Background
There is evidence of foreign, probably Shirazi, settlers on Mafia from as early as the 8th or 9th century. From the 12th to the 14th century it was an important settlement and the remains of a 13th-century mosque have been found at Ras Kismani, at the southwestern point of the island. By the 16th century, when the Portuguese arrived, it had lost much of its importance and was part of the territory ruled by the king of Kilwa. There is little left of the site of the settlement of the 12th to 14th century, although old coins and pieces of pottery are still found occasionally, particularly to the south of Kilindoni where the sea is eating away at the ruins. On the nearby island of Juani can be found extensive ruins of the town of Kua. The town dates back to the 18th century and the five mosques go back even further to the 14th century. In 1829 the town was sacked by Sakalava cannibals from Madagascar who invaded, destroyed the town and dined on the inhabitants.
From the beginning of the 19th century traders from all over the world had been plying these coastal waters. ‘Americani’ cloth proved itself to be perhaps the most popular of all the traded goods among the resident population. The trading of goods and of slaves was soon to be followed by the interest of European politics but it was not until the end of the century that this affected territorial rights. Under the treaty of 1890, Mafia, along with Zanzibar and Pemba, were initially allotted to the British sphere. However, it was later agreed that Mafia should go to Germany in exchange for some territory on the southern border, which was allocated to the British Territory of Nyasaland (now Malawi). The island was therefore included in the purchase of the coastal strip from Sultan Seyyid Ali and the German flag was raised in 1890.
The Germans established a headquarters at Chole and in 1892 a resident officer was posted here together with a detachment of Sudanese troops. A large two-storey boma was constructed with various other buildings such as a gaol. The site seemed ideal with good anchorage for dhows, but with the opening of a regular coastal steamship service a deeper harbour was needed and the headquarters were moved to Kilindoni in 1913.
During the First World War it became clear that Mafia represented an extremely useful base from which attacks could be launched. In particular the British needed a base from which to attack the SS Königsberg, which was wreaking havoc up and down the East African coast. In January 1915 a British expeditionary force under Colonel Ward landed on the island at Kisimani and the islands were captured with little resistance. A garrison of about 200 troops remained on the island. The Königsberg had been damaged and gone into the mouth of the River Rufiji for repairs. The delta, with its many creeks and maze of streams, proved the perfect hiding place. It was important that the British should find and destroy the ship before any further damage could be done. In 1915 a British warplane was assembled on Mafia, took off from there, spotted the ship and boats then went into the delta to destroy it. This was the first use of aerial reconnaissance in warfare. The wrecked remains of the crippled boat could be seen until 1979 when it finally sank out of sight into the mud.
For a short period the islands were under military rule, and were later administered by Zanzibar. In 1922 the islands were handed over by the government of Zanzibar to become part of the Tanganyika Territory under the United Nations Mandate.
These days, the coconut industry is particularly important and Mafia has the largest coconut factory in East Africa at Ngombeni Plantation. It produces copra (dried kernels), oil, coir yarn and cattle cake. More recently, geological surveys have shown that the Mafia Deep Offshore Basin, an area of 75,000 sq km, contains deposits of oil and gas. Exploration has already started and, given the extreme poverty of many of the people on the island, the onset of employment opportunities has given a renewed sense of optimism to Mafia’s inhabitants – ecological concerns notwithstanding.
Mafia Island photos
