Inhambane/Inhafoco and Mozambique Ilha/Mossuril: Maritime Archaeological Approaches toTwo Mozambican Slaving Landscapes

Summary

This paper reports on the ongoing integrated maritime and terrestrial archaeological investigation of two prominent slaving landscapes that represent different experiences in Mozambique’s millennium- long experience of being shaped by Indian Ocean, intra-African, and Transatlantic slave trades. Mozambique Island developed in part around slaving (to the Levante) in the 9th century, and rose to become an epicenter of slaving across the Atlantic as well starting in the late 18th century. In contrast Inhambane, in the south remained an insignificant port -- until rising to prominence during the late Trans-Atlantic trade’s shift to East African sources in the 19th century. We discuss their ongoing comparative investigations, the archaeological logic and methodlogical implications of denoting these as "slaving landscapes" and of pursuing connections to broader "global slavescapes", and the challenges of public and policy engagement with respect to slave trade heritage.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Maritime Archaeology of The Slave Trade: Perspectives, Prospects, and Reports from the Slave Wrecks Project   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 896