History of Mozambique
Encyclopedia
Mozambique
was a Portuguese colony, overseas province
and then a member state of Portugal. It became independent from Portugal in 1975.
hunters and gatherers, ancestors of the Khoisani peoples. Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, waves of Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from the north through the Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the plateau and coastal areas. The Bantu were farm
ers and ironworkers.
When Vasco da Gama
, exploring for Portugal, reached the coast of Mozambique in 1498, Arab trading settlements had existed along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries, and political control of the coast was in the hands of a string of local sultan
s. Muslims had actually lived in the region for quite some time; the famous Arab historian
and geographer, Al-Masudi
, reported Muslims amongst Africans in the land of Sofa in 947 (modern day Mozambique, itself a derivative of the name of the Arab Shiekh who ruled the area at the time when the Portuguese arrived, Musa bin Ba'ik). Most of the local people had embraced Islam. The region lay at the southernmost end of a traditional trading world that encompassed the Red Sea
, the Hadhramaut
coast of Arabia and the Indian coast, described in the 1st-century coasting guide that is called the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
.
" first described a small coral island at the mouth of Mossuril Bay, then the fort and town on that island, São Sebastião de Moçambique, and later extended to the whole of the Portuguese colonies on the east coast of Africa. The square fort at the northern extremity of the island was built in 1510 entirely of ballast stone brought from Portugal.
With the decline of Portuguese power, especially during the period when the crown of Portugal was combined with the crown of Spain (1580–1640), the Portuguese coastal settlements were ignored and fell into a ruinous condition. Afterwards, investment lagged while Lisbon devoted itself to the more lucrative trade with India and the Far East and to the colonization of Brazil
. Into the 19th century, a system prevailed of dividing the land into prazos (large agricultural estates) which the natives cultivated for the benefit of the European leaseholders, who were also tax-collector for each district and claimed the tax either in labour or produce, a system that kept the sharecropping farmers in a state of serfdom. Direct Portuguese influence was limited. On the coast between several native ports of call and Madagascar a large surreptitious 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
. The commercial and political importance of Mozambique was eclipsed by Lourenço Marques
.
In 1891 the Portuguese shifted the administration of much of the country to a large private company, under a charter granting sovereign rights for 50 years to the Companhia de Moçambique, which, though it had its headquarters at Beira, was controlled and financed mostly by the British. The 'Mozambique Company' issued postage stamp
s and established railroad lines to neighboring countries. It supplied cheap – and often forced – African labor to the goldmines and plantations of the nearby British colonies and South Africa. Because policies were designed to benefit white settlers and the Portuguese homeland, little attention was paid to the integration of Mozambique's indigenous population, its economic infrastructure, or the skills of its indigenous rural population. Under Salazar, Portugal instituted another form of cash crop creation called the concession system. The cotton concessionary system was government run. Prices were fixed at extremely low prices, regulations were set upon the native Africans, and inhabitants were forced to work up to 150 days a year on their fields (1 hectacre per male, 1/2 hectare per female). Africans could only sell their cotton for African (low) prices, while Europeans had special high selling prices. Mozambicans knew cotton as the "mother of all poverty" during this time, and intense periods of poverty and starvation were fairly common.
issued a decree officially renaming Mozambique
and other Portuguese possessions as overseas provinces of the mother country, and emigration to the colonies soared (Mozambique's ethnic Portuguese resident population was about 300,000 in 1973, which excludes the Portuguese military sent from the mainland and mulatto population). The drive for Mozambican independence developed apace, and in 1962 several anti-colonial political groups formed the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), which initiated an armed campaign against Portuguese colonial 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
.
Mozambique became independent after ten years of sporadic warfare in Mozambique and Portugal's return to democracy through a leftist military coup in Lisbon
on 25 April 1974 (partially as a result of the expenses from the wars in the overseas territories in Africa). FRELIMO took complete control of the territory after a transition period, as agreed in the Lusaka Accord
which recognized Mozambique's right to independence and the terms of the transfer of power. Within a year of the Portuguese coup, almost all Portuguese population had left the African territory – some expelled by the new government of independent Mozambique, some fleeing in fear. Mozambique became independent from Portugal on June 25, 1975.
Portuguese population's rapid exodus left the Mozambican economy in disarray. In addition, after the independence day on June 25, 1975, the eruption of the Mozambican Civil War
(1977–1992) destroyed the remaining wealth and left the former Portuguese Overseas Province in a state of absolute disrepair. In any event, as late as 2001, the economic outcome could still be seen in cities like Beira. Once a thriving vacation city on the coast, it is still the second largest city in Mozambique, with a population of 300,000. Many of these people live as squatters in unfinished 1970s era luxury hotels facing the Indian Ocean.
FRELIMO responded to their lack of resources and the Cold War
politics of the mid-1970s by moving into alignment with the Soviet Union and its allies. FRELIMO established a one-party Socialist state, and quickly received substantial international aid from Cuba
and the Soviet bloc nations.
(RENAMO), an anti-communist
group sponsored by the Rhodesia
n Intelligence Service, and sponsored by the apartheid government in South Africa as well as the United States after Zimbabwe's independence, launched a series of attacks on transport routes, schools and health clinics, and the country descended into civil war. In 1984, Mozambique negotiated the Nkomati Accord
with P. W. Botha
and the South African government, in which Mozambique was to expel the African National Congress
in exchange for South Africa stopping support of Renamo. At first both sides complied but it soon became evident that infringements were taking place on both sides and the war continued. In 1986, Mozambican President Samora Machel
died in an air crash in South African territory. Although unproven, many suspect the South African government of responsibility for his death. Machel was replaced by Joaquim Chissano
as president.
In 1990, with apartheid crumbling in South Africa, and support for RENAMO drying up in South Africa and in the United States, the first direct talks between the FRELIMO government and Renamo were held. In November 1990 a new constitution was adopted. Mozambique was now a multiparty state, with periodic elections, and guaranteed democratic rights. On 4 October 1992, the Rome General Peace Accords
, negotiated by the Community of Sant'Egidio
with the support of the United Nations
, were signed in Rome between President Chissano and RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama
, which formally took effect on the October 15, 1992. A UN Peacekeeping Force (ONUMOZ) oversaw a two-year transition to democracy. The last ONUMOZ contingents departed in early 1995.
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
.
By mid-1995, over 1.7 million refugees who had sought asylum in neighboring countries had returned to Mozambique, part of the largest repatriation witnessed in sub-Saharan Africa. An additional four million internally displaced person
s had returned to their homes.
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.
Indicating in 2001 that he would not run for a third term, Chissano criticized leaders who stayed on longer than he had, which was generally seen as a reference to Zambia
n president Frederick Chiluba
, who at the time was considering a third term, and Zimbabwe
an president Robert Mugabe
, then in his fourth term. Presidential and National Assembly elections took place on December 1–2, 2004. FRELIMO candidate Armando Guebuza
won with 64% of the popular vote. His opponent, Afonso Dhlakama
of RENAMO, received 32% of the popular vote. FRELIMO won 160 seats in Parliament. A coalition of RENAMO and several small parties won the 90 remaining seats. Armando Guebuza was inaugurated as the President of Mozambique on February 2, 2005.
In early 2000 a cyclone
caused widespread flooding
in the country, killing hundreds and devastating the already precarious infrastructure. There were widespread suspicions that foreign aid resources have been diverted by powerful leaders of FRELIMO. Carlos Cardoso
, a journalist investigating these allegations, was murdered but his death was not satisfactorily explained.
Much of the economic recovery which has followed the end of the Mozambican Civil War
(1977–1992) is being led by investors and tourists from neighbour South Africa and from East Asia. A number of returning Portuguese nationals have also invested in the country as well as some Italian organizations. However, the country remains as one of the poorest in the world.
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
was a Portuguese colony, overseas province
Portuguese East Africa
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
and then a member state of Portugal. It became independent from Portugal in 1975.
Pre-colonial history
The first inhabitants of what is now Mozambique were the SanBushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
hunters and gatherers, ancestors of the Khoisani peoples. Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, waves of Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from the north through the Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the plateau and coastal areas. The Bantu were farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
ers and ironworkers.
When Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
, exploring for Portugal, reached the coast of Mozambique in 1498, Arab trading settlements had existed along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries, and political control of the coast was in the hands of a string of local sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
s. Muslims had actually lived in the region for quite some time; the famous Arab historian
Historiography of early Islam
The historiography of early Islam refers to the study of the early origins of Islam based on a critical analysis, evaluation, and examination of authentic primary source materials and the organization of these sources into a narative timeline....
and geographer, Al-Masudi
Al-Masudi
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Mas'udi , was an Arab historian and geographer, known as the "Herodotus of the Arabs." Al-Masudi was one of the first to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work, Muruj adh-dhahab...
, reported Muslims amongst Africans in the land of Sofa in 947 (modern day Mozambique, itself a derivative of the name of the Arab Shiekh who ruled the area at the time when the Portuguese arrived, Musa bin Ba'ik). Most of the local people had embraced Islam. The region lay at the southernmost end of a traditional trading world that encompassed the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, the Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut, Hadhramout, Hadramawt or Ḥaḍramūt is the formerly independent Qu'aiti state and sultanate encompassing a historical region of the south Arabian Peninsula along the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, extending eastwards from Yemen to the borders of the Dhofar region of Oman...
coast of Arabia and the Indian coast, described in the 1st-century coasting guide that is called the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea or Periplus of the Red Sea is a Greco-Roman periplus, written in Greek, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and India...
.
Colonial history
From about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts became regular ports of call on the new route to the east. "MozambiqueIsland of Mozambique
The Island of Mozambique lies off northern Mozambique, between the Mozambique Channel and Mossuril Bay. It has a population of around 14,000 people and is part of Nampula Province.-History:...
" first described a small coral island at the mouth of Mossuril Bay, then the fort and town on that island, São Sebastião de Moçambique, and later extended to the whole of the Portuguese colonies on the east coast of Africa. The square fort at the northern extremity of the island was built in 1510 entirely of ballast stone brought from Portugal.
With the decline of Portuguese power, especially during the period when the crown of Portugal was combined with the crown of Spain (1580–1640), the Portuguese coastal settlements were ignored and fell into a ruinous condition. Afterwards, investment lagged while Lisbon devoted itself to the more lucrative trade with India and the Far East and to the colonization of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Into the 19th century, a system prevailed of dividing the land into prazos (large agricultural estates) which the natives cultivated for the benefit of the European leaseholders, who were also tax-collector for each district and claimed the tax either in labour or produce, a system that kept the sharecropping farmers in a state of serfdom. Direct Portuguese influence was limited. On the coast between several native ports of call and Madagascar a large surreptitious 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
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
. The commercial and political importance of Mozambique was eclipsed by Lourenço Marques
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
.
In 1891 the Portuguese shifted the administration of much of the country to a large private company, under a charter granting sovereign rights for 50 years to the Companhia de Moçambique, which, though it had its headquarters at Beira, was controlled and financed mostly by the British. The 'Mozambique Company' issued postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s and established railroad lines to neighboring countries. It supplied cheap – and often forced – African labor to the goldmines and plantations of the nearby British colonies and South Africa. Because policies were designed to benefit white settlers and the Portuguese homeland, little attention was paid to the integration of Mozambique's indigenous population, its economic infrastructure, or the skills of its indigenous rural population. Under Salazar, Portugal instituted another form of cash crop creation called the concession system. The cotton concessionary system was government run. Prices were fixed at extremely low prices, regulations were set upon the native Africans, and inhabitants were forced to work up to 150 days a year on their fields (1 hectacre per male, 1/2 hectare per female). Africans could only sell their cotton for African (low) prices, while Europeans had special high selling prices. Mozambicans knew cotton as the "mother of all poverty" during this time, and intense periods of poverty and starvation were fairly common.
Independence
After World War II, while many European nations were granting independence to their colonies, Portugal's Estado Novo regime headed by António de Oliveira SalazarAntónio de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
issued a decree officially renaming Mozambique
Portuguese East Africa
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
and other Portuguese possessions as overseas provinces of the mother country, and emigration to the colonies soared (Mozambique's ethnic Portuguese resident population was about 300,000 in 1973, which excludes the Portuguese military sent from the mainland and mulatto population). The drive for Mozambican independence developed apace, and in 1962 several anti-colonial political groups formed the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), which initiated an armed campaign against Portuguese colonial rule in September 1964. This conflict, along with the two others already initiated in the other Portuguese colonies of Angola and Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.-History:...
, became part of the so-called Portuguese Colonial War
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...
.
Mozambique became independent after ten years of sporadic warfare in Mozambique and Portugal's return to democracy through a leftist military coup in Lisbon
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
on 25 April 1974 (partially as a result of the expenses from the wars in the overseas territories in Africa). FRELIMO took complete control of the territory after a transition period, as agreed in the Lusaka Accord
Lusaka Accord
The Lusaka Accord was signed in Lusaka on 7 September 1974, between the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique and the Portuguese government installed after the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon. In the agreement, Portugal formally recognized the right of the Mozambican people to independence and...
which recognized Mozambique's right to independence and the terms of the transfer of power. Within a year of the Portuguese coup, almost all Portuguese population had left the African territory – some expelled by the new government of independent Mozambique, some fleeing in fear. Mozambique became independent from Portugal on June 25, 1975.
Portuguese population's rapid exodus left the Mozambican economy in disarray. In addition, after the independence day on June 25, 1975, the eruption of the Mozambican Civil War
Mozambican Civil War
The Mozambican Civil War began in 1977, two years after the end of the war of independence. The ruling party, Front for Liberation of Mozambique , was violently opposed from 1977 by the Rhodesian- and South African-funded Mozambique Resistance Movement...
(1977–1992) destroyed the remaining wealth and left the former Portuguese Overseas Province in a state of absolute disrepair. In any event, as late as 2001, the economic outcome could still be seen in cities like Beira. Once a thriving vacation city on the coast, it is still the second largest city in Mozambique, with a population of 300,000. Many of these people live as squatters in unfinished 1970s era luxury hotels facing the Indian Ocean.
FRELIMO responded to their lack of resources and the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
politics of the mid-1970s by moving into alignment with the Soviet Union and its allies. FRELIMO established a one-party Socialist state, and quickly received substantial international aid from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and the Soviet bloc nations.
Civil War
Formed in 1975, the Mozambican National ResistanceMozambican National Resistance
The Mozambican National Resistance is a conservative political party in Mozambique led by Afonso Dhlakama. It fought against the FRELIMO in the Mozambican Civil War and against the ZANU movement led by Robert Mugabe from 1975 to 1992....
(RENAMO), an anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
group sponsored by the Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
n Intelligence Service, and sponsored by the apartheid government in South Africa as well as the United States after Zimbabwe's independence, launched a series of attacks on transport routes, schools and health clinics, and the country descended into civil war. In 1984, Mozambique negotiated the Nkomati Accord
Nkomati Accord
The Nkomati Accord was a non-aggression pact signed on 16 March 1984 between the government of the People's Republic of Mozambique and the government of the Republic of South Africa. The event took place at the South African town of Komatipoort with the signatories being Samora Machel and PW Botha...
with P. W. Botha
Pieter Willem Botha
Pieter Willem Botha , commonly known as "P. W." and Die Groot Krokodil , was the prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989.First elected to Parliament in 1948, Botha was for eleven years head of the Afrikaner National Party and the...
and the South African government, in which Mozambique was to expel the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
in exchange for South Africa stopping support of Renamo. At first both sides complied but it soon became evident that infringements were taking place on both sides and the war continued. In 1986, Mozambican President Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
died in an air crash in South African territory. Although unproven, many suspect the South African government of responsibility for his death. Machel was replaced by Joaquim Chissano
Joaquim Chissano
Joaquim Alberto Chissano served as the second President of Mozambique for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 until 2 February 2005. Since stepping down as president, Chissano has become an elder statesman and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations, to be an envoy or...
as president.
In 1990, with apartheid crumbling in South Africa, and support for RENAMO drying up in South Africa and in the United States, the first direct talks between the FRELIMO government and Renamo were held. In November 1990 a new constitution was adopted. Mozambique was now a multiparty state, with periodic elections, and guaranteed democratic rights. On 4 October 1992, the Rome General Peace Accords
Rome General Peace Accords
The Rome General Peace Accords between the Mozambican Civil War parties, the Frelimo and the Renamo , put an end to the Mozambique Civil War. It was signed on October 4, 1992. Negotiations preceding in began in July 1990...
, negotiated by the Community of Sant'Egidio
Community of Sant'Egidio
The Community of Sant'Egidio is a Christian community that is officially recognized by the Catholic Church as a "Church public lay association". It claims 50,000 members in more than 70 countries...
with the support of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, were signed in Rome between President Chissano and RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama
Afonso Dhlakama
Afonso Marceta Macacho Dhlakama is a Mozambican politician and the leader of RENAMO, an anti-communist guerrilla organization that fought the FRELIMO government in the Mozambican Civil War before signing a peace agreement and becoming an opposition political party in the early 1990s.Dhlakama was...
, which formally took effect on the October 15, 1992. A UN Peacekeeping Force (ONUMOZ) oversaw a two-year transition to democracy. The last ONUMOZ contingents departed in early 1995.
Democracy
Mozambique held elections in 1994, which were accepted by most parties as free and fair while still contested by many nationals and observers alike. FRELIMO won, under Joaquim Chissano, while RENAMO, led by Afonso Dhlakama, ran as the official opposition.In 1995, Mozambique joined the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, becoming, at the time, the only member nation that had never been part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
.
By mid-1995, over 1.7 million refugees who had sought asylum in neighboring countries had returned to Mozambique, part of the largest repatriation witnessed in sub-Saharan Africa. An additional four million internally displaced person
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...
s had returned to their homes.
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.
Indicating in 2001 that he would not run for a third term, Chissano criticized leaders who stayed on longer than he had, which was generally seen as a reference to Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
n president Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy , defeating long-time President...
, who at the time was considering a third term, and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an president Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
, then in his fourth term. Presidential and National Assembly elections took place on December 1–2, 2004. FRELIMO candidate Armando Guebuza
Armando Guebuza
Armando Emílio Guebuza is a Mozambican politician and the President of Mozambique since 2005.- Career :Armando Emílio Guebuza was born in 20 January 1943 in Portuguese East Africa...
won with 64% of the popular vote. His opponent, Afonso Dhlakama
Afonso Dhlakama
Afonso Marceta Macacho Dhlakama is a Mozambican politician and the leader of RENAMO, an anti-communist guerrilla organization that fought the FRELIMO government in the Mozambican Civil War before signing a peace agreement and becoming an opposition political party in the early 1990s.Dhlakama was...
of RENAMO, received 32% of the popular vote. FRELIMO won 160 seats in Parliament. A coalition of RENAMO and several small parties won the 90 remaining seats. Armando Guebuza was inaugurated as the President of Mozambique on February 2, 2005.
In early 2000 a cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
caused widespread flooding
2000 Mozambique flood
The 2000 Mozambique flood was a natural disaster that occurred in February and March 2000. The catastrophic flooding was caused by heavy rainfall that lasted for five weeks and made many homeless. Approximately 800 people were killed. 1,400 km² of arable land was affected and 20,000 head of...
in the country, killing hundreds and devastating the already precarious infrastructure. There were widespread suspicions that foreign aid resources have been diverted by powerful leaders of FRELIMO. Carlos Cardoso
Carlos Cardoso
Carlos Cardoso was a Mozambican journalist. His murder in 2000 followed his newspaper's investigation into corruption in the privatisation of Mozambique's biggest bank.-Early life:...
, a journalist investigating these allegations, was murdered but his death was not satisfactorily explained.
Much of the economic recovery which has followed the end of the Mozambican Civil War
Mozambican Civil War
The Mozambican Civil War began in 1977, two years after the end of the war of independence. The ruling party, Front for Liberation of Mozambique , was violently opposed from 1977 by the Rhodesian- and South African-funded Mozambique Resistance Movement...
(1977–1992) is being led by investors and tourists from neighbour South Africa and from East Asia. A number of returning Portuguese nationals have also invested in the country as well as some Italian organizations. However, the country remains as one of the poorest in the world.
See also
- History of AfricaHistory of AfricaThe history of Africa begins with the prehistory of Africa and the emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. Agriculture began about 10,000 BCE and metallurgy in about 4000 BCE. The history of early...
- History of Southern Africa
- List of Presidents of Mozambique
- Politics of MozambiquePolitics of MozambiquePolitics of Mozambique takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Mozambique is head of state and head of government of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...
External links
- Background Note: Mozambique
- History of Mozambique
- http://www.state.moki.stain.mozambique.rockymountain.net/joebongina - article with an early 20th Century Catholic viewpoint