Al-Akida and Fort Jesus Mombasa – Mbarak Ali Hinaway

Description

 – The life-history of Muhammad bin Abdallah bin Mbarak Bakhashweini, with the songs and poems of his time

“Fort Jesus (Portuguese: Forte Jesus de Mombaça) is a fort located on Mombasa Island. Designed by Italian Giovanni Battista Cairati, it was built between 1593 and 1596, by order of King Philip I of Portugal, to guard the Old Port of Mombasa. Fort Jesus was the only fort maintained by the Portuguese on the Swahili Coast, and is recognised as a testament to the first successful attempt by a Western power to establish influence over the Indian Ocean trade.

Fort Jesus was captured and recaptured at least nine times between 1631, when the Portuguese lost it to the Sultan Yusuf ibn al-Hasanof Mombasa, and 1895 when it fell under British rule and was converted into a prison. After the Portuguese recaptured it from the Sultan in 1632, they refurbished it and built more fortifications, subsequently making it harder for the fort to fall. The fort was subject to an epic two-year siege from 1696-98 by the Omani Arabs, led by Saif bin Sultan. The capture of the fort marked the end of Portuguese presence on the coast, although they briefly captured and re-occupied it between 1728 and 1729 with the help of the Swahili city-states. The fort fell under local rule from 1741 to 1837, when it was again captured by the Omanis and used as a barracks, before its occupation by the British in 1895, after the declaration of the Protectorate of Kenya.”

Price: R350.00

Edition: Second edition

Published: 1970

Publishers: East African Literature Bureau

Condition: Stapled, thick card cover, in good edition. Minor scuff marks around the edges of the cover. Internally in very good condition – very clean and tightly bound.