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The Sack of Kilwa (Portuguese: Saque de Quiloa) was a military campaign carried out by the Portuguese on 24 July 1505, led by Dom Francisco de Almeida, against the city-state of the Kilwa Sultanate. The operation resulted in a decisive Portuguese victory and the sacking of Kilwa, a prominent trading hub along the Swahili Coast .
To the north, Kilwa's power was checked by the independent Somali city-state of Mogadishu (the once-dominant city, Kilwa's main rival) and the Adal Sultanate (the muslim Sultanate located in the Horn of Africa.). To the south, Kilwa's reach extended as far as Cape Correntes, below which merchant ships did not usually dare sail. [7]
In the following centuries, trade in goods from the African interior, such as gold, ivory, and slaves stimulated the development of market towns such as Mogadishu, Shanga, Kilwa, and Mombasa. These communities formed the earliest city-states in the region [ 39 ] which were collectively known to the Roman Empire as " Azania ".
As putative overlord of the Swahili Coast, Kilwa could probably close down all the Portuguese staging points in East Africa, including the all-important Mozambique Island (the critical stop after the Cape crossing) and the attractive port of Sofala (the entrepot of the Monomatapa gold trade, which the Portuguese were trying to tap into).
This trade led the Khasso into increasing contact with the European settlements of Africa's west coast, particularly the French. [224] Benin grew increasingly rich during the 16th and 17th centuries on the slave trade with Europe; slaves from enemy states of the interior were sold and carried to the Americas in Dutch and Portuguese ships. The ...
Independence destroyed the de facto trade bloc that was the Spanish Empire – Manila galleons and Spanish treasure fleets in particular. After independence, trade among the new Spanish American nations was less than it had been in the colonial period. Once the ties were broken, the small populations of most of the new nations provided little ...
The European Age of Discovery brought Europe's then superpower the Portuguese Empire to the coast of East Africa, which enjoyed a flourishing trade with foreign nations. The southeastern city-states of Kilwa , Mombasa , Malindi , Pate and Lamu were all systematically sacked and plundered by the Portuguese. [ 39 ]
Kilwa had about 4000 inhabitants but its economic fortunes were on the decline. [1] Like most polities on the east African coast, Kilwa was an Islamic sultanate and the Portuguese were poorly received by the local elites. In 1502, the Portuguese reduced Kilwa to the status of tributary vassal.