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By the mid-sixteenth century, ivory had replaced gold as the main trading commodity and by the eighteenth century, thousands of slaves were being sold via Mozambique's ports. The Portuguese steadily strengthened their control over the country by establishing private agricultural land granted by either the Portuguese crown or through conquest of African chiefs. During the eighteenth century major companies in Mozambique tried to gain control of the Zambezi Valley by forming charter companies, of which the Zambezia Company was the largest. Most failed at the attempt, but the Zambezia Company profited through forced labour abuses. In 1891 the British-Portuguese treaty was signed, which set the boundaries of Portuguese East Africa (the former name for Mozambique). Significant events in the early twentieth century were the large scale migration of labourers from the southern regions of Mozambique to South Africa and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the growing economic importance of the southern part of the country as ties with South Africa strengthened. In the late nineteenth century, Lourenco Marques (Maputo) became increasingly popular as a major export channel and replaced Ilha da Mozambique as capital. In 1919 Antonio Salazar came into power in Portugal and consolidated Portuguese control over Mozambique. Although this resulted in the introduction of agriculture, which boosted economic growth, conditions for Mozambicans worsened and there were only a handful of schools and hospitals, most of which were situated in cities and only available to the Portuguese and other white nationalities. In 1960, during an official meeting at Mueda in northern Mozambique where peaceful villagers protested against taxes, Portuguese troops opened fire and killed large numbers of demonstrators. This inflamed the Makonde people and the struggle for independence grew steadily until the 25th of June 1975, when the independent People's Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed, with Samora Machel as President and Joaquim Chissano as Prime Minister. The Portuguese left the country in a state of chaos, with few skilled professionals and hardly any infrastructure. Efforts to teach 100 000 people to read and write annually, establish banks, insurance companies and basic health services, collapsed in 1983 when the country became bankrupt and its currency worthless. The Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo) came into action and with backing from the South African military and certain sectors in the West, sought only destruction of the social and communications infrastructure and destabilization of the government. The ensuing 17-year civil war resulted in mass destruction and bloody massacres. A disastrous drought in 1983 crippled the country and led Frelimo to opening Mozambique to the West for Western Aid. When Samora Machel died in 1986, Joaquim Chissano took his place as the war continued. By the early 1990s Frelimo had abandoned its Marxist ideology and announced the changing over to a market economy. State enterprises would be privatized and multiparty elections were to be scheduled. In October 1992, a formal peace agreement was arranged and a successful UN-monitored disarmament and demobilization campaign was established. Since the signing of the peace accords, Mozambique has moved forward in a quest to transform military conflict into political competition.
Geography Situated on the east coast of Southern Africa, Mozambique has a coastline that extends for nearly 3000 km. The country covers an area of approximately 800 000 km², and its inland waters include a portion of Lake Malawi. Long, winding rivers flow across its territory. One of these is the Zambezi, which has its source in Angola and flows almost 800 km from Tete province before reaching the sea at Chinde. The country has an extensive coastal plain which varies from 100 - 200 km wide in the south. The north is dominated by plateaus and mountainous terrain where towering granite outcrops, called inselbergs, occur. While the south coast is edged with barrier lakes, the Zambezi River Valley is situated in the central regions of Mozambique and creates an extensive delta region towards the coast. Mount Binga, Mozambique's highest peak at 2436 m, is situated in the Chimanimani Mountains on the Zimbabwean border. Other important rivers that flow through the country are the Limpopo River, the Save River and the Rovuma River (the border between Mozambique and Tanzania). Climate The main dry season runs from April to November and during this time, daytime temperatures average 24°C. The rainy season is from November to March and temperatures average 27°C. Rainfall averages 850 mm per annum along the coast while during intense rainfall periods, up to 2200 mm can be recorded. The country's highest temperatures occur in the north around Pemba and west towards Tete. Environment Mozambique has a diverse ecosystem with extensive wetlands, mangrove forests, offshore marine habitats and montane habitats, including the Chimanimani Mountains and the Gorongosa Massif in central Mozambique. A lack of official regulations and structures hamper the conservation of many areas and many of Mozambique's natural resources are being ignored or squandered. Timber trade in the northern parts of Mozambique is an example of how over-utilization and inappropriate logging practices cause large scale damage to the surrounding environment, as neither replanting nor sustainable harvesting is implemented. There are however a number of small projects which focus on the promotion of sustainable development and community resource management. Flora Flora includes some 5600 species of which an estimated 250 are endemic. Two areas of notable high biodiversity are those of the Chimanimani Mountains and the Maputoland Centre of Plant Diversity along the South African border, which is considered a site of global botanical significance with coastal forests and some 2500 species of vascular plants. Common species which occur throughout most of Mozambique include various types of Brachystegia (Miombo) and the tall Mopane tree. Mangrove swamps are a common feature along Mozambique's central and northern coastline and cover an approximate area of 400 000 ha. Fauna Although most large mammal populations were exterminated during the war, some 200 mammal species, 170 reptile and 40 amphibian species occur and in most areas, recovery of animal populations is in place. An example of the drastically reduced numbers is in the Gorongoza National Park, where the elephant population of 3000 has dwindled to 120 and the buffalo population of 14 000 has diminished to zero by 1994. Approximately 600 bird species have been identified in Mozambique, with efforts under way to fully document the numbers. Marine mammals include spinner, bottlenose, humpback and striped dolphins as well as the endangered dugongs. Leather, loggerhead, green, hawksbill and olive Ridley turtles occur along the coastline and whales such as the humpback breed in the calm waters during winter. Endangered species include the black rhino, giraffe, tsessebe, roan antelope and African wild dog, as well as the African rock python, the wattled crane and, most notably, the dugong which occurs in marine estuarine habitats. National Parks Of Mozambique's three mainland national parks, only Gorongosa, with its extremely limited infrastructure has been reopened, while both Zinave and Banhine remain closed.Bazaruto National Park, which is situated off-shore, is currently the main attraction for visitors to the country. Of the five erstwhile wildlife reserves - Niassa, Marromeu, Pomene, Maputo and Gile - only the Niassa and Maputo Elephant Reserves are open to tourists. Various other Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCA's), which will involve local communities, are in the pipeline to be opened. These include linking the Maputo Elephant Reserve with South Africa's Tembe Elephant Reserve, the Chimanimani National Park incorporating Zimbabwe and the Gaza TFCA, which encompasses South Africa's Kruger National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park. People, Education and Language Mozambique's population is roughly 23 million (2003) of which 53% is concentrated in the north and 80% in rural areas. The country is divided into 10 administrative provinces. There are 16 main ethnic groups, most notably the Makua (largest group), Makonde, Sena, Ronga and the Shangaan. Only about 1% of the population is Portuguese and there are small numbers of other European and Asian residents. Universities or tertiary education institutes can be found in Maputo, Beira, Nampula and Cuamba. Portuguese is the official language and is widely spoken in larger towns. Of the numerous African languages, the most common is the Makua-Lomwe language. Sena-Nyanja is spoken in the centre and Tsonga in the south. Currency Mozambique's local currency is the Metica. However US Dollars and SA Rands are widely accepted. Please download the full information below.Full PDF - Mozambique [107KB]      |
