Negotiating with the neighbours

This chapter analyses the diplomatic culture and practices of Munhumutapa, or Monomotapa, ² focusing on relations with the Portuguese. It aims to shed light on the social and cultural dimensions of diplomacy between African and European polities in the early modern world. Munhumutapa was the most famous of the states created by the Karanga people (present-day Shona) in East Africa. Its mythical gold wealth attracted foreign merchants: this was the case for the Portuguese, who established a government in Mozambique Island in the sixteenth century in the framework of their Indian Ocean Empire. ³ The relationship between these sovereignties located in distant parts of the world involved distinct political, social, economic and cultural traditions. However, despite their differences, Portuguese and Karanga also shared some features and interests that enabled them to develop diplomatic interactions, that is ‘a set of practices designed to establish mutual confidence between polities’. ⁴ Indeed, in a manner similar to the ongoing contemporary process in Europe, the rulers of Munhumutapa and other African states had established ritual diplomatic procedures that allowed them to conduct negotiations with Europeans. ⁵