Native sections of the walls that have survived. Luanze, Zimbabwe. Author and Copyright Chris Dunbar
Native sections of the walls that have survived. Luanze, Zimbabwe. Author and Copyright Chris Dunbar

Portuguese Forts, Markets (Feira) and Settlements in Zimbabwe

Written by Chris Dunbar

The following is a list of sites that were investigated by the Rhodesian / Zimbabwean Government, no suspected Portuguese sites have been restored (unfortunately) and no more have been added since the first cataloguing was done in the early 1970’s. A number of the historical trading centres and forts have still not been located and further investigation is required in this area. So as follows the site name and the Departments internal National Monuments identification.

PIRINGANI (The Lemon Forest)(Piringani: 16°59′ 48.63″S 30°11′ 27.97″E): Pirigani 1630 CC 5

MASSAPA: (Massapa covers about 4 square km’s and is centred at 16°48′ 08.35″S 31°39′ 01.80″E) Chesa Farm 1631 DC 34 Guzha Farm 1631 DC 38 Guzha Farm 1631 DC 39 Murewa farm 1631 DC 40 Chemapere 1631 DC 41 Bhasikiti 1631 DC 42 Kapfira 1631 DC 43 Mandishora Farm 1631 DC 46

Undetermined require more data: Umfurudzi 1631 DD 17 Umfurudzi 1631 DD 18 Chipunza 1631 DD 19 Muchekayawa 1631 DD 20 Chiweshe 1631 DD 21 Chikohora 1631 DD 22 Zvipfuko 1631 DD 23

ANGWA (ONGOE): Angwa Fort 3 1729 BB 1 Angwa Fort 1 1729 BB 2 Angwa Fort 4 1729 BB 3 Angwa Fort 5 1729 BB 4 Angwa Fort 2 1729 BB 5 Two Tree Hill Estate 1729 BB 19

DAMBARARE: (Dambarare covers about 6 square km’s) Dambarare – Doxford 1730 BD 2 Flowing Bowl Mine 1730 BD 4 Dambarare 1730 BD 18 Dambarare 1730 BD 19 Dambarare 1730 BD 20 Dambarare 1730 BD 21 Dambarare 1730 BD 22 Dambarare 1730 BD 23 Doxford 1730 BD 27 Doxford 1730 BD 32 Pentland Farm 1730 BD 33

Quitamboruidzi

LUANZE: Luanze 1732 BA 1

Makaha 1732 BC 1

Maramuca 1829 BB 2

Shigodora (Chipangura) 1932 BA 19

Bocuto un-located suspected to be in the Umfurudzi Wilderness Area

Vumba this site has not been located

Matafuna suspected to be in the Shamva region

Matuka suspected to be in the Odzi region

Urupanda this site has not been located

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

– Various Authors “Documentos sobre os portugueses em Moçambique e na Africa central, 1497-1840. Documents on the Portuguese in Mozambique and Central Africa, 1497-1840” National Archives of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, 1962-(1989), Lisboa. Includes indexes. “The sources have been drawn from archives and libraries in Portugal, Italy, France and other countries … Published in the original with an English translation. Contents: v. 1. 1497-1506.–v. 2. 1507-1510.–v. 3. 1511-1514.–v. 4. 1515-1516.–v. 5. 1517-1518.–v. 6. 1519-1537.–v. 7. 1540-1560.–v. 8. 1561-1588.–v. 9. 1589-1615.

– Axelson, Eric “Portuguese settlement in the interior of South-East Africa in the seventeenth century” 17, [1] p. ; Sep. Actas Congresso Internacional História dos Descobrimentos, 5, 1961, Lisboa.

– Axelson, Eric “Portuguese in South-East Africa, 1488-1600” 276 pp. Struik, 1973, Cape Town, S.A.

– Axelson, Eric “Portuguese in South-East Africa, 1600-1700” x + 226 pp. Witwatersrand University Press, 1969, Johannesburg, S.A.

– Ferreira, A. Rita “African kingdoms and alien settlements in Central Mozambique (c. 15th-17th Cent.)” 172 pp. Departamento de antropologia, Universidade de Coimbra, 1999, Coimbra, Portugal.

– Garlake, P. S. ” Seventeenth century Portuguese earthworks in Rhodesia” In: “South African Arch. Bull.” n° 84, 1966, pp. 157-170

– Newitt, M.D.D. “Portuguese settlement on the Zambese: Exploration, Land Tenure & Colonial Rule in East Africa” 434 pp. Maps, illus.& plates. Longmans, 1973, London, UK.

– Newitt, Malyn D.D. “A History of Mozambique” 679 pp. maps Hurst and Company, 1995, London, UK.

– Newitt, M.D.D. “The Portuguese on the Zambesi from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Centuries” In: “An expanding world” vol. n° 25 “Settlement patterns in early modern colonization, 16th-18th centuries” pp. 279-300 Ashgate Variorum, 1998 In: Race IX, n° 4, pp. 477-498 Institute of Race Relations, 1968, London,

– Newitt, M.D.D. “The Portuguese on the Zambesi: an historical interpretation of the Prazo system” In: “An Expanding World” Vol. n° 4; Disney, A. “Historiorgraphy of Europeans in Africa and Asia 1450-1800” Ashgate Variorum, vol. n° 4, 1995; pp. 155-173 Also in: “Journal of African History” vol.10, n°1, 1969, Cambridge, pp. 67-85

– Rea Francis, W. “The economics of the Zambezi missions, 1580-1759” 189 pp. Institutum Historicum S. I., 1976, Roma, Italia.

– Strandes, J. “The Portuguese period in East Africa” xii, 325 pp., 5 plates, folding map, Edited by J. S. Kirkman, 1968, Nairobi, Kenya.

About Marco Ramerini

I am passionate about history, especially the history of geographical explorations and colonialism.