Lords and Corruptors

the Portuguese in the Arab writings of the Swahili Coast at the beginning of the 16th century

Abstract

The establishment of the Portuguese presence on the Swahili Coast in the 1500s was marked by power dynamics and cultural interaction between the Portuguese and the coastal city-states, such as Kilwa and Malindi. Through strategic alliances and military coercion, the agents of the Portuguese Crown sought to exploit lucrative trade and solidify their rule, subjugating some and obtaining the cooperation of others, but also facing different forms of resistance. The Kilwa chronicle and the diplomatic correspondence in Arabic allow us to explore the contradictions of the native perspective on the Portuguese, who were seen simultaneously as the new lords over maritime routes and corrupters of the political-religious order. What is more, this documentation reveals how the local elites were not mere adjuncts to a Portuguese imperial hegemony, but rather actively seeking to counter, adapt to or take advantage of it.