Kilwa grew rich on gold it never mined. Is your product built on someone else's route?
In 1944, an Australian soldier named Maurie Isenberg was posted to a radar station on Marchinbar Island, in the Wessel Islands off the far north coast of Australia. In his spare time he went fishing. One day, in the sand just below the high-water mark, he noticed a few small, green, round objects. He picked them up, found a few more nearby, and put them in a tin. The tin stayed in his kit for 35…
In 1944, Maurie Isenberg, an Australian soldier stationed on Marchinbar Island, discovered a few coins washed ashore. These coins, later identified in 1979, were Dutch East India Company issues and copper pieces from the Sultanate of Kilwa, an island city off the coast of modern-day Tanzania. The mystery surrounding these coins lies in their origin, as Kilwa was not known for mining gold.
The city, which thrived between the ninth and nineteenth centuries, gained its wealth not from mining but by controlling the flow of gold from the interior of southern Africa, particularly from Great Zimbabwe. Kilwa's prosperity depended on its strategic location, allowing it to act as a hub for the flow of gold, ivory, and other goods arriving from the interior.
The city's architecture, such as the Great Mosque and Husuni Kubwa palace, reflects its status as a prosperous trading center. However, the decline of Kilwa's power began in the mid-14th century due to factors like diminishing gold production in Zimbabwe and increased pressure from the Portuguese. Despite attempts to maintain control through fortifications, Kilwa eventually fell into decline and was abandoned by the mid-19th century.
The story of Kilwa serves as a lesson for modern businesses, highlighting the importance of understanding one's position in the supply chain and the risks associated with relying on a single source or location for success.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
