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.
