The siege of Mombasa was an attack on the Portuguese city of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

and

Fort Jesus Fort Jesus (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Forte Jesus de Mombaça'') is a fortification, fort located on Mombasa Island. Designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Battista Cairati, it was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of Felipe I ...

by the army of the Ya'rubid ruler of

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, Saif I bin Sultan, from 13 March 1696 to 13 December 1698.

Siege

The Yarubid dynasty had been expanding since the expulsion of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army () is the land component of the Portuguese Armed Forces, Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

from

in 1650. They attacked Portuguese possessions in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

and engaged in

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

. In 1660 they attacked Mombasa for the first time, sacking the city, but could not capture the fort. When the Omanis surrounded Fort Jesus in 1696 the garrison consisted of between 50 and 70 Portuguese soldiers and several hundred loyal African slaves. Hunger and disease thinned the garrison and the civilian population who had taken refuge in the fort. Queen Fatuma of

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

sent three dhows full of supplies to the fort, however the dhows were captured and burned by the Omanis, forcing Fatuma to flee to the interior of the Island. No reinforcements arrived from the Portuguese until the siege was lifted in December 1696, when the Omani forces captured Fort Jesus and installed an Omani governor, then attacked Zanzibar, drove out the last Portuguese settlers, and captured Queen Fatuma. Fatuma was taken to Oman and remained there in exile for the next 12 years. While she was away, her son Hassan took the title of Mwinyi Mkuu but pledged allegiance to Oman and paid tribute. She was allowed to return to rule Unguja in 1709 as a vassal and client state of Oman for the rest of her reign. Soon the Omanis returned and disease killed all the Portuguese soldiers. The defense was left in the hands of Sheikh Daud of Faza with seventeen of his family members, 8 African men and 50 African women. Portuguese reinforcements arrived again on September 15 and December 1697. After another year of siege, in December 1698, the garrison comprised only the Captain, nine men and a priest. The last Omani attack on December 13 captured the fort. Just seven days after its capture a Portuguese relief fleet arrived to see the fort lost. The siege had lasted almost three years. Mombasa would remain in Omani hands until 1728. With this successful siege, the whole coast of Kenya and Tanzania with

and Pemba fell to the Omani Arabs.

Aftermath

The news of the siege only reached

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

in the end of 1698, at the same time that the city surrendered. Alarmed, King

Peter II of Portugal '' Dom'' Pedro II (Peter II; 26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706), nicknamed the Pacific (''Português:'' O Pacífico) was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own ...

immediately ordered to organize a relief squadron, which was constituted by two

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

and three

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s, with a ''

terço A ''tercio'' (), Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and Habsburg Spain in the early modern period. They were the elite military units of the Spanish monarchy and e ...

'' of 950 soldiers embarked. The squadron sailed from the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

on 25 March 1699, arriving in

Mozambique Island The Island of Mozambique () lies off northern Mozambique, between the Mozambique Channel and Mossuril Bay, and is part of Nampula Province. Prior to 1898, it was the capital of colonial Portuguese East Africa. With its rich history and sandy ...

on 15 July, where it was known that the city had surrendered months ago. The squadron then sailed to Zanzibar Island, with the intention of putting

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

that conducted them to Mombasa, but after failing in getting pilots, the

captain-major A donatary captain was a Portuguese colonial official to whom the Crown granted jurisdiction, rights and revenues over some colonial territory. The recipient of these grants was called a (donatary), because he had been given the grant as a (donat ...

of the squadron, Henrique Jacques de Magalhães, sailed to

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, arriving there in September with 300 soldiers less, due to disease, and with the remaining sick. The news of the surrender of the city only reached Lisbon on 26 March 1700. However, King Peter II of Portugal did not give up, and he ordered to send another squadrons in 1700 and 1701. Both failed, due, again, to disease within the troops. In 1701, the

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

, António Luís Gonçalves da Câmara Coutinho, organised a squadron constituted of one ship of the line, two frigates and by the Strait Squadron (did not arrive), which failed again due to a

storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

at the

Mandovi River The Mandovi (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) or Mahadayi (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), formerly known as the Rio de Goa, is a river described as the lifeline of the Indian state of Goa. The Mandovi and the Zuari River, Zua ...

, that made the three ships sunk. At the same time King

Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...

died, postponing the recuperation of Mombasa to ''

sine die Adjournment ''sine die'' (from Latin 'without a date') is the conclusion of a meeting by a deliberative assembly, such as a legislature or organizational board, without setting a date to reconvene. The assembly can reconvene, either in its pres ...

''. Animated by their success of conquering Mombasa and with the incapacity showed by the Portuguese for its recuperation, the Omani started to attack Portuguese cities, capturing

Pemba Island Pemba Island (; ''al-Jazīra al-khadrāʔ''; ; ) is a Tanzanian island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean. Geography file:Map of Zanzibar Archipelago-en.svg, left, The main islands of the ...

Kilwa Island Kilwa Island is an island on Lake Mweru, Zambia. It was known to Arab and Swahili traders of ivory, copper and slaves, who used the island on the lake as a base at one time. This lake island is named after the original Indian ocean island Kilwa ...

and attacking Mozambique Island and

Salsette Island Salsette Island (, , Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. Administratively known as the Mumbai Suburban district, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thana (Thane) lie on it; making it ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Jesus, Siege of Wars involving Oman

Battles involving Kenya Conflicts in 1696 Conflicts in 1697 Conflicts in 1698

Siege

Aftermath

See also

References

Bibliography