Ancient History of Mozambique
- The earliest inhabitants of Mozambique are believed to be related
to the San people (Bushman) around 1000 BC
- Around the time Great Zimbabwe was abandoned, the Monomotapa Kingdom
emerged, Monomotapa was a Karanga or Shona king ruling over legendary
gold fields
- Traders from Arabia arrived in the first millennia, and gradually
the Bantu speaking San gave way to Swahili language and culture
Colonialism in Mozambique
- In 1498, the Portuguese Vasco de Gama landed in Mozambique en route
to India and the Portuguese quickly established control of the Swahili-Arab
trading posts, with ivory replacing gold as the main trading commodity,
in the 15 hundreds, and slaves being added to the list of commodities
in the 17 hundreds
In the 1880s colonial powers threatened the Portuguese in Mozambique,
with the boundaries drawn up for Portuguese East Africa in 1891 in a
treaty between Britain and Portugal. The southern part of the country
grew in economic importance as ties with South Africa strengthened,
leading to the capital being transferred from Ilha de Mozambique to
Maputo before 1900
Support for independence grew from around 1960, largely over the "massacre
of Mueda" when Portuguese troops opened fire on demonstrators protesting
over taxes.
Recent History
- Portugal pulled out almost overnight after the independent Peoples
Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed on 25th June 1975 and Mozambique
was almost immediately flung into a kind of "civil war" between
the governing party Frelimo and the externally backed resistance movement
Renamo.
- The new prime minister was a founding member of the Mozambique Liberation
Front Frelimo to whom power was handed over. The ensuing socialist program
and opposition from Renamo led to crisis in 1983 when drought and famine
struck the nearly bankrupt country. Mozambique was opened up to the
west once more in return for aid.
- Frelimo did an about turn from its Marxist ideology and announced
it would switch to a market economy and multiparty elections.
- In 1990 a cease fire was arranged through negotiations in Rome. A
formal peace agreement was signed in 1992 and since then Mozambique
has moved beyond war and has held multiparty elections in 1994 and 1999,
both won by Frelimo
