Mueda
Encyclopedia
Mueda is the largest town of the Makonde Plateau in northeastern Mozambique
. It is the capital of the Mueda District
in Cabo Delgado Province. It is the center of the culture of the Makondes, and the production of their ebony sculptures.
, the ruling authority of Mozambique at the time, built a system to supply drinkable water, under the direction of the engineer Canhoto. In the 1980s, after the independence of Mozambique from Portugal, the system was rebuilt by the Mozambican government, with the assistance of UNICEF and Swiss
co-operation.
colonial army
barracks
.
. The number of dead is in dispute. However, resentment generated by these events led ultimately to independentist guerrilla FRELIMO gaining needed momentum in the outset of the Mozambican War of Independence
(1964–1975). The site of the massacre is marked by a commemorative statue
.
began Operation Gordian Knot, headquartered out of Mueda, where by the end of the operation, he claimed to have eliminated over seventy FRELIMO bases. However, other than loss of equipment and supplies, the operation did not affect FRELIMO's ability to infiltrate additional arms from Tanzania
, and did not substantially affect their ability to wage war. In a later attack, in 1972, against the Mueda airbase, all nineteen airplanes were destroyed.
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...
. It is the capital of the Mueda District
Mueda District
Mueda is a district of the province of Cabo Delgado, in Moçambique. The capital is the town of Mueda.The district of Mueda is limited to the north by the Tanzania atarvés of the river Rovuma, to the west by the district of Mecula in the province of Niassa, to the south by the districts of Montepuez...
in Cabo Delgado Province. It is the center of the culture of the Makondes, and the production of their ebony sculptures.
Geography
Mueda is located on the upland Mueda Plateau, which has a more temperate climate than the coast, but where, because of the permeable sandy soil, water infiltrates to a great depth, making it difficult to supply drinking water. In about 1970, PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the ruling authority of Mozambique at the time, built a system to supply drinkable water, under the direction of the engineer Canhoto. In the 1980s, after the independence of Mozambique from Portugal, the system was rebuilt by the Mozambican government, with the assistance of UNICEF and Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
co-operation.
History
Mueda was founded around a PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colonial army
Portuguese Army
The Portuguese Army is the ground branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in co-operation with other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the defence of Portugal...
barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
.
Massacre of Mueda
On 16 June 1960, Makonde nationalists organized a demonstration in front of the Mueda District headquarters on the Mueda town square demanding independence from Portugal, apparently the district administrator had invited them to present their grievances. The administrator ordered the leaders arrested, and the crowd protested. The Portuguese administrator ordered his pre-assembled troops to fire on the crowd, and then many more were thrown to their death into a ravineRavine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
. The number of dead is in dispute. However, resentment generated by these events led ultimately to independentist guerrilla FRELIMO gaining needed momentum in the outset of the Mozambican War of Independence
Mozambican War of Independence
The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO , and Portugal...
(1964–1975). The site of the massacre is marked by a commemorative statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
.
War for independence
The Makonde were strong supporters of FRELIMO. In fact, the Makonde African National Union (MANU - later Mozambique African National Union) was one of the three founding organizations of FRELIMO. Mueda was the site of Portuguese operations against FRELIMO. In 1967, in one of its first major military actions, FRELIMO launched an abortive attack against the airbase there, although the base was seriously damaged. In May 1970, General ArriagaKaúlza de Arriaga
Kaúlza de Oliveira de Arriaga, OA, GCC, OC, OIH was a Portuguese General, writer, professor and politician...
began Operation Gordian Knot, headquartered out of Mueda, where by the end of the operation, he claimed to have eliminated over seventy FRELIMO bases. However, other than loss of equipment and supplies, the operation did not affect FRELIMO's ability to infiltrate additional arms from Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, and did not substantially affect their ability to wage war. In a later attack, in 1972, against the Mueda airbase, all nineteen airplanes were destroyed.