Witu Sultanate Wituland | |||||||
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c. 1810[1]–1905/1923 | |||||||
Left: Flag of Sultan Fumobakari (1890) Right: Flag as a British protectorate (1893–1920) | |||||||
![]() Map showing the location of Witu on the Indian Ocean coast | |||||||
Status | c. 1810–1885: Independent state 1885–1890: German protectorate 1890–1905/1923: British protectorate | ||||||
Capital | Witu | ||||||
Common languages | Swahili · Arabic | ||||||
Religion | Islam | ||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||
Mafulme | |||||||
• 1810s - 1848 | Bwana Mataka | ||||||
• July 1895 – 1923 | Fumo `Umar ibn Ahmad | ||||||
History | |||||||
• Established | c. 1810[1] | ||||||
• Disestablished | 1905/1923 | ||||||
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Wituland (also Witu, Vitu, Witu Protectorate or Swahililand) was a territory of approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) in East Africa centered on the town of Witu, just inland from the Indian Ocean port of Lamu, north of the mouth of the Tana River in what is now Kenya.