PORTUGUESE RULE IN AFRICA

reasons for the coming of the Portuguese at the East African coast

• The need to establish a commercial empire in order to get the products of East Africa e.g. ivory, gold, silks and spices were mainly controlled by the Arabs merchants.
• They wanted to obtain control of the main trading towns, e.g. Kilwa, Mombasa etc.
• They wanted to defeat the Moslem traders and rulers who had monopolized the Indian Ocean trade.
• They wanted to prevent other European rivals from gaining access to the Indian Ocean Trade e.g. the French, Dutch, British
• Desire to get revenue for the development of their country.
• The Portuguese wished to share in the profits of the Indian Ocean Trade by imposing taxes and forcing wealthy coastal towns to pay tribute to the king of Portugal.
• The coast had natural harbors where ships could anchor on their way to and from the East for fresh food and water.  The Portuguese therefore wanted to establish a calling station for resting, refresh, treating the sick, repairing wrecked ships e.t.c
• The coast was strategically located and this made it easy to control sea pirates and other rival powers.
• They wanted to revenge on the Moslem Arabs who had conquered Portugal in 711 AD by converting them to Christianity and stop the spread of Islam i.e. the Arabs had ever run the Iberian Peninsula and forced the Christians to accept Islam.
• They hoped to get assistance of King Prester John thought to be in the interior of north –east Africa. They hoped the king would help them in their crusade against the Moslems. 
• They had hope of stopping Egyptians and Turks from sending military aid to their fellow Moslems on the coast.
• They were interested in exploration and adventure, this was a period of Renaissance (means to be born again/change) in Europe. Hence hoped to search for the unknown, new knowledge and sailing across un mapped seas.
• Desire to acquire revenue for the development of their countr