To start off, the name of the country Malawi came from the term “Marawi”. This came from the Marawi Empire of which Malawi was a part of .
Marawi means the “ray of light” which may have come from the sight of many kilns lighting up in the night sky.
The Aramawi people, who found the Marawi dynasty in the late 15th century, migrated from present day Republic of Congo to escape unrest and disease.
Initially the Marawi Empires income was mainly dependent on agriculture that mainly produced millet and sorghum. It was during the early 16th century when the Europeans came in contact with the people of Malawi.
The Portuguese arrived at the area of Malawi through the Mozambican port of “Tete” in the mid 16th century and gave written reports about the people of Malawi.
The Portuguese were responsible for the introduction of Maize in the staple of the people of Malawian diet. In exchange the Malawi Empire traded slaves. These slaves mainly were sent to work in in Portuguese plantations in Mozambique of Brazil.
Ever since the involvement of Portuguese men, the Empire of Malawi went on a downfall.
This decline resulted from the involvement of two important groups into the region of Malawi: Angoni and Ayao.
The Angoni people came arrived from modern day South Africa as a part of the Great Migration, known as the mfecane, in escape from the Zulu empire, Shaka Zulu. The mfecane had a significant impact on Southern Africa. These people adopted shaka’s military tactics to subdue the lesser tribes like the Marawi they found along their way. As they progressed, the Angoni impis (soldiers) would raid and plunder food, women and livestock. The young men were recruited for their army, while the older citizens were turned to slave laborers or disposed off to Arab slave traders operating in Lake Malawi.
The other influent groups were the Ayao group. These people came from northern Mozambique to escape famine and conflict from other tribes, especially the Makua Tribe. The Ayao people were riche who amassed their wealth by trading ivory and slaves with the Arab slave traders. The Ayao were the first to use firearms in the battles with other tribes. As a benefit of their partnership the Arabs granted the Ayao people with sheikhs who in turn provided them with literacy and the Muslim religion. They also encouraged the production of rice, which became a major crop in the lake region.
After the Portuguese arrival, their next European contact was the arrival of David Livingstone in 1859. Subsequently the Scottish Presbyterian established churches such as the St Michaels and All Angels church found in 1876. Their main aim was to end the slave trade to the Persian Gulf. IN 1878 numerous traders, mostly from Glasgow formed the African Lakes Company, which allowed for smooth trade to missionaries.
After an intense session of slave trade and competition to rule, the Country of Malawi became a fully independent member of the Commonwealth on 6th July 1964.
Two years later, Malawi adopted a republican constitution and became a One-Party state with Hastings Banda as its first president.
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