Swahili coast

Swahili Coast Timeline

  • 500

    Colonization

    Circa 500 AD first Arab traders stopped on the coast of East Africa and began to colonize this area.
  • 500

    Slave Trade Begins

    Around 500 AD when the Arabs were settling in they captured natives and began a slave trade.
  • Jan 1, 1000

    Cultural Diffusion

    During the 11th and 12th centuries, Arab and African tradition blended together to create the Swahili civilization.
  • Jan 1, 1000

    Power

    Swahili civilization dominated the coast of eastern Africa from the 1000s and still in modern times.
  • Dec 31, 1200

    Zenith and Decline

    The Swahili Coast civilization reached it’s peak 1200s & 1300s but started to decline when people from Portugal began to colonize.
  • Jan 1, 1300

    Mombasa

    In the 14th century Persian traders founded the city of Mombasa
  • Jan 1, 1331

    Battuta's Visit

    Battuta visited East Africa in 1331 at a time when the Swahili civilization was at its peak.
  • Jan 1, 1400

    60 Towns and Cities

    Between 1300 and 1500 the Swahili civilization had at least 60 towns and cities along the coast.
  • Jan 1, 1400

    Portuguese Arrive

    The first Portuguese vistiors arrived to the coast of east Africa at end of the fifteenth century
  • Jan 1, 1498

    Vasco de Gama

    Arrival of the portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama, signaled new era of foreign rule on the swahili coast
  • Jan 1, 1505

    Mombasa Destroyed

    Mombasa was almost completely destroyed by a large fleet lead by Fransico de Almeida.
  • Portuguese Overthrown

    Portuguese were finally removed from power by combined forces form Oman and Pate, but they stayed in Mozambique until the late 20th century
  • Swahili Writing

    During the 1700s a great tradition of Swahili writing had appeared.
  • Islamic Religious Movement

    In the mid 1700s: an austere islamic religious movement came about around much of western africa.
  • Slave Trade Intensifies

    In the early 1800s the slave trade intensifies to meet labor demands.
  • End of Slave Trade

    The economy in the Swahili Coast suffered when Great Britain ended the slave trade at some point in the 1800s.
  • Omani forces drive out Mazrui

    The Mazrui clan from Mombasa that had taken power in the Swahili Coast was driven out by Omani forces.
  • Hegemony gave in to European Power

    In the late 1800s, after the Scramble for Africa, the hegemony of the sultan of Zanzibar gave in to European power.
  • Prosperity

    By 900 AD Eastern African coast became a prosperous commercial center.
  • Cities Founded

    Pate, Lamu, and Malindi and other cities were founded in the 9th century