Lamu town grows into a trading centre

Lamu town, on Lamu Island, appears in traditions and archaeology as a settlement dating from at least the fourteenth century, with some traditions pointing to a founding around 1370. Its harbour made it a centre for trading mangrove poles, ivory and grain. Over the centuries its population built coral-stone houses, mosques and narrow lanes, mixing local building styles with influences from Arabia and India.

Lamu grew in importance after neighbouring Manda and Shanga declined, and later became a centre of Islamic scholarship and Swahili poetry. The old town was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001 because it is among the oldest continuously inhabited Swahili settlements. The founding date is traditional rather than precise, and archaeology suggests earlier occupation. Merchants and scholars from Hadhramaut and Oman also settled there over time.

No single named ruler governed the lands of present-day Kenya at this date. The period is represented in the rulers file by the placeholder entry 'Cushitic, Nilotic and Bantu communities, Swahili city-states and chiefdoms', so the event belongs to the history of foraging, herding and farming societies, coastal city-states and chiefdoms and not of a documented head of state.

Lamu preserves the architecture and culture of Swahili civilisation and remains a living town and a pilgrimage and tourism destination. The island also preserves festivals, craftsmanship and Swahili poetry, making it a living museum, although tourism, security and development pressures challenge conservation and local livelihoods.