Abstract

This chapter proceeds to provide an overview of the types of written evidence available for research into past climate variability and extremes in the Indian Ocean zone of southern Africa from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries and examines how this information can be used to develop historical climate indices. First, the inbuilt challenges associated with using early colonial records of various types for climate research are discussed. Second, the methodological implications for climate research arising from these source characteristics are considered. Third, a recently developed chronology of hydroclimate-related events for the greater Mozambique region is examined in the context of regional historical climate variability. And to conclude, areas for further research in the historical climatology of the Indian Ocean zone of southern and eastern Africa are deliberated.