History

The Portuguese in the Mutapa

Portuguese in the Mutapa

Aims of the Portuguese

  • To trade.
  • To mine..
  • Spreading Christianity.
  • To colonize Mutapa.
  • To push out Muslims.
  • To replace Swahili trade.
  • To find pastor John

Names of some Portuguese men who were in Mutapa

  • Fernendez
  • Silveira
  • Vasco Homen
  • Pereira
  • Casado
  • Fransesco Barreto.

Trade centres/Market places

  • Massapa
  • Luance
  • Dambarare
  • Rimuka
  • Tete
  • Zumbo
  • Chitomborwizi
  • Manyika
  • Bukutu
  • Masekesa.

Economic activities of the Portuguese

  • Farming
  • Mining
  • Livestock keeping
  • Hunting
  • Raiding
  • Trade
  • Gathering

Methods used by the Portuguese to gain control of the Mutapa state

  • Forced the king to expel Swahili traders.
  • Established trade post
  • Took control of the trade in Mutapa.
  • Controlled mining.
  • Took part in civil wars.
  • Use of brutality.
  • Send Munhumutapas to India.
  • Portuguese names were given to Africans.
  • Helped to install puppet rulers.
  • Introduced prazo system
  • Took large areas of land.
  • Signed treaties with Gatsi Rusere.
  • Forced Africans to pay tribute.
  • Refused to pay curva.
  • Practiced intermarriage.
  • Slave trade was introduced.

Duties of Captain of Gates

  • Link between the Mutapas and the Portuguese.
  • He was an interpretor.
  • Submitted curva from the king of the Portuguese.
  • Dealt with matters concerning the Portuguese.
  • Brought peace between Shona and Portuguese.
  • Collected Curva.
  • Brought peace between Shona and Portuguese.
  • Represented the govt of portugues.
  • He handed over from govt of port to Munhumutapa.
  • Link between the port gvt and the Mutapa state.

Prazo system

  • prazo means land or estate.
  • Prazeros means the estate holder. They grew crops like maize.
  • New fruits were introduced eg apples.
  • Introduced crop rotation.
  • Mined minerals like gold.
  • They gathered and fished.
  • Hunted Elephants with private armies called chikunda.
  • Prazeros were rude and lawless.

Political activities of the Portuguese

  • Silveira baptized Negomo Mupunzagutu. In 1561 after the death of Silveira, the Portuguese declared war on Mutapa.
  • The govt of Portugal sent an army with Barreto to revenge Silveira’s death.The invasion was unsuccessful because of army reasons like
    • Heat
    • Malaria.
    • Heavy clothes
    • Fiver
    • Lack of knowledge of the place
    • The Portuguese were attacked by the Maravi.
  • Another army was sent , led by Vasco Homen, it was also unsuccessful
  • They helped weak claimants like Mavhuramhande come to power
  • The Portuguese signed treaties with the puppet rulers.

Allience with Gatsi Rusere

  • The Portuguese helped Rusere to come to power in 1596.
  • They helped him against attacks by Maravi Kingdom.Portugues promised to suppress rebelions in the Mutapan state and in return, Rusere gave them rights to mine and take land.
  • They got hunting rights.
  • They were allowed to trade freely.
  • Rusere’s sons were sent to India for education.
  • Rusere agreed to ban Muslims.

The allience with Mavhuramhande

  • The Portuguese helped Mavhura against Kapararidze in a civil war.
  • The Portuguese were allowed to trade freely.
  • Portuguese missionaries were allowed to build churches.
  • They were allowed to build schools.
  • The captain of the gates was given authority over everyone in the area, black or white.

By: T.Titus Nyakudyara
Twitter: @NyakudyaraTitus

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