Bantu migrations
Further information: Bantu expansion
Bantu-speaking peoples migrated into Mozambique as early as the 4th century BC.[18]
It is believed between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, waves of migration from the
west and north went through the Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the
plateau and coastal areas of Southern Africa.[19] They established agricultural
communities or societies based on herding cattle. They brought with them the
technology for smelting[20] and smithing iron.
Swahili Coast
Arab-Swahili slave traders and their captives on the Ruvuma River
From the late first millennium AD, vast Indian Ocean trade networks extended as far
south into Mozambique as evidenced by the ancient port town of Chibuene.[21]
Beginning in the 9th century, a growing involvement in Indian Ocean trade led to
the development of numerous port towns along the entire East African coast,
including modern day Mozambique. Largely autonomous, these towns broadly
participated in the incipient Swahili culture. Islam was often adopted by urban
elites, facilitating trade. In Mozambique, Sofala, Angoche, and Mozambique Island
were regional powers by the 15th century.[22]
The towns traded with merchants from both the African interior and the broader
Indian Ocean world. Particularly important were the gold and ivory caravan routes.
Inland states like the Kingdom of Zimbabwe and Kingdom of Mutapa provided the
coveted gold and ivory, which were then exchanged up the coast to larger port
cities like Kilwa and Mombasa.[23]
Portuguese Mozambique (1498–1975)
Further information: Portuguese Mozambique
Detail of the Island of Mozambique, former capital in Northern Mozambique and
prominent in the country's history
Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte
Fort São Sebastião
The Island of Mozambique after which the country is named, is a small coral island
at the mouth of Mossuril Bay on the Nacala coast of northern Mozambique, first
explored by Europeans in the late 15th century.
When Portuguese explorers reached Mozambique in 1498, Arab-trading settlements had
existed along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries.[24][25] From
about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts displaced the Arabic commercial and
military hegemony, becoming regular ports of call on the new European sea route to
the east,[19][26] the first steps in what was to become a process of colonisation.
[26][27]
The voyage of Vasco da Gama around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 marked the
Portuguese entry into trade, politics, and society of the region. The Portuguese
gained control of the Island of Mozambique and the port city of Sofala in the early
16th century, and by the 1530s, small groups of Portuguese traders and prospectors
seeking gold penetrated the interior regions. Here they set up garrisons and
trading posts at Sena and Tete on the Zambezi and tried to gain exclusive control
over the gold trade.[25]
In the central part of the Mozambique territory, the Portuguese attempted to
legitimise and consolidate their trade and settlement positions through the
creation of prazos.[25] These land grants tied emigrants to their settlements, and
inland Mozambique was largely left to be administered by prazeiros, the grant
holders, while central authorities in Portugal concentrated their direct exercise
of power on, in their view, the more important Portuguese possessions in Asia and
the Americas.[25][28] Slavery in Mozambique pre-dated European-contact. African
rulers and chiefs dealt in enslaved people, first with Arab Muslim traders, who
sent the enslaved to Middle East Asia cities and plantations, and later with
Portuguese and other European traders. In a continuation of the trade, slaves were
supplied by warring local African rulers, who raided enemy tribes and sold their
captives to the prazeiros. The authority of the prazeiros was exercised and upheld
amongst the local population by armies of these enslaved men, whose members became
known as Chikunda.[25] Continuing emigration from Portugal occurred at
comparatively low levels until late in the nineteenth century, promoting
"Africanisation".[25] While prazos were originally intended to be held solely by
Portuguese colonists, through intermarriage and the relative isolation of prazeiros
from ongoing Portuguese influences, the prazos became African-Portuguese or
African-Indian.[25][26]
View of the Central Avenue in Lourenço Marques, now Maputo, ca. 1905
Although Portuguese influence gradually expanded, its power was limited and
exercised through individual settlers and officials who were granted extensive
autonomy. The Portuguese were able to wrest much of the coastal trade from Arab
Muslims between 1500 and 1700, but, with the Arab Muslim seizure of Portugal's key
foothold at Fort Jesus on Mombasa Island (now in Kenya) in 1698, the pendulum began
to swing in the other direction. As a result, investment lagged while Lisbon
devoted itself to the more lucrative trade with India and the Far East and to the
colonisation of Brazil.[19]
The Mazrui and Omani Arabs reclaimed much of the Indian Ocean trade, forcing the
Portuguese to retreat south. Many prazos had declined by the mid-19th century, but
several of them survived. During the 19th century other European powers,
particularly the British (British South Africa Company) and the French
(Madagascar), became increasingly involved in the trade and politics of the region
around the Portuguese East African territories.[29]
Portuguese language printing and typesetting class, 1930
By the early 20th century the Portuguese had shifted the administration of much of
Mozambique to large private companies, like the Mozambique Company, the Zambezia
Company and the Niassa Company, controlled and financed mostly by British
financiers such as Solomon Joel, which established railroad lines to their
neighbouring colonies (South Africa and Rhodesia). Although slavery had been
legally abolished in Mozambique, at the end of the 19th century the chartered
companies enacted a forced labour policy and supplied cheap—often forced—African
labour to the mines and plantations of the nearby British colonies and South
Africa.[19] The Zambezia Company, the most profitable chartered company, took over
several smaller prazeiro holdings and established military outposts to protect its
property. The chartered companies built roads and ports to bring their goods to
market including a railroad linking present-day Zimbabwe with the Mozambican port
of Beira.[30][31]
Due to their unsatisfactory performance and the shift, under the corporatist Estado
Novo regime of Oliveira Salazar, toward a stronger Portuguese control of Portuguese
Empire's economy, the companies' concessions were not renewed when they ran out.
This was what happened in 1942 with the Mozambique Company, which, however,
continued to operate in the agricultural and commercial sectors as a corporation,
and had already happened in 1929 with the termination of the Niassa Company's
concession. In 1951, the Portuguese overseas colonies in Africa were rebranded as
Overseas Provinces of Portugal.[30][31][32]
The Mueda massacre of 16 June 1960, resulted in the death of Makonde protestors,
which provoked the struggle of independence from Portuguese rule of Mozambique.
Mozambican War of Independence (1964–1975)
Main article: Mozambican War of Independence
Portuguese troops during the Portuguese Colonial War, some loading FN FAL, AR-10
and H&K G3
As communist and anti-colonial ideologies spread out across Africa, many
clandestine political movements were established in support of Mozambican
independence. These movements claimed that since policies and development plans
were primarily designed by the ruling authorities for the benefit of Mozambique's
Portuguese population, little attention was paid to Mozambique's tribal integration
and the development of its native communities.[33] According to the official
guerrilla statements, this affected a majority of the indigenous population who
suffered both state-sponsored discrimination and enormous social pressure. As a
response to the guerrilla movement, the Portuguese government from the 1960s and
principally the early 1970s initiated gradual changes with new socioeconomic
developments and egalitarian policies.[34]
The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) initiated a guerrilla campaign
against Portuguese rule in September 1964. This conflict—along with the two others
already initiated in the other Portuguese colonies of Angola and Portuguese Guinea—
became part of the so-called Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974). From a military
standpoint, the Portuguese regular army maintained control of the population
centres while the guerrilla forces sought to undermine their influence in rural and
tribal areas in the north and west. As part of their response to FRELIMO, the
Portuguese government began to pay more attention to creating favourable conditions
for social development and economic growth.[35]
Independence (1975)
FRELIMO took control of the territory after ten years of sporadic warfare, as well
as Portugal's own return to democracy after the fall of the authoritarian Estado
Novo regime in the Carnation Revolution of April 1974 and the failed coup of 25
November 1975. Within a year, most of the 250,000 Portuguese in Mozambique had left
—some expelled by the government of the nearly independent territory, some left the
country to avoid possible reprisals from the unstable government—and Mozambique
became independent from Portugal on 25 June 1975.[36] A law had been passed on the
initiative of the relatively unknown Armando Guebuza of the FRELIMO party, ordering
the Portuguese to leave the country in 24 hours with only 20 kilograms (44 pounds)
of luggage. Unable to salvage any of their assets, most of them returned to
Portugal penniless.[37]
Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992)
Main articles: People's Republic of Mozambique and Mozambican Civil War
A land mine victim in Mozambique
The new government under President Samora Machel established a one-party state
based on Marxist principles. It received diplomatic and some military support from
Cuba and the Soviet Union and proceeded to crack down on opposition.[38] Starting
shortly after independence, the country was plagued from 1977 to 1992 by a long and
violent civil war between the opposition forces of anti-communist Mozambican
National Resistance (RENAMO) rebel militias and the FRELIMO regime. This conflict
characterised the first decades of Mozambican independence, combined with sabotage
from the neighbouring states of Rhodesia and South Africa, ineffective policies,
failed central planning, and the resulting economic collapse. This period was also
marked by the exodus of Portuguese nationals and Mozambicans of Portuguese
heritage,[39] a collapsed infrastructure, lack of investment in productive assets,
and government nationalisation of privately owned industries, as well as widespread
famine.
During most of the civil war, the FRELIMO-formed central government was unable to
exercise effective control outside urban areas, many of which were cut off from the
capital.[19] RENAMO-controlled areas included up to 50% of the rural areas in
several provinces, and it is reported that health services of any kind were
isolated from assistance for years in those areas. The problem worsened when the
government cut back spending on health care.[40] The war was marked by mass human
rights violations from both sides of the conflict, with both RENAMO and FRELIMO
contributing to the chaos through the use of terror and indiscriminate targeting of
civilians.[41][42] The central government executed tens of thousands of people
while trying to extend its control throughout the country and sent many people to
"re-education camps" where thousands died.[41]
The geopolitical situation in 1975; nations friendly to the FRELIMO are shown in
orange.
During the war, RENAMO proposed a peace agreement based on the secession of RENAMO-
controlled northern and western territories as the independent Republic of
Rombesia, but FRELIMO refused, insisting on the undivided sovereignty of the entire
country. An estimated one million Mozambicans perished during the civil war, 1.7
million took refuge in neighbouring states, and several million more were
internally displaced.[43] The FRELIMO regime also gave shelter and support to South
African (African National Congress) and Zimbabwean (Zimbabwe African National
Union) rebel movements, while the governments of Rhodesia and later Apartheid South
Africa backed RENAMO in the civil war.[19] Between 300,000 and 600,000 people died
of famine during the war.[44]
On 19 October 1986, Machel was on his way back from an international meeting in
Zambia when his plane crashed in the Lebombo Mountains near Mbuzini in South
Africa. President Machel and thirty-three others died, including ministers and
officials of the Mozambique government. The United Nations' Soviet delegation
issued a minority report contending that their expertise and experience had been
undermined by the South Africans. Representatives of the Soviet Union advanced the
theory that the plane had been intentionally diverted by a false navigational
beacon signal, using a technology provided by military intelligence operatives of
the South African government.[45]
Machel's successor Joaquim Chissano implemented sweeping changes in the country,
starting reforms such as changing from Marxism to capitalism and began peace talks
with RENAMO. The new constitution enacted in 1990 provided for a multi-party
political system, market-based economy, and free elections. That same year,
Mozambique abolished the people's republic as the country's official name. The
civil war ended in October 1992 with the Rome General Peace Accords, first brokered
by the Christian Council of Mozambique (Council of Protestant Churches) and then
taken over by Community of Sant'Egidio. Peace returned to Mozambique, under the
supervision of the peacekeeping force of the United Nations.[46][19]
Democratic era (1993–present)
A US helicopter flying over the flooded Limpopo River during the 2000 Mozambique
flood
Mozambique held elections in 1994, which were accepted by most political parties as
free and fair although still contested by many nationals and observers alike.
FRELIMO won, under Joaquim Chissano, while RENAMO, led by Afonso Dhlakama, ran as
the official opposition.[47][48] In 1995, Mozambique joined the Commonwealth of
Nations, becoming, at the time, the only member nation that had never been part of
the British Empire.[49]
By mid-1995, over 1.7 million refugees who had sought asylum in neighbouring
countries had returned to Mozambique, part of the largest repatriation witnessed in
sub-Saharan Africa. An additional four million internally displaced persons had
returned to their homes.[19] In December 1999, Mozambique held elections for a
second time since the civil war, which were again won by FRELIMO. RENAMO accused
FRELIMO of fraud and threatened to return to civil war but backed down after taking
the matter to the Supreme Court and losing.[50][51]
In early 2000, a cyclone caused widespread flooding, killing hundreds and
devastating the already precarious infrastructure.[52] There were widespread
suspicions that foreign aid resources had been diverted by powerful leaders of
FRELIMO. Carlos Cardoso, a journalist investigating these allegations, was
murdered,[53][54] and his death was never satisfactorily explained.[55]
Indicating in 2001 that he would not run for a third term,[56] Chissano criticised
leaders who stayed on longer than he had, which was generally seen as a reference
to Zambian President Frederick Chiluba and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.[57]
Presidential and National Assembly elections took place on 1–2 December 2004.
FRELIMO candidate Armando Guebuza won[58] with 64% of the popular vote, and
Dhlakama received 32% of the popular vote. FRELIMO won 160 seats in Parliament,
with a coalition of RENAMO and several small parties winning the 90 remaining
seats. Guebuza was inaugurated as the President of Mozambique on 2 February
2005[59] and served two five-year terms. His successor, Filipe Nyusi, became the
fourth President of Mozambique on 15 January 2015.[60][61]
From 2013 to 2019, a low-intensity insurgency by RENAMO occurred, mainly in the
country's central and northern regions. On 5 September 2014, Guebuza and Dhlakama
signed the Accord on Cessation of Hostilities, which brought the military
hostilities to a halt and allowed both parties to concentrate on the general
elections to be held in October 2014. However, after the general elections, a new
political crisis emerged. RENAMO did not recognise the validity of the election
results and demanded the control of six provinces – Nampula, Niassa, Tete,
Zambezia, Sofala, and Manica – where they claimed to have won a majority.[62] About
12,000 refugees fled to Malawi.[63] The UNHCR, Doctors Without Borders, and Human
Rights Watch reported that government forces had torched villages and carried out
summary executions and sexual abuses.[64]
In October 2019, President Filipe Nyusi was re-elected after a landslide victory in
general election. FRELIMO won 184 seats, RENAMO got 60 seats and the MDM party
received the remaining 6 seats in the National Assembly. Opposition did not accept
the results because of allegations of fraud and irregularities. FRELIMO secured
two-thirds majority in parliament which allowed FRELIMO to re-adjust the
constitution without needing the agreement of the opposition.[65]
Since 2017, the country has faced an ongoing insurgency by Islamist groups.[66][67]
[68] In September 2020, ISIL insurgents captured and briefly occupied Vamizi Island
in the Indian Ocean.[69][70] In March 2021, dozens of civilians were killed and
35,000 others were displaced after Islamist rebels seized the city of Palma.[71]
[72] In December 2021, nearly 4,000 Mozambicans fled their villages after an
intensification of jihadist attacks in Niassa.[73]
Geography
Main article: Geography of Mozambique
Satellite image
At 309,475 sq mi (801,537 km2), Mozambique is the world's 35th-largest country.
Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa and is bound by Eswatini to
the south, South Africa to the southwest, Zimbabwe to the west, Zambia and Malawi
to the northwest, Tanzania to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east.
Mozambique lies between latitudes 10° and 27°S, and longitudes 30° and 41°E.
The country is divided into two topographical regions by the Zambezi River. To the
north of the Zambezi, the narrow coastal strip gives way to inland hills and low
plateaus. Rugged highlands are further west; they include the Niassa highlands,
Namuli or Shire highlands, Angonia highlands, Tete highlands and the Makonde
plateau, covered with miombo woodlands. To the south of the Zambezi, the lowlands
are broader with the Mashonaland plateau and Lebombo Mountains located in the deep
south.
The country is drained by five principal rivers and several smaller ones with the
largest and most important the Zambezi. The country has four notable lakes: Lake
Niassa (or Malawi), Lake Chiuta, Cahora Bassa and Lake Shirwa, all in the north.
The major cities are Maputo, Beira, Nampula, Tete, Quelimane, Chimoio, Pemba,
Inhambane, Xai-Xai and Lichinga.
Geography of Mozambique
Lebombo Mountains
Lebombo Mountains
Gorongosa National Park
Gorongosa National Park
Island of Mozambique
Island of Mozambique
Monte Binga
Monte Binga
Ponta do Ouro
Ponta do Ouro
Climate
Main articles: Climate of Mozambique and Climate change in Mozambique
Mozambique map of Köppen climate classification zones
Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons: a wet season from October to
March and a dry season from April to September. Climatic conditions, however, vary
depending on altitude. Rainfall is heavy along the coast and decreases in the north
and south. Annual precipitation varies from 500 to 900 mm (19.7 to 35.4 in)
depending on the region, with an average of 590 mm (23.2 in). Cyclones are common
during the wet season. Average temperature ranges in Maputo are from 13 to 24 °C
(55.4 to 75.2 °F) in July and from 22 to 31 °C (71.6 to 87.8 °F) in February.
In 2019 Mozambique suffered floods and destruction from the devastating cyclones
Idai and Kenneth, the first time two cyclones had struck the nation in a single
season.[74]
Thousands of crops were destroyed during the flooding, which causes transboundary
animal diseases, and over 10 million people were affected throughout the region,
according to the FAO's urgent campaign for southern Africa, which includes Malawi,
Madagascar, and Mozambique. These countries have been experiencing climate
disasters between January and March 2023 that have seriously affected various
sectors, including farming, fisheries, and thousands of crops.[75]
