Describe the interactions of Portuguese and West African peoples, from initial contact by explorers to the permanent settlements established by Portuguese traders. In what ways were interactions between East Africans and the Portuguese similar to or different from interactions between the Portuguese and the Indian Ocean states?
What will be an ideal response?
ANSWER:
Early Portuguese visitors sometimes failed to make a favorable impression on African rulers, but Portuguese officials were not above using displays of pomp and pageantry to try to impress Africans. The permanent outposts Europeans established along the coast were primarily for commerce. Students should emphasize the control exercised by Africans. The existence and continued operations of the Portuguese could be halted if Africans so desired. Trade for slaves was not unequal; the Portuguese did not offer valueless trinkets in exchange. Some African kingdoms rejected missionaries and Christianity, while others embraced them. In East Africa, the situation was quite different, partly because of Muslim suspicion of Portuguese motives. Except for their allies Malindi and Ethiopia, the Portuguese bombarded and assaulted rival trading centers. For instance, a fleet of eighty-one Portuguese ships and seven thousand men devastated Swahili Coast cities. Portuguese power was ocean-based and exerted very little control on land. Thus, the maritime trading cities and empires of the Indian Ocean were much more vulnerable than the land-based empires of West Africa.
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