Sofala[suˈfalɐ], at present known asNova Sofala[ˈnovɐsuˈfalɐ], used to be the chief seaport of theMwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was atMount Fura. It is located on theSofala Bank inSofala Province ofMozambique. The first recorded use of this port town was byMogadishan merchants.[1] One possible etymology for Sofala is "go and cultivate" or " go and dig" in theSomali language, showing the city as a hub for gold.[citation needed]
One of the oldest harbours documented inSouthern Africa, medieval Sofala was erected on the edge of a wide estuary formed by theBuzi River (calledRio de Sofala in older maps).
The Buzi River connected Sofala to the internal market town ofManica, and from there to the gold fields ofGreat Zimbabwe. Sometime in the 10th century, Sofala emerged as a small trading post and was incorporated into the greater global Indian Ocean trade network. It is stated that the first inhabitants of Sofala out of the East African coast came from Mogadishu, and that they were in search of gold.[2] Merchants from theSultanate of Mogadishu had long kept Sofala a secret from their Kilwan rivals, who up until then rarely sailed beyondCape Delgado. In the 1180s, Sultan Suleiman Hassan ofKilwa (in present-dayTanzania) seized control of Sofala, and brought Sofala into theKilwa Sultanate and theSwahili cultural sphere.[3] The Swahili strengthened its trading capacity by having, among other things, rivergoingdhows ply the Buzi andSave rivers to ferry the gold extracted in the hinterlands to the coast.[4]
Sofala's subsequent position as the principal entrepot of theMwenemutapa gold trade prompted Portuguese chroniclerThomé Lopes to identify Sofala with the biblicalOphir and its ancient rulers with the dynasty of theQueen of Sheba.[5][6] Alternately, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century,Augustus Henry Keane argued that Sofala was the BiblicalTarshish.[7] Since the early 20th century, both notions have been discarded.
Although the revenues from Sofala's gold trade proved a windfall for the sultans of Kilwa and allowed them to finance the expansion of the Swahili commercial empire all along the East African coast, Sofala was not a mere subsidiary or outpost of Kilwa, but a leading town in its own right, with its own internal elite, merchant communities, trade connections and settlements as far south asCape Correntes (and some across the channel inMadagascar). Formally, Sofala continued to belong to the Kingdom ofMwenemutapa, theSwahili community paying tribute for permission to reside and trade there. The Sultan of Kilwa had jurisdiction only over the Swahili residents, and his governor was more akin to aconsul than a ruler. The city retained a great degree of autonomy, and could be quite prickly should the Sultan of Kilwa try to interfere in its affairs. Sofala was easily the most dominant coastal city south ofKilwa itself.
Portuguese explorer and spyPêro da Covilhã, travelling overland disguised as an Arab merchant, was the first European known to have visited Sofala in 1489. His secret report toLisbon identified Sofala's role as a gold emporium (although by this time, the gold trade was quite diminished from its heyday). In 1501 Sofala wasscouted from the sea and its location determined by captainSancho de Tovar. In 1502,Pedro Afonso de Aguiar (others sayVasco da Gama himself) led thefirst Portuguese ships into Sofala harbor.[8]
Aguiar (or Gama) sought out an audience with the ruling sheikh Isuf of Sofala (Yçuf inBarrosÇufe inGoes). At the time, Isuf was engaged in a quarrel withKilwa. The minister Emir Ibrahim had deposed and murdered the legitimate Sultan al-Fudail of Kilwa, and seized power for himself. Isuf of Sofala refused to recognize the usurper and was looking for a way to shake off Kilwa's lordship and chart an independent course for Sofala. The Portuguese, with their powerful ships, seemed to provide the key. At any rate, the elderly sheikh Isuf realized it would be better to make allies rather than enemies out of them, and agreed to a commercial and alliance treaty with theKingdom of Portugal.
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This was followed upon in 1505 whenPêro de Anaia (part of the7th Armada) was granted permission by sheikh Isuf to erect afactory and fortress near the city.Fort São Caetano of Sofala was the second Portuguese fort in East Africa (the first, atKilwa, was built only a few months earlier). Anaia used stone imported for the purpose from Europe. (It was subsequently reused for construction ofBeira'scathedral.)
The Portuguese fort did not last very long. Much of the garrison was quickly decimated by fevers (probablymalaria). In late 1507, the new Portuguese captain of Sofala,Vasco Gomes de Abreu, captured the island ofMozambique. Gradually, much of the Sofala garrison, officers and operations were transferred to the island, reducing Fort Sofala to a mere outpost. Nonetheless,colonial governors ofPortuguese Mozambique would continue to bear 'Captain of Sofala' as their primary official title.
If not for its gold trade, Sofala would likely have been avoided by both the Swahili and the Portuguese. The entrance to Sofala estuary was blocked by a long moving sand bank, which was followed by hazardousshoals, allowing boats to approach safely only at high tide. The shores of Sofala were amangrove swamp, replete with stagnant waters and malarial mosquitos. As a harbor, it was less than suitable for Portuguese ships, which is why the Portuguese were quick to seizeMozambique Island in 1507, and make that their preferred harbor.
The gold trade also proved to be a disappointment. The old gold fields were largely exhausted by the time the Portuguese arrived, and gold production had moved further north. Market towns were erected on theZambezi escarpment, to which Sofala was less convenient as an outlet than the rising new towns ofQuelimane andAngoche.[9]
The shifting sands and boundaries of the Buzi estuary have since allowed the sea to reclaim much of old Sofala. There are very few ruins in modern New Sofala to suggest the town's former grandeur and wealth.
In its heyday, the town of Sofala itself was formed by two towns, one close to the water on a sand flat, the other on higher and healthier ground. The Sofalese also had a satellite settlement to the north at the mouth of thePungwe River calledRio de São Vicente in old maps. As grand old Sofala sank into the ocean, modernBeira was erected on the site of that outpost.
Sofala lost its remaining commercial preeminence onceBeira was established 32 kilometres (20 mi) to the north in 1890.[5] The harbour was once reputed to be capable of holding a hundred vessels, but has since silted up due to deforestation of the banks of the river and deposition of topsoil in the harbour.[5]
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