The Kingdom of Mutapa in the far southwest (modern northern Zimbabwe and southern Zambia) corner of the African continent. The Bantu-speaking Shona peoples of Mutapa (established c. 1450) had inherited the region’s trade network from its predecessor Great Zimbabwe (c. 1100 - c. 1550). Goods from Mutapa, like gold and ivory, were traded with Sofala, an outpost controlled by the most southern Swahili city of Kilwa. From 1530, the Portuguese tried to establish trade markets (feiras) within Mutapa, but their interference in local affairs, particularly their attempts to spread Christianity, brought them into conflict with the Mutapa rulers. In a familiar tale of colonial interference, the kingdom descended into a period of civil wars. A small number of Portuguese landowners clung onto the garrisoned forts at Sena, Tete, and Zumbo in the Zambezi valley.

Further north, the Portuguese were still causing havoc along the Swahili coast, exploiting the rivalries between cities and capturing Mombasa in 1593. A huge fort, Fort Jesus, was then built at Mombasa, which acted as a regional headquarters for the Portuguese. In 1633, a new strategy was adopted in Mutapa and, with the help of Portuguese settlers who had married local women, the Portuguese took over the kingdom completely. Unfortunately, Mutapa was nowhere near as rich in gold as had been hoped for; this was no Inca or Aztec civilization that their great rival Spain was plundering in the Americas.

The decline in East African trade, the disappointment in the non-existent riches of Mutapa, and the fatal problem of tropical diseases resulted in the Portuguese Crown abandoning its ambitions on the Swahili Coast, and instead, they focused on Mozambique Island located between the Swahili Coast in the north and Mutapa in the south. Batua, another Shona kingdom, took over what was left of Mutapa in 1693.

The area of what is today Mozambique was first inhabited by Bantu-speaking people who had arrived in the area as part of the Bantu migration from the 1st to 4th century. The famed Chinese mariner-explorer-trader Admiral Zheng He (aka Cheng Ho, c. 1371-1433) visited Mozambique in the first quarter of the 15th century. Arab traders had settled in the area by the end of that century. Vasco da Gama had stopped to resupply his ships there in 1498, and the Portuguese had no doubt made a record of the coasts’ potential for colonization. The first Portuguese settlers arrived on Mozambique Island from 1506, and a captaincy was created where land was parcelled out for development. The Crown controlled all trade to and from Mozambique, making it an extremely profitable colony. By the mid-16th century, however, it was discovered that Mozambique was not as gold-rich as hoped. There was some trade to be done at a local level, and ivory was a potential earner but proved too difficult to obtain and too bulky a commodity to make huge profits from.

Mozambique became a part of the Estado da India from 1571. Carrack trade ships plied the Indian Ocean regularly between Mozambique and Goa [in India] as part of the route known as the carreira da India. As in other Portuguese colonies, many European immigrants were undesirables (degredados), shipped by the authorities to free Portugal of them. These reluctant travellers included convicts, beggars, reformed prostitutes, orphans, and religious dissidents. The coastal towns soon developed European architecture, especially villas, churches, and paved thoroughfares. Meanwhile, many Portuguese moved inland and integrated with local tribes, intermarrying and often adopting the lifestyle and even the appearance of Mozambique Africans. A system developed known as prazo, where African chiefs gave land and trade and tribute rights to Portuguese and Afro-Portuguese, an appointment then formally recognised by the Portuguese Crown. In return, the appointee (a muzungo) had to ensure justice was carried out in his territory, supervise traditional rituals, and approve chiefs of smaller villages in their jurisdiction. To maintain their position, muzungos had a private army of retainers (chicunda) which could number several thousand Africans. By 1637, there were at least 80 prazos, and most acted independently of the weak Portuguese administration at the capital Maputo.