The Portuguese did not ask for trade partnerships. They came with warships and demanded submission. In 1500, they attacked and sacked Mombasa, burning parts of the city and terrorising its inhabitants. The Swahili merchants who had built one of the greatest trading civilisations in the Indian Ocean world found themselves suddenly at the mercy of European firepower. The Portuguese would sack Mombasa again in 1528 and 1589. Each time, the city rebuilt itself. Each time, the wounds went deeper.