The Querimbas Islands of Mozambique in the mid-nineteenth century were part of the sixth district, “Ilhas de Cabo Delgado”. A first look at a sort of census dated 1848 for this area adds information about the concerns, the biases and the intentions of those who wanted to have the statistics compiled, as well as the composition of the population of the (small and larger) coastal urban centres at this time. Following a period of repeated raids by Sakalava pirates from the Malagasy island, the census constitutes a record of the number of slave-owners and their captives, their declared religion, their names and age, all of which may shed light on a somewhat obscure period in this area. This article provides an initial overview of the information stemming from these statistics.
A socio-demographic picture of the northern coast of Cabo Delgado in the mid-nineteenth century (1848-1849)
Francesca Declich
2025
Abstract
The Querimbas Islands of Mozambique in the mid-nineteenth century were part of the sixth district, “Ilhas de Cabo Delgado”. A first look at a sort of census dated 1848 for this area adds information about the concerns, the biases and the intentions of those who wanted to have the statistics compiled, as well as the composition of the population of the (small and larger) coastal urban centres at this time. Following a period of repeated raids by Sakalava pirates from the Malagasy island, the census constitutes a record of the number of slave-owners and their captives, their declared religion, their names and age, all of which may shed light on a somewhat obscure period in this area. This article provides an initial overview of the information stemming from these statistics.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
