Mombasa modern period, Mombasa was a key node in the complex and far reaching Indian Ocean trading networks, its key exports then were ivory, millet, sesamum and coconuts. In the late pre-colonial period (late 19th century), it was the metropolis of a plantation society, which became dependent on slave labour (sources contradict whether the city was ever an important place for exporting slaves) but ivory caravans remained a major source of economic prosperity. Mombasa became the major port city of pre-colonial Kenya in the Middle Ages and was used to trade with other African port cities, the Persian Empire, the Arabian
Mombasa Island sprawl and industrial areas now occupy the rest of the island. Mombasa is linked to the mainland by the Makupa Causeway to the northwest, by the Nyali Bridge to the east and by the Likoni Ferry to the south. A road and rail bridge also serve the mainland container port near Port Reitz. Port Tudor and Tudor Creek were named by Owen Tudor the Royal Navy captain who first surveyed the area. Mombasa Island is one of the four divisions of Mombasa County. The division has a population of 146,334 (1999 census). It is divided into six subdivisions: Mombasa Island