West Chester University, HIS311 "African History to 1875"
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama arrived on the East African coast and obtained an alliance with the Swahili city of Malindi |
| 1503 | Ruy Lourenço Ravasco attacked Zanzibar |
| 1505 | The Portuguese built a fort at Sofala |
| 1505-7 | Francisco d'Almeida's force sacked Mombasa, Kilwa, and Barawa |
| 1507 | The Portuguese built their first fort at Mozambique |
| 1510 | The Portuguese conquered Goa and created the Viceroyalty of Goa to administer their possessions in the Indian Ocean |
| 1514 | Antonio Fernandez found gold in Shona country |
| 1520-6 | Francisco Alvarez visited Ethiopia |
| 1528 | The Portuguese sacked Mombasa again |
| 1531 | The Governor of Mozambique founded a trade fair and fort at Sena 160 miles upstream on the Zambezi River |
| 1534-5 | The Portuguese founded new trading posts in the vicinity of Tete about 200 miles upstream on the Zambezi River |
| 1541 | The Portuguese aided Ethiopia in its war against the Somali Kingdom of Adal |
| 1550s | The Portuguese built Fort Sao Sebastiao on Mozambique Island |
| 1560s | The first Portuguese missionary reached the Mutapa kingdom on the Zambezi River |
| 1568 | Sebastao became king of Portugal at age 14 |
| 1569-73 | A Portuguese military expedition into the Zambezi River Valley resulted in the loss of 800 out of 1000 men |
| 1574-5 | Another Portuguese military expedition lost 200 of 400 men |
| 1585-6 | Ali Bey organized the first northern Swahili resistance |
| 1588-9 | Ali Bey led a second campaign of resistance |
| 1589 | The Portuguese sacked Mombasa again and took control of the northeastern coastal cities |
| 1591 | Construction of Fort Jesus authorized |
| 1593 | Work began on Fort Jesus at Mombasa |
| 1594 | The Portuguese built a customs house at Mombasa |
| 1597 | The first Augustinian monastery was established at Mombasa |
| 1599 | The Portuguese began to occupy Fort Jesus, although construction continued into the 1630s |
| 1600s/ear | Portuguese immigration to East Africa increased, and an Augustinian-educated sultan ruled Malindi, Mombasa and Pemba |
| 1606 | The Dutch laid siege to Fort San Sebastao on Mozambique Island |
| 1608 | Dutch attempted to take over Mozambique Island again |
| 1608-18 | Several Portuguese expeditions failed to find gold and silver |
| 1618-48 | The Thirty Years War ended the ability of the Portuguese government to support further expansion in East Africa |
| 1628 | A new Monomotapa (Kapararidze, head of the Mutapa state in the middle Zambezi valley) tried to reunite the Shona people by starting a war to expel the Portuguese |
| 1628-1700 | Portuguese extended their land claims to the Upper Zambezi |
| 1630s | Portuguese aided a rival Monomotapa (or Mwene Mutapa) named Mavura to overthrew Kapararidze |
| 1630s | The Portuguese completed the construction of Fort Jesus at Mombasa |
| 1631 | Sultan of Mombasa renounced Catholicism and murdered most of the Portuguese garrison at Fort Jesus |
| 1632 | A new Portuguese garrison arrived at Fort Jesus |
| 1650s | Sea-borne Omani Arabs aided revolt in the city-states |
| 1684-96 | Opponents of Mavura founded a new state (Chagamire) and conquered Mutapa |
| 1698 | A 33-month siege took Fort Jesus and killed 1000 Portuguese and some 5000 Swahili allies and residents |
| 1699 | Fort Jesus was conquered |
| 1700 | By this date, Muslim forces expelled the Portuguese from the region north of Cape Delgado (located south of Kilwa) |