on a rocky promontory above the old palace-caravanserai of Husuni Ndogo.
Taken from: A description of the coasts of East Africa and Malabar, in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Duarte Barbosa 1514. Transl Stanley.
ISLAND OF QUILOA.
After passing this place and going towards India, there is another island close to the mainland, called Quiloa, in which there is a town of the Moors, built of handsome houses of stone and lime, and very lofty, with their windows like those of the Christians; in the same way it has streets, and these houses have got their terraces, and the wood worked in with the masonry, with plenty of gardens, in which there are many fruit trees and much water. This island has got a king over it, and from hence there is trade with Sofala with ships, which carry much gold, which is dispersed thence through all Arabia Felix, for henceforward all this country is thus named on account of the shore of the sea being: peopled with many towns and cities of the Moors; and when the King of Portugal discovered this land, the Moors of Sofala, and Zuama (Kuvama), and Anguox, and Mozambique, were all under obedience to the King of Quiloa, who was a great king amongst them. And there is much gold in this town, because all the ships which go to Sofala touch at this island, both in going and coming back. These people are Moors, of a dusky colour, and some of them are black and some white; they are very well dressed with rich cloths of gold, and silk, and cotton, and the women also go very well dressed out with much gold and silver in chains and bracelets on their arms, and legs, and ears. The speech of these people is Arabic, and they have got books of the Alcoran, and honor greatly their prophet Muhamad. This King, for his great pride, and for not being willing to obey the King of Portugal, had this town taken from him by force, and in it they killed and captured many people, and the King fled from the island, in which the King of Portugal ordered a fortress to be built, and thus he holds under his command and government those who continued to dwell there.
Taken from: A general history and collection of voyages and travels, arranged in systematic order [microform]: forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time by Kerr, Robert, 1755-1813 Vol 6.
Taken from: Portuguese Asia, by Manuel de Faria y Sousa (1646).
On the 2th of March 1505, Don Francisco de Almeyda sailed from Lisbon …………. Owing to the separation of the fleet by the storm, Almeyda arrived at Quiloa with only eight vessels; and on saluting the port without receiving any answer, he called a council of his officers to deliberate upon his proceedings, as he had orders from the king to erect a fort at this place, which was accordingly resolved upon. He landed therefore with 500 men, accompanied by his son Don Lorenzo, and attacked the town in two places. Amir Ibrahim fled over to the continent with his wives and riches, having previously hoisted the Portuguese standard, by which device he stopped the pursuit and gained time to escape. The city was taken and plundered, without any loss on the side of the Portuguese, though a great number of the inhabitants; were slain. Ibrahim though the fourty-fourth successive sovereign, was an usurper, who had murdered the former king, and Almeyda raised Mohammed Ankoni, a relation of the former king and who had espoused the Portuguese interests to the throne, placing a crown of gold on his head with great pomp and ssolemnity. On this occasion Mohammed declared that if the former king Alfudail (1495-1499) al-Fudail ibn Suleiman ('Alfudail', nephew of Ibrahim, thus of royal blood) had been alive he would have refused the crown and he actually appointed the son of Alfudail to be his successor, though he had children of his own. This rare example in an unbeliever may put to shame the inhumanity and barbarism of the Christians, who wade through seas of blood, contemn the most sacred bonds of consanguinity and alliance, spoil provinces, oppress the good, exalt the wicked, convert loyalty to treason, perjury into duty, and religion into a cloak to work out their accursed purposes, and to bereave of their crown and sceptres those to whom Providence had been pleased to confide them as most worthy of rule.
Having settled every thing to his mind, and constructed a fort in twenty days, Almeyda left a garrison of 550 men, together with a caravel and brigantine and sailed on the 8th of August with thirteen sails for Mombasa, ……
Taken from : Documentos Sobre Os Portugueses Em Mocambique E Na Africa Central 1497-1840 Vol I
ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGE OF D. FRANCISCO DE ALMEIDA, VICEROY OF INDIA, ALONG THE EAST COAST OF AFRICA (Manuscrito de Valentim Fernandes d1519)
[1506] (This is the eyewitness account of Hans Mayer)
……………………
On the 22nd day of July on a Tuesday at midday they entered the port of Kilwa and they were no more than 8 sail and the captain-major straightaway sent Bona Ajuta the Venetian to fetch the king who excused himself nevertheless he sent the captain-major a gift of 5 goats a small cow and many coconuts and fruit.
The next day the captain ordered the naos (vessels) to prepare the artillery and together with the captains who vied with each other in apparel and arms they went each in his longboat circling within sight of the city waiting to see if the king would come but he sent word that though he could not come because he had guests he would if required send the parias he owed to the king of Portugal and in this embassy came five Moors who were forthwith made prisoners.
On Thursday of that month the eve of St. James the apostle early in the morning at sun up they set out from the naos in their longboats and the first to land was the captain-major and then the others and straightaway they made for the king's house sparing the lives of the Moors who did not fight along the way. At the window of the king’s house was a Moor with a Portugal banner shouting Portugal Portugal. This banner had been left by the admiral when he received the 1500 dobreas (Portuguese gold coin of John V) of the yearly parias. They bade him open the doors which he would not do, but as soon as they began to break them open with their axes the Moors made off. They entered but found nothing but an empty palace.
In Kilwa there are storied houses very stoutly built of masonry and covered with a plaster that has a thousand paintings. Having thus taken the whole city without any hindrance, the Vicar-General and some of the Franciscan fathers came ashore who carried two crosses on high and having done reverence to the crosses they began chanting Te Deum Laudamus. And in this way they came to the palace where they set up the cross and there the captain-major prayed. Then everyone began to loot the city of a great quantity of merchandise and provisions.
This city of Kilwa lies upon an island that can be circled by ships of 500 tons. The city and island have 4000 souls, it grows quantities of fruits, it has a great deal of corn like Guinea, butter honey and wax. The hives in the trees —namely — in a jar of three almudes (=16.8L) with the mouth covered by a cloth made of palm-leaves with holes for the bees to go in and out.
Many trees mostly palms and the others different from those of Portugal and the same on the mainland, and from there to some places on the mainland is 2 leagues to at other places one.
Here grow very sweet oranges lemons radishes and tiny onions sweet marjoram (aromatic herb) and sweet basil in the gardens which they water from wells.
Here they grow betel which has a leaf like the ivy and is grown like peas each with a stick next to it; the Moors of quality eat this leaf with a kind of lime made to look like ointment and with the leaf as if they would use it to put on a sore. These leaves turn the mouth and teeth a deep red and it is said to be very refreshing.
In this land there are more Negro slaves than white Moors who work in the gardens tilling the corn etc.
Here grow large quantities of peas produced by plants as large as a pepper tree and they pick them ripe and store them. All the gardens are surrounded by wooden fences and corn canes, the hay is the height of a man, The soil is red on top and there is always some green to be seen. The meat is from fat beasts, oxen cows sheep lambs goats and lots of fish, whales circle the naos, there is no fresh running water. Around this island are many small Islands all of them inhabited.
Here are a great number of sambuks (is a type of dhow, a traditional wooden sailing vessel.) as big as caravels of 50 tons others smaller in size. The large ones always lie aground and are set afloat when they have to go to sea. There are no nails in them, the planks are sewn together with rope made from knotted coir from the coconut palm. The same kind of rope is used for the rudder. The boats are caulked with black pitch made from crude incense and resin. They sail from here 255 leagues to Sofala whence they bring the gold to other places.
Here the palm trees do not bear dates, there are some that give a wine from which they also make vinegar but they do not bear coconuts which is the fruit of the others. These coconuts are as large as good sized melons with a thick skin from which they make all kinds of ropes, and inside them they have a fruit as large as a pine-apple, which holds about a quartilho (=0.5L) of water that is very tasty to drink, once they have taken out this water they break the fruit and eat it, its inside tastes like a walnut that is not quite ripe and they dry these coconuts and get from them oil in great abundance.
All of them sleep off the ground on palm nets that hold one person.
Here they found quantities of drinking water and vials of good perfume which is sent abroad.
Quantities of glass of all sorts, and many kinds of cotton cloth.
Large sacks of resin and gum and a great amount of gold and silver and seed-pearl (Seed-pearl: a tiny pearl weighing less than a quarter of a grain).
The captain-major ordered all the loot to be taken to a house under seal.
The fortress of Kilwa was built out of the best house and all the others around were razed to the ground, straightway its bastions were made and bombards and the other things that were requited and in it was left Pero Ferreyra and 80 men with him.
The land is very hot.
The man’s arms are barbed arrows and well shaped shields made strong with palm woven with cotton. Assegais (= iron-tipped spear) like those of Guinea and better, few swords, they saw four bombards, they are not sure about gunpowder.
There is also another translation: They have four catapults for hurling stones but do not yet know the use of gunpowder. And also: he saw four bombards in Kilwa, but he said that no-one knew how to use the gunpowder correctly.
The sea beats against the fortress at high tide at the entrance where the ships come in.
The king fled Kilwa, the captain-major set up another king, a Moor of the land beloved by all, and they took him through the City on horseback.
Here they make lime thus. They pile up in a circle a lot of logs and upon them they place the stone and the burning logs turn the stone into lime like that made in Portugal.
There is a great amount of very good cotton that is grown and sown on the island.
The sheep and lambs have no more wool than the goats.
The slaves wear a cloth from the waist to the knees all the rest is naked.
The white Moors who are the owners of these slaves wear two cotton cloths namely one tied at the waist that reaches to the feet.
And another that falls loosely from the shoulder and covers the waistband of the other and their bodies are well shaped and their beards large and frightening to see.
The coinage is of copper like our ceptis four of them for a real (=small copper coin) and such is the value of the Portugal coin there.
Gold is not used for coin but by the weight of the mithqal (=4.25 gr) is worth 460 rs. of Portugal.
In Kilwa the winter is in April May June July August September, but as it is not cold they wear few clothes.
The captain-major went twice through the greater part of the island and once saw at least 25 deer though they are hunted here.
There are wild cats here and in the interior they are numerous.
Here are found many domed mosques and one is like that of Cordoba. All persons of quality carry praying beads.
Taken from: Documentos Sobre Os Portugueses Em Mocambique E Na Africa Central 1497-1840 Vol III
CHAPTERS RELATING TO EAST AFRICA IN THE ACCOUNT OF MARTIN FERNÁNDEZ DE FIGUEROA
1505-1511
……………… The captain of the naos replied, telling how Dom Francisco had come to cast anchor in Mozambique which is a good port, and from there had gone against Kilwa, the capital city and taken it on Thursday, the 25th July, 1505. There he ordered a fortress to be built, and he made an elected king of the said city a very rich Moorish merchant, since the Moorish king who had ruled then was a fugitive, called Habraem (=Ibrahim); the second Mahomet-Arconi. …………… And the viceroy, Dom Francisco, went against the city of Mombasa on Wednesday, the 13th August; arriving there they drew up in battle order and on the Friday, the captain-major went ashore at the head of all his men, and fire and blood having been put to the city and its people, who defended themselves fiercely, and its wealth stolen, Dom Francisco left for India.
(After this the Moors of Sofala revolted but were with big problems beaten)
…………… and they came to a land called Kilwa, which the viceroy had already conquered, on which island lies Songo (Songo Mnara) which is a walled town two leagues from Kilwa, Songosongo (Island halfway between Kilwa and Mafia), six leagues away lies Manfia, a fertile and cool land, fifteen leagues to the north of the island lies Tomagunda, (Taka Ungu in the Book of The Zanj)
(Second voyage of Vasco da Gama 1502)
(Arrival at Quiloa )
The captain-major told the pilot to shew him the port, and that he wished to go to Quiloa, which he did; and on sighting it, he entered the port with the whole fleet, which anchored round the city, which stands on an island which is surrounded and encircled by the sea water, but on the land side there is little water, which at high tide is knee-deep. The city is large and is of good buildings of stone and mortar with terraces, and the houses have much wood works. The city comes down to the shore, and is entirely surrounded by a wall and towers, within which there may be twelve thousand inhabitants. The country all round is very luxuriant with many trees and gardens of all sorts of vegetables, citrons, lemons, and the best sweet oranges that were ever seen, sugar-canes, figs, pomegranates, and a great abundance of flocks, especially sheep, which have their fat in the tail, which is almost the size of the body and very savory. The streets of the city are very narrow, as the houses are very high, of three and four stories, and one can run along the tops of them upon the terraces, as the houses are very close together: and in the port there were many ships. A Moor ruled over this city, who did not possess more of the country than the city itself.
…… There was with the King a very rich Moor, and the chief man of the city, named Mahomed Arcone, who entertained thoughts of rising up against the King, and with false intentions ……
(after negotiating to pay tribute to Portugal)
…… When all this was ended, the King, because he was vexed with Mohamed Arcone for having induced him to come there, said to the captain-major that he would be pleased if Mohamed Arcone remained there (as a hostage) until he sent to him what he was to send; at this the captain-major was pleased, and the King left with him two other Moors besides. ……
(But the king did not pay the tribute)
… The Moors seeing themselves at the point of death, Mahomed Arcone, who was very rich, sent to fetch from his house a jeweled necklace worth ten thousand cruzados, which he gave to the captain-major, who at once ordered them to be carried on shore. …