STS+Human

=Human=

The **Swahili** are a people and culture found on the coast of East Africa. They have a population of 300,000 and 750,000. The word Swahili means coastal people. During the 1500's and 1600's the portugese looted numerous Swahili cities and seriosly damaged the Swahili trade. They also speak official languages of their respective countries: English in Tanzania and Kenya, Portuguese in Mozambique and Somali in Somalia.The people known as Swahili, live along the narrow East african coastline. The name Swahili comes from the Arabic Swahili (coast or margin). The term was first used to refer to the eighteenth century.

=History=

Trade atthe east coast of Africa has been going on since the Ancient Egyptians have been alive. This relationship as been going on mostly because of the Yemen people. The Portugese arived there in 1498, that lead to the lose of Swahilis inde pendence. After that the Omani Empire took over and renamed that region called Zanzibar. Then there was a slave trade and by the 1860s, 70,000 people a year were being sold in the Zanzibar slave markets.

By 1900, Britian and Germany had taken power of the area, and thats when the modern states called Kenya and Tanzania were made.

=**Culture**=

Although teh Swahili are seen primeraly as coastal people, the no longer own the trade. Farming has become much more common, with coconuts, millet, rice, sorghum, friut and vegetables some fishing. Men normaly fish from boats and ladies normaly fish from shore with nets.

=**Religion**=

Islam made its opening in the East African coast around the 8th century, when traders came from the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Pinisula during the monsoon season and they used to marriage. Today, in lots of villages and towns lots of the people are practicing Islam, some people don't belief in that and they try to practice some of the other gods from the old African tribes.

This is one of the Swahili [|Ladies.]

== This is another picture of some [|swahili people.]

Sorces: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_people http://mijnposter.nl/thumbs/464/056s.jpeg http://www.lyalls.net/africa/img/jamila.jpg