Throughout history, Africa has been famous for its powerful ancient empires that had powerful rulers. Each Kingdom had its own unique story, from the time of glory to the time it declined. These empires developed different systems that kept them organized and in order. However, despite their unique systems, foreigners were able to invade most of these kingdoms and disrupted them. Mutapa Empire was one empire with a powerful economic system.
In this article, we will discuss an Empire that was quite different from the rest and was able to hold the foreigners for some time before it fell. Its name is Mutapa. Did this have anything to do with the powerful economic system? Let us find out!
The Empire of Mutapa was an African Kingdom covering wide regions in what are today’s Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, and SA. Its rulers or kings were called Mwene, and the land was called Mutapa.
The History of Mutapa’s Powerful Economic System
The Mutapa Kingdom had an agrarian economy at its center. The king controlled the mining of gold. The people traded gold for silk, ceramics, and other luxurious goods. They also traded other goods for livestock, including millet, sorghum, and bananas from the Indonesian region. Native trade was a crucial part of the economy. The Mutapa inhabitants or citizens engaged in several industries, including cloth production.
The Political Aspect of the Mutapa Empire
The Mwene was the administrative, political, and religious leader of the empire. He carried an ax that symbolized his office badge and a spear of pure gold and ivory. The ruler lived in a walled compound with a different structure for the female ruler (Queen). There was also another group of structures or buildings for royal assistants.
The royal attendants comprised males under the age of 20. Officials such as the leader of the military chief musician and of medicine and the royal gatekeeper assisted the Mwene or king. In governmental concerns, the ruler could request on the advice of over 6 ministers. The ministers controlled their estates and had various powers such as enforcing the death sentence on people found guilty of grievous criminal acts. The female servants served the ministers just as how the young lads served the Mwene. The most senior wife of the ruler had power and was accountable for foreigners’ affairs.
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Mutapa as Ophir
The gold from the Kingdom stirred in foreigners a strong belief that Mutapa held the great mines of king Solomon referred to biblically as Ophir. The idea that the great mines were inside the Mutapa empire was one of the drives that resulted in the Portuguese investigation of Sofala.
The Portuguese Contact
The Portuguese controlled much of SE Africa’s coast by 1515. Their main objective was to control the trading activities with India. However, they became transporters for items between Mutapa’s sub-empires and India.
Later, the Portuguese engaged in direct affairs with the Mutapa in the 1560s. They documented information about the Mutapa Empire. Trade and commerce became the new model of the relationship between the Mutapa kingdom and Portugal. Portugal then took advantage and observed how the Mutapa empire’s trade functioned. This shows that the Portuguese’s interest in the empire was purely economic.
Through their new mode of relating trade, the Portuguese had greater expectations. They hoped to get more gold and silver from the trade.
How the Empire Maintained Its Power Over Portugal
From the above, we can conclude that the Mutapa Empire had an economically driven structure and a great economic powerhouse. The economic obsession of the Portuguese over the Kingdom posed somewhat a threat to the Mutapa Empire, and it had to do something about it to maintain control. The Empire was very serious about its economic aspect, and it did not want to end up like the rest of the ancient African Empires.
So, how did this kingdom maintain its power over Portugal? How did they maintain their economic dominance despite foreign invasion?
During the 16th century, the kings of the empire managed the political organization of the kingdom and controlled trade. We can see the seriousness of the economic aspect in the empire in that the king’s authority and status depended on his ability to promote and control economic activities within the Kingdom.
One of the ways the empire was able to hold the foreigners at bay was through the control of trade. The rulers exercised their authority or control by imposing laws and regulations over trading activities. Besides, the king also set up laws for employment and transportation.
Another way the empire was able to keep the foreigners at bay and maintain its power over them was through the Mutapa system. It allowed the Portuguese officials along the coast some level of control. The Mwene vetted and approved the officials himself.
The Mutapa Empire reduced foreign activities by allowing the stations to be far distanced from the capital of Mutapa.
Thirdly, the captain of gates was accountable for maintaining order and peace in markets and prevent breaches of regulations on prices. This means that the captain watched over everyone’s activities, including foreign ones. He was also responsible for collecting 1-20th of every load of trade items from all incoming convoys or caravans. The captain of gates had the right to settle conflicts between the Portuguese and Africans.
From the roles of the captain of gates, we can see how the empire indeed maintained its power over the Portuguese. The Portuguese’s activities were under the empire’s strict radar.
The Portuguese could not pass through the empire. They needed permission from the empire to come to the capital, and they were not to carry any form of a firearm. The most interesting part is that the empire required them to approach the king barefooted. The foreigners did not affect the political function of the Mutapa Kingdom.
The Collapse of the Empire
After having a successful strategy in keeping the foreigners at bay, the Empire messed up on its own. They started having family disputes, and the succession conflicts broke the Empire and weakened it significantly. In the 17th century, royal claimants to the throne sought the Portuguese military support. It was until then when Portugal was able to control who was and who was not on the throne of Mutapa. Did the powerful economic system fall?
What we can Learn from Mutapa’s Story
Despite the fall of the Kingdom, we can learn several things. Firstly, we learn that the empire was an impressive civilization that progressed international trade and globalization in the southern region of Africa.
Secondly, and most important lesson that we learn and can apply today is that we should always remain united in whatever circumstances to prosper in anything.
