The Kingdom of Mutapa
The Kingdom of Mutapa
Author(s): The African Archives
Edited By The African Archives Editor
Type: Article
Country: South Africa
Language: English
Content:: Non Academic
Source: Other Sources
Timeline: Prehistory - Any time before 10000 BC
Published: 2023
Download here
Description
Where? Spread across parts of what is now Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
When? circa 1430 CE – 1760 CE
The Mutapa Empire encompassed a truly staggering portion of Southern Africa, from the Limpopo and Zambezi Rivers to the Indian Ocean coastline. Its territory was so large that if it were around today, it would stretch across parts of six Southern African nations. Legend has it, a warrior prince from the Kingdom of Zimbabwe established the Kingdom of Mutapa. Within a generation, Mutapa eclipsed the glory that was Great Zimbabwe and its surrounds. The Portuguese unwittingly became middlemen between India and the Mutapa’s smaller kingdoms in their bid to control trade in the region (which was also fueled by rumours that the biblical mines of King Solomon were held by the ruler of Mutapa). The Kingdom of Mutapa wielded such power, they acquired a subsidy from every captain who took office in Portuguese Mozambique and they imposed a 50% tax levy on all trade goods imported. Sadly, the kingdom’s decline began in the early 17th century due to factional in-fighting which gave the Portuguese an opportunity to make Mutapa a vassal state.
Related Content
Join The African Archives
The African Archives is a global network of researchers, archivists that is open to anyone with interest in documenting African's history. There are many ways to contribute to the archive: as an individual or as an institution looking to share its content online, as a professional archivist, as a history researcher, or as someone with a love for cultural heritage. You may join as a: