reasons that led to the decline of the Portuguese at the East African Coast
- Portugal was a small country that could not provide enough administrators and officials for such a large coastline that extended from Sofala in the south to Mogadishu in the north.
- It had few soldiers and could not keep fortified garrison along the coast.
- Authority was left in hands of incompetent and corrupt officials who were after enriching themselves.
- The Africans hated the Portuguese due to differences in religion, that is to say, Moslems against Christians (Portuguese).
- The Portuguese were cruel, harsh and brutal, they always punished the coastal people whenever they attempted to rebel and made them to be hated.
- The Portuguese also used divide and rule policy for example, they allied with Malindi against Mombasa.
- The territory was too big and long for effective control and administration.
- There was decline of trade due high taxes on imports and other restrictions hence smuggling of goods, which affected the Portuguese economy.
- Due to decline in trade, the people became poor and dissatisfied and they continuously rebelled.
- The Portuguese failed to support their own allies at the coast, some even betrayed them.
- Portugal had been forced into a union with Spain between1580–1640 which weakened her control of the trading colonies as she was no longer interested in the overseas empire.
- Portugal was challenged by other European powers, which began competing with the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean Trade e.g. Dutch, English, French, Turks and others.
- The coastal people found useful allies against the Portuguese due to their bad rule e.g. Turks, Oman, and Arabs
- They were faced with constant rebellions along the coast. This greatly disrupted life at the coast e.g. Pate, Mombasa
- Tropical diseases which claimed their life like smallpox, malaria making it difficult for them to administer the coast effectively.
- The Portuguese were greatly weakened by a group of cannibals the Zimba, who attacked the East African coast.
- The unhealthy climate made the area unattractive for them to work for instance, some places where too humid and hot while others where too cold.
- The distance between Portugal and the East African coast was too far hence reinforcement delayed.
- There was a problem of communication barrier, the Portuguese refused to learn the African languages and these made their administration difficult.
- The income obtained from the gold trade was not enough to pay for administration i.e. soldiers and officials.
- The Portuguese lost muz in 1622 to the Persians during the struggle with Arabs and in 1650 the Oman Arabs won back Muscat.
- The Capture of Fort Jesus their stronghold in 1698 by the Omani greatly contributed to their decline.
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