On the Antiquity of Southern Africa – China Interaction

Abstract

Without doubt, in the 21st century, China eclipsed the West to become the African continent’s biggest trading partner. What however, is the antiquity and deep history of Sino-African trade and exchange relationships? Archaeological and historical evidence suggests that regions such as East Africa had over one thousand years of direct and indirect interaction with China (Casson 1989; Chaudhuri 1990; Chami 1998; La Violette 2008; Fleisher 2010; Kusimba 2016). Therefore, contrary to popular narratives in western historiography, China had been to Africa before Vasco da Gama. What is less emphasised in Eurocentric versions of the past is that between 1405 and 1433 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Imperial China, Zheng He conducted imperial adventures that landed him in East Africa some time before Vasco da Gama (Abraham 2015; Dashu 2018; Kusimba 2018; Levathes 2014). In 1418 Zheng He commanded a giant fleet of more than 62 ships ferrying 37,000 soldiers across the Indian Ocean (Abraham 2015; Levathes 2014). Even before Zheng, historical evidence suggests that multi-directional contact had taken place between the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, the Persian Gulf, Egypt, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and various communities on the East African coast and the Indian Ocean Islands (Casson 1989; Chaudhuri 1985; Crowther et al. 2014; Hawley 2008). This set-in motion an earlier form of globalisation pivoted on the Indian Ocean rim, and where Europe featured little (Chirikure 2014, 2019).Consequently, pivoting the center of global history on Europe, as was previously the case is not only inappropriate but has stunted the flourishing of research into the deep history of connections that predate the dominance of Europe in other parts of the world. Not surprisingly, the last two or so decades have witnessed increased and successful attempts to re-write global history, away from a Eurocentric point of view to one that acknowledges the contribution of others, particularly those referred to as ‘people without history’ - the Indian Ocean rim region included (Wolf 1982; Scott 2009). As such, the continual growth in strength of Indian Ocean studies in Africa (e.g. Chittick 1974; Horton 1996; Kusimba 1994; 2016, 2018; Pwiti 2005; La Violette 2008), when examined using local lenses, in various participating regions offers nuanced histories that show globalization with Europe in the periphery. In fact, African connections with Europe (southwards of Angola) only started much later during the buildup to the Portuguese ‘voyages of discoveries’ to India.Recent work drawing from archaeology, archaeometry, linguistics and history continues to expose the deep history of connections between various areas within the Indian Ocean rim (Fleisher 2003; Crowther et al. 2014; Kusimba 2018). African plants, crops, and commodities ended up at different points in time in Asia, and vice versa. While the mechanics of the early history of circulations of ideas and commodities and nested biological exchanges are still being explored, from AD 700 onwards, historians and archaeologists have recorded intensified exchange relationships between the interior of southern Africa and the Swahili coast (eastern Africa) on the one hand and the wider Indian Ocean rim on the other (Curtin 1984; Chaudhuri 1985; Pwiti 2005; La Violette 2008). The Swahili coast stretches for nearly 3000 km from Mozambique in the south all the way up north, via Tanzania and Kenya to Somalia (Horton 1996; Chami 1998; Fleisher and La Violette 2005). Included in this space are the Indian Islands of Comoro and parts of Madagascar (Kusimba 2016). This coast was strategic space in the inter-continental Indian Ocean based maritime exchange in which commodities from hinterland southern Africa such as gold, iron, bark cloth, ivory, and slaves alongside those from the coast such as mangroves were traded and exchanged in return for cloth, glass beads, ceramics and among others incense (Pikirayi 2001, Fleisher and Wynie-Jones 2012; La Violette 2008). Within southern Africa, communities based at places such as Great Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe, Mapela, Bosutswe, Manyikeni and many others interacted and circulated commodities indirectly or directly with those at ports such as Chibuene, Sofala and Kilwa (Pwiti 2005; Sinclair et al. 2012; Chirikure 2014). Along the coast, the Swahili took advantage of predictable monsoon winds to have wider circulations of people, commodities and ideas linking Arabia, the Indian subcontinent, parts of Asia such as China and Africa (Chaudhuri 1990; Kusimba et al. 2013).While there is a general acceptance of the antiquity and deep history of the Indian Ocean based circulations system, the unanswered question still revolves around the antiquity and nature of southern Africa-China interactions. As a follow on, what was the nature of the connection and trade and exchange relationship? Was it direct or indirect? Within a framework availed by archaeological, archaeometric and historical evidence, this paper seeks to provide answers to these and other questions.