Portuguese Capture of Mombasa, 1589



The Portuguese had sacked the Swahili city of Mombasa in 1505-1507 and 1528. With Ali Bay organizing resistance on the northern Swahili coast since 1586, in 1589 the Portuguese sacked Mombasa again, this time to stay. They, and their allies, the cannibalistic Zimba, committed a massacre among the population. The Portuguese established the Sultan of Malindi as the new Sultan of Mombasa. The Portuguese constructed Fort Jesus (1591-1630s), even an Augustinian monastery was established in the city (1597). The Portuguese attempted to convert the population to Christianity.
In 1631 the local population rose against the Portuguese and massacred the garrison at Fort Jesus; the Portuguese returned in 1632, to stay until 1699.




EXTERNAL
FILES 		Timeline of Portuguese Activity in East Africa, 1498-1700, by Jim Jones
Mombasa, Kenya : Portuguese Occupation, from My Travel Guide
Fort Jesus Museum, from Mombasa Online
History of Fort Jesus, from Yamaguchi
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on March 10th 2004, last revised on November 18th 2004

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