Early History of Mozambique
Approx 2000BC to 300AD: Khoisan Hunter-Gatherers -the first people.
The first inhabitants of Mozambique were of the Khoisan people, i.e. San hunter-gatherers who lived in harmony with the land, using wood, leather and stone weapons and implements. Their legacy is the incredible cave paintings and carvings left behind which explained their mystical link with the animal spirits.
Approx 300 AD: Nguni Tribes migrate Southwards
The Nguni (Bantu) people migrated southwards, starting perhaps as early as the 3rd century AD, from the north and west of Africa, crossing the Zambezi River valley basin, which was a major barrier, and down the coastal plain. They then gradually spread into the plateau and coastal areas of South Eastern Africa.
900-1000AD: Arab Influence, Slaves and Trading Empires
Mozambique had an established Arab presence by the 10th century evidenced by the first written record of Mozambique by an Arab writer, Al-Mas'udi, when he mentioned the town of Sofala, - 45 km south of Beira. His report mentions the Wak Wak people who used iron. Coastal trade was at first dominated by Arabs and Persians, who had established settlements as far south as Mozambique Island. Mozambique was in fact named after the Arab sheik on Mozambique Island called "Musa Bin Biki" when Vasco de Gama first landed there in 1498.
For several centuries, Arab commercial and slave trading had existed along the coast and outlying islands. The Arabs traded mainly ceramic pottery, cloth, glass, beads, salt and metal goods with these Bantu-speaking people in exchange for gold, palm oil, rhino horn, amber, hides & skins and ivory. With the cooperation of the African chiefs, this trade expanded, supplied by goods from the kingdoms in the interior hinterland. In time intermarriage between these two groups gave rise to the Swahili culture which is still dominant in the Eastern African coastal areas and stretches down to northern Mozambique.
One of the oldest and most southerly of these trading groups, was a settlement called Mapungubwe. It is thought to have started during the 10th century in the upper reaches of the Limpopo River, based on groups of villages under a chief, known as the "Nyika system". It is the earliest known settlement featuring stone enclosures, or "Zimbabwes".
15th - 16th Century: The Portuguese Explorers
The first European to reach Mozambique was Vasco da Gama after he had rounded the Southern tip of Africa in 1498. He had thus opened up the trade route from Europe to India. Portugal became the dominant trading power of the East Coast of Africa, by conquering the Arab trading settlements and it monopolised the Indian Ocean trading routes for two centuries until they were defeated by the Omani Arabs at the end of the 17th century.
The Portuguese made Mozambique Island their headquarters in 1897 until they changed it to Delagoa Bay, which became Lourenco Marques and now Maputo.
The first Portuguese fort built in Mozambique was at Sofala to protect their gold trade route. A settlement was also built at Quelimane north of the Zambezi River. The Zambezi River became the main trade route with forts and trading posts at Tete and Sena on the banks of the river, trading for gold ivory and slaves in exchange for European trade goods, like beads and tools and cloths.
At the beginning of the 16th century the Portuguese tried to advance into the interior of Mozambique, but were not numerically nor militarily strong enough to be successful in their endeavors. The occupation of the lower Zambezi and the two garrisons and trading posts of Sena and Tete contributed little towards control of the country. In spite of the Portuguese presence along the Zambezi, there were powerful chiefs, such as the, Karonga, Undi, Chipeta, Maravin and Nyassa who had established a strong and powerful presence in the region north of the Zambezi River. South of the Zambezi River, trade was under the control of the Shona people.
16th-19th Centuries: Decline in the Forgotten land
Portuguese power declined during the period when the crown of Portugal was combined with the crown of Spain (1580-1640). The Portuguese African coastal settlements were ignored and fell into poorly maintained condition. This resulted in investment lagging while Lisbon devoted itself to the more lucrative trade with India and the Far East as well as the colonisation of Brazil.
19th Century: Colonization and Exploitation
At the Berlin Conference in 1884, Mozambique became a Portuguese Colony, this resulted in a system of dividing the land into prazos (large agricultural estates). This system resulted in land being rented to British and French companies, which set up plantations growing cash crops such as cotton, and tea. The result was that the natives cultivated the land for the benefit of the European leaseholders, (Prazeros) who were also tax-collectors for each district and claimed the tax either in labour or produce. This system kept the sharecropping farmers in a state of serfdom. Direct Portuguese influence was limited mainly to the coast between several sea ports and Madagascar, where a large trade in slaves was carried on until 1877, supplying slaves for Arabia and the Ottomans. European traders and prospectors barely penetrated the interior regions, until the Transvaal gold rush.
Early 20th Century: Rebellion and Reformation
1917 there was a Shona rebellion and this became Mozambique's first major anti-colonial uprising. Many of the Portuguese military bases were overrun and it took 3 years for the authorities to restore order in Mozambique. Reforms which were long overdue were implemented in 1926 under a new dispensation in Portugal known as "Estado Novo".
After World War II, many European nations were granting independence to their colonies. Portugal however established Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and Angola as Portuguese overseas provinces of the mother country, and emigration to the colonies soared. Mozambique's Portuguese population at the time of independence was about 250,000. Neither Portuguese citizens nor Indigenous Mozambicans had political rights, although Portuguese citizens were in a privileged class of their own."Indigenas", who were indigenous Mozambique citizens, could by certain provisions being fulfilled, become an "Assimilado". This meant that they could become a Portuguese citizen. One of the main conditions to be met was proper education. Educational opportunities in Mozambique were limited and few and far between so there were not many "Indigenas" who became "Assimilados".
1960's to 1980's: Independence and Civil war
The aspirations of the Black Mozambicans to rule themselves without having to become "Black Europeans" was not met, causing increasing dissatisfaction amongst them. The desire for Mozambican independence gained pace, and in 1962 an assortment of anti-colonial political groups, under the leadership of Dr Eduardo Mondlane (educated in America) formed the "Frente de Libertacao de Mozambique" (FRELIMO) on 25 June 1962. Frelimo, based in Tanzania, began an armed campaign against Portuguese colonial rule in September 1964 and was soon in control of large parts of Northern Mozambique.
Dissension within Frelimo led to breakaway groups forming "Comite Revolucionario de Mozambique" (Coremo). In 1964 Mondlane was killed by a letter bomb in his offices in Dar es Salaam and in February 1969 Samora Machel took over as leader of Frelimo. Ongoing guerilla wars began sapping Portugal's ability to maintain these costly wars. Following the 25 April 1974 coup in Lisbon, President Caetano fled to Brazil and a military junta under Gen. Antonio de Spinola became the government and Portuguese colonialism collapsed. This resulted in a peace agreement in Mozambique on 7 September 1974 and the installation of a provisional government. Frelimo's Joaquim Chissano was installed as prime minister of Mozambique. Racial clashes occurred and resulted in a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens contributing to a major collapse of the economic infrastructure of Mozambique.
Corruption, wrecked infrastructure, nationalization and economic mismanagement resulted in Mozambique becoming one of the world's poorest countries during this period. During most of the civil war, the government was virtually powerless to control Mozambique outside of urban areas, many of which were cut off from the capital. An estimated 1 million Mozambicans were killed during the civil war, 1.7 million fled as refugees to neighboring states, and several million more were displaced internally. President Samora Machel conceded the failure of socialism during the third FRELIMO party congress in 1983, as well as the urgent need for major political and economic reforms. This he set out to attempt but on October 1986, Machel was killed, with some advisers, in a suspicious plane crash, close to the Mozambique border inside South Africa. Joaquim Chissano became president in his place.
1990's to Present: Peace and Reconstruction
The collapse of the Soviet Union, Frelimo's strongest ally, as well as the un- banning of the ANC in South Africa led to peace talks being resumed in Mozambique in 1991.This resulted in an adoption of a new constitution and the beginning of peace negotiations between Frelimo and Renamo and the ending of one party rule in Mozambique in 1990. The word "People's" was eliminated from the country's name and Mozambique started on a long programme of recovery of its economy and infrastructure. The deadly threat of landmines sown in rural areas during the civil war and their removal is a Herculean task, as well as being very costly in both human casualties and money.
