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Colonization of Mozambique by Portugal Ron Goldberg University of Phoenix GEO/155 November 8, 2010 Instructor: Joanne Bateman * * * * * * * * * * Colonization of Mozambique by Portugal * The purpose and intent of this paper is to touch on cultural changes brought on by colonialism. This paper will look at the country of Mozambique, colonized by Portugal in 1498. This paper will also look at why Portugal chose Mozambique, the development of Mozambique, and their struggle for independence. The author will also touch on, language distribution and how it crosses over to one or more geographic regions. The author will also explain how the colonial period affected the cultural patterns of the selected country or area and how religion affected the culture, including the language and religious changes that occurred within Mozambique’s culture. * Before the visit by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 1498, coastal East Africa was occupied by the Zenj and the city-states was ruled by Arabs. The Zenj established agricultural communities and societies that primarily herded cattle. The Zenj brought with them technology for iron making, and used this skill to make weapons for the conquest of their neighboring civilizations. The Zenj built cities in Mozambique during the Middle Ages (5th to the 16th century) but were not built to stand the test of time, so there are very few remains left of these medieval cities, for example the trading port Sofala. Nevertheless, several Swahili trade ports were along the coast of Mozambique before the migration of Arabs and the colonization of the Portuguese, which had been trading with Madagascar and the Far East (Search Africa, nd). * From about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts displaced the Arabic commercial and military control, becoming regular ports of call on the new European sea route to the east.
At this time, the Swahili and Arab settlements had trading posts along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries. The Portuguese gained control of the Island of Mozambique and the port city of Sofala in the early 16th century. Around 1530, small groups of Portuguese traders and prospectors broke through the inner sections seeking gold. The Portuguese set up forts and trading posts at Sena and Tete on the Zambezi River and tried to gain complete control over the gold trade. The Portuguese settlers began to intermarry and they became African Portuguese or African Indians. Slavery was strong within Mozambique and the Mozambicans were bought and sold by African tribal chiefs of warring tribes, Arab traders, and the Portuguese. By the 17th century, the Portuguese slave trade had ruined the Mutapa Empire, which at the time was the most powerful Bantu state in the area. The Portuguese invested very little money into Mozambique, and only a few hundred Europeans lived there (Search Africa, nd). * A colonization plan was beginning in the late 18th century and attempted to lure settlers through land grants. The Portuguese influence slowly expanded but their power was restricted because it was mainly through individual settlers and officials who self-ruled. Other trading posts were set up on the coast and small groups of adventurers, Jesuits and Portuguese captains set up colonies in the interior sections of Mozambique and ended up imposing a treaty of vassalage in 1629 on the King of Monomatapa in the south of the Zambezi Valley. Under the control of a metropolitan governor, the Portuguese gained access rights to the mines and lands of the region (King, 2001) * The Portuguese procured much of the coastal trade from Arabs between 1500 and 1700. The removal of the Arabs was Portugal's key to success at Fort Jesus on Mombasa Island in 1698. The Arabs eventually retaliated and during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Mazrui and Omani Arabs reclaimed much of the Indian Ocean trade, forcing the Portuguese to retreat south. Mozambique was in demand by their neighbors for gold and ivory, but mainly it was because of the natural outlet into the Indian Ocean for the interior countries. At the end of the 19th century, Mozambique was at the center of a conflict between the British and the Portuguese. The British and the French became increasingly involved in trade and politics around Portuguese East African territories. The British created the African Lakes Company in Nyassa in the west of Mozambique. The British wanted access to the sea via the valley of the Mozambique through the Shire River to export sugar and coffee. The British challenged Portuguese authority since the Portuguese had no effective colonization. Portugal acquired help from several local chiefs and attempted to stop the British. The conflict rose to new heights and in 1889, England created a British South Africa Company to exploit the mines of the Shona plateau with the focus of controlling the whole eastern part of Africa from the Cape to Cairo (King, 2001). * By the early 20th century, the Portuguese had shifted the administration of much of Mozambique to large private companies, like the Mozambique Company, the Zambezia Company and the Nyassa Company, controlled and financed mostly by the British, which established railroad lines to neighboring countries. The Portuguese colonies became more dependent on British as British influence grew. Portugal had no choice but to concede and accept traffic on the rivers, which established Mozambique’s role as an entry point. Portugal made an appeal to the large European companies to help develop Portuguese colonies. The Companies copied models of colonies already established by the British in other parts of Africa. Portuguese rule in the 20th century was oppressive during the dictatorship of António Salazar. There was forced, contract labor, and cruel treatment of Mozambicans, which ruined their way of life. Portugal believed the Mozambicans could become equal with white settlers by mimicking the Portuguese culture. Portugal had very little converts with their colonization policy and their special incentives to white settlers also failed (King, 2001). * After World War II, European nations were granting independence to their colonies. Portugal decided not to honor this movement to Mozambique. In 1962, Mozambique’s anti-colony groups started to form. The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique formed and took over a Portuguese military camp and a civil war erupted. In 1975, Mozambique was liberated form Portuguese rule and became a recognized nation. The new government gave shelter and support to South African and Zimbabwean liberation movements while the governments of first Rhodesia and later apartheid South Africa fostered and financed an armed rebel movement in central Mozambique called the Mozambican National Resistance. During the civil war there was sabotage from neighboring states and the collapse of the economy characterized the first decade of Mozambican independence. Also marking this period was the mass exodus of Portuguese nationals, weak infrastructure, nationalization, and economic mismanagement. Mozambique aided guerrillas in Rhodesia but maintained relations with South Africa for economic reasons. The two nations signed a nonaggression treaty in 1984 and renewed it in 1987. South Africa continued to aid the Mozambique National Resistance. During the civil war, the government was unable to exercise effective control outside of urban areas and many inhabitants were cut off from the capital (U.S. Department of State, Diplomacy in Action, Mozambique, October 1, 2010). * In October 1986, the Prime Minister Machel was killed in an air crash and Joaquím Chissano became the Prime Minister. In 1990, an estimated 1 million Mozambicans perished during the civil war, 1.7 million took refuge in neighboring states, and several million more dispersed within Mozambique. Chissano announced plans for a multi-party government. In October 1992, a peace treaty was signed formally ending the civil war. A couple months later the United Nations (UN) sent a peacekeeping force unfortunately there was poor organization and inadequate funding. In October 1994, Mozambique’s first multi-party elections were held and 90 percent of eligible voters participated in the election. Chissano was elected president with 53.3 percent of the vote and his Frelimo Party received a majority in the assembly with 129 out of 250 seats. In 1995, the refuges came back to Mozambique, which is the largest repatriation witnessed in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, a further estimated 4 million internally displaced people returned to their areas of origin. Mozambique is a constitutional democracy with an estimated population of 20 million. The United Nations withdrew its peacekeeping forces after monitoring the country's transition from civil war to the beginnings of a democratic republic (U.S. Department of State, Diplomacy in Action, Mozambique, October 1, 2010). * The people of Mozambique are ethnically diverse, but ethnic categories are fluid and reflect the country's colonial history. In 1961, all inhabitants of the country were designated Portuguese. Some ethnic classifications such as Makua-Lomwe were created by colonial Portuguese officials themselves. Within the country, in addition to the Makua-Lomwe, live the Tsonga, Sena, Ndau, Chopi, Chewa, Yao, Makonde, and Ngoni (Mozambique, 1994-2009)
Portuguese is the official language but it is only spoken two-fifths of the country's inhabitants. Portuguese speakers are strongly concentrated in the capital of Maputo and other urban areas. The vast majority of Mozambicans speak languages from the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo language group. Within the Bantu group, Makua, Lomwe, Tsonga, Sena, Shona, and Chuabo are the most widespread languages, but the country has great linguistic and cultural variety because it shares languages with surrounding countries. Swahili is spoken in many East African countries and Yao is spoken in Malawi and Tanzania. Makonde is also spoken in Tanzania and the Ngoni and Chewa dialects of Nyanja with Malawi and Tanzania. Shona dialect is in Zimbabwe and Shangaan is in South Africa and Swaziland. Similarly, small groups in the far south and throughout the country share Nguni languages Zulu and Swati with South African and Zimbabwean peoples because of major population movements of the early 19th century. Groups speaking European and Asian languages are largely limited to the port cities of Maputo, Beira, Quelimane, Nacala, and Pemba. Makua and Lomwe are spoken by almost half of the population and is dominate in northeastern Mozambique except in two areas. These two areas are the coastal strip north of the Lúrio River, where Swahili is typically spoken, and a large pocket on the Tanzanian border that is inhabited predominantly by Makonde speakers. Most of the population speaks Yao in the region that extends westward from the confluence of the Rovuma and Lugenda rivers to the border with Malawi, while Nyanja is commonly spoken in the rough triangle from the juncture of the Shire and Zambezi Rivers northwest to the border with Zambia. Shona speakers, more than one-tenth of the population, dominate the region between the Save River and the Zambezi valley. South of the Save, Tsonga spoken by almost one-seventh of the population (Paul, 2009) Prior to independence in 1975, almost one-third of the population was nominally Christian, and a small number were Muslim. Christian missionaries were active throughout the country during the colonial era. After 1926, the Roman Catholic Church was given government subsidies and a privileged position with respect to its educational and evangelical activities among the African population. The Mozambicans were cautious of religious organizations coming into their country. The missionaries remained in the northern interior and in the hinterlands of Inhambane and Maputo, providing Mozambicans with western medical facilities and boarding schools. A variety of Mozambique Independent Churches developed but because of governmental dislike for religious activities, Mozambicans kept quiet about it (Mozambique, 1994-2009)
After Mozambique’s independence, led by the Mozambique Liberation Front the government confirmed a policy of open and free religious affiliation but still provided conflicting messages regarding religion. The Frelimo Party actively persecuted the countries more than 20,000 Jehovah's Witnesses, and their overall political policy and ideological emphasis discouraged religious expression and organization. By the end of the 1980s, the Frelimo Party had a change of policy and religious organizations began to reemerge as an important popular force. Almost half of the people now practice traditional religions. Approximately two-fifths of Mozambicans are considered to be some form of Christianity and less than one-fifth are Muslims. Islamic communities are in most of Mozambique's cities and Muslims constitute the majority in the northern coastal region between the Lúrio and Rovuma rivers (Mozambique, 1994-2009).
In conclusion, the Portuguese colonized Mozambique to find a place for their slave trade and to have a trading post in that region. Another reason for colonization was to bring Christianity to Mozambique while mining Mozambique’s gold and ivory. Portugal’s colonization has many benefits and disadvantages. Importing slaves, trade, and their tax system were benefits for Portugal. By importing slaves, the Portuguese were able to obtain a variety of luxury items. At the time, the trading industry was very important to the Portuguese. First, it provided jobs for many people. Second, it allowed Portugal to acquire different goods to sell. This was one of the ways Portugal was able to increase their wealth. Portugal has some disadvantages for example, slavery, trying to bring Christianity to the area while raping Mozambique’s natural resources, and not putting money into Mozambique, which was Portugal’s downfall. Overall, Portugal brought a new culture to Mozambique and helped the country grow.
Colonial Southern Africa, 1884–1905

Southern Africa: peoples of Southern Africa, 17th to mid-19th century

References
Languages of Mozambique, Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Retrieved November 6, 2010 from http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=MZ&seq=10
Search Africa.com Mozambique. Retrieved from http://www.africa.com/mozambique
David C. King, 2001 Cultures of the World, Mozambique, Retrieved November 6, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=PwTWm-wMdqQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=mozambique&source=bll&ots=LHAgkUO2sc&sig=HOJcqrHPdFlPqVKl_jjG2dfZcCU&hl=en&ei=RL7VTOvWMZDksQPa2aSNCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=19&ved=0CHIQ6AEwEg#v=onepage&q&f=fa U.S. Department of State, Diplomacy in Action. (October 1, 2010). Bureau of African Affairs, Republic of Mozambique. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/7035.htm
Mozambique. (1994-2009). In History.com. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/mozambique
Cultural Maps are from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/395363/Mozambique/43983/Cultural-life
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