Page:The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema (1863).djvu/138

who visited Mombâsa about A.D. 1330, that the Wanîka [a native tribe] had not then settled in the vicinity of the coast. . . .

"These Arabian cities and communities were prosperous, and in some degree civilized; but they were deficient in military organization. They had not been founded by con-
querors, but by traders, emigrants, and exiles, who behaved peaceably to the natives, and so developed and established their influence slowly, but at the same time more surely. They were pacific colonists, and by the trade and commerce which they originated, the natives of the interior could not but recognize the advantage of peaceful intercourse with the strangers, and be glad of their presence. . . . But the Arabs were not to remain for ever in exclusive possession of the knowledge, the commerce, and the power of Eastern Africa, —a possession which would have led them to rule and to convert the whole of Southern Africa. Providence inter-
posed, and at the right time led into those waters and to that coast a Christian power, to check the progress and weaken the influence of Muhammedanism."

The subsequent domination of this "Christian" power, and its baneful results, are thus described:—

"In East Africa, Portugal enriched herself by levying tribute and taxes, in addition to her enormous gains from the gold-mines of Sofâla; but East Africa received nothing in return. She ruled the East-Africans with a rod of iron, and their pride and cruelty had their reward in the bitter hatred of the natives. In Eastern Africa, the Portuguese have left nothing behind them but ruined fortresses, palaces, and ecclesiastical buildings. Nowhere is there to be seen a single trace of any improvement effected by them. No wonder that the Portuguese rule was of short duration, and that it fell as quickly as it had risen. John IV. had, indeed, restored independence to Portugal in 1640; but he could no longer save his colonies. In 1620, Portugal had already