Palaces,Feiras and Prazos: An Historical Archaeological Perspective of African–Portuguese Contact in Northern Zimbabwe |
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Authors: | Innocent Pikirayi |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa |
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Abstract: | The consequences of the contact between Africans and Europeans during the early Atlantic Age are examined with a specific
focus on the Mutapa State in northern Zimbabwe to the middle of the seventeenth century. The dynamics of contact are presented
in terms of three categories of archaeological evidence, namely royal palaces (zimbabwe), trading markets (feiras) and fortifications. It is argued that some royal palaces assumed new identities as they adjusted to the new contact situations
presented by the commerce with the Portuguese. The site reported in Portuguese documents as Massapa was one such palace initially,
before becoming a fully fledged trading centre. With the intensification of market trade, the fortified stonewalled settlements
found in the areas between the Mazowe and Ruya rivers attest to evidence for the conflict between the Mutapa state and the
Portuguese, as presented in the written records, and environmental deterioration triggered by intensified exploitation of
gold. |
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