ZANZIBAR - Mafia history

In the XVI century, the Europeans referred to Mafia variously as "Morfiyeh" or "Monfiyah" on their charts and in their records, but morfiyeh is an Arabic word meaning archipelago. The name of Mafia may also be derived from a derogatory application of mafi, the Arabic for waste, denoting a place of little value.

Control of Mafia changed hands frequently in the 16th and 17th Centuries, as Portugal's fortunes declined, Oman's waxed and waned, and the influence of other world powers played their part. The defeat of the Portuguese by Oman in Mombasa in 1698 ended what had been a troubled and cruel Portuguese rule and gave the Sultan of Oman control of the coast from Lamu to Kilwa.

There is evidence for settlement of Mafia by Madagascans, Chinese, Malay and Indonesian peoples (who first settled Madagascar about 1,500 years ago). Pottery and coins indicate trade took place from, at latest, the 8th Century.

Under a treaty of 1890 Germany took control of Mafia and in 1892 the first German Resident arrived and constructed the buildings still evident on Chole. Germany paid Sultan Syed Ali ben Saad of Oman DM 4 million for Mafia and part of the mainland coast.

In January 1915 Mafia was taken by British troops as a base for the air and sea assault on the cruiser Konigsberg. It was not until late 1922 that control of Mafia passed from Zanzibar to Tanganyika Territory, ending the martial law of WWI.

The population of Mafia was 33,000 at the last census in 1988 and is now thought to exceed 40,000 persons, located in fishing and farming villages and homesteads all over the main island, Jibondo, Juani and Chole.

Mafia is now part of the Coast Province of the Republic of Tanzania and is governed from the Mainland (not Zanzibar).

The farmers on Mafia are smallholders, growing plots of cassava, rice, pigeon pea, pineapples, pawpaws and beans; it is typical to also find cashew, coconut and mango trees on each household's land. Large areas of the island are planted to coconuts, mostly by pre-World War II German settlers and descendents of Arab and Shirazi pioneers. Farmed areas are usually surrounded by woodland, grassland or coconut plantations.