Why the Portuguese defeated the East African Coastal towns/Why the Portuguese were successful
- They had superior weapons e.g. cannon guns which made terrible noise and threw people in panic as compared to the poor musket guns of the coastal Arabs.
- They had well trained soldiers with superior skills of fighting compared to the coastal people who had no permanent organized army e.g Vasco da gama, Francisco D’Alemeida were ruthless army commanders which helped them to defeat the coastal dwellers.
- They had better and faster ships (carracks) well equipped for naval warfare. The Portuguese soldiers wore Armour on their bodies and helmets on their heads, which protected them from the weapons of the coastal people.
- The coastal towns were disunited which gave chance to the Portuguese to fight isolated enemies e.g. Malindi refused to unite with Mombasa due to local conflicts. Some cooperated with the invaders giving them food and bases e.g. Malindi and Sofala.
- Some coastal towns like Kilwa were caught unaware. The Portuguese employed cruel methods of fighting like burning down towns and surprise attacks.
- The ships acted as stages against the hostile weapons of the coastal people.
- The coast had natural burners and was not open to attacks.
- The constant attacks on the coastal towns by the Galla, Zimba and Turkish e.t.c had weakened their defence.
- The Portuguese were financially equipped and therefore supported their soilders because they wanted to control the East African trade.
- The coastal states had very weak economies that could not sustain prolonged fights especially against the economically strong Portuguese.
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