Portuguese Introduced Firearms Amongst The Societies Of The Lower Zambezi From The Early Seventeenth To Late Nineteenth Centuries

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Colonial Ventures and Native Voices: Legacies from the Spanish and Portuguese Empires", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Beginning in the sixteenth century, the introduction of firearms into the lower Zambezi by the Portuguese produced both transient and lasting impacts for this area of central Mozambique. These European weapons were often, though not always, eagerly adopted by local communities where they were available, and in many cases were incorporated into their societies, not just as weapons of war or as hunting tools, but also as items of ceremonial or political value. Forming part of ongoing research, this paper outlines the varied ways in which firearms were adopted and utilised in the Zambezi region and traces the major societal and political shifts that accompanied their introduction. Utilising contemporary Portuguese and English language accounts alongside collected oral tradition, the paper considers the interaction of both local African groups and emerging creolised communities with these Portuguese introduced European firearms, within Mozambique between the early-seventeenth and late-nineteenth centuries and their archaeological implications.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Colonial Ventures and Native Voices: Legacies from the Spanish and Portuguese Empires   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

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Contact(s): Nicole Haddow