Mozambique (mō'zəmbēk') , officially Republic of Mozambique, republic (2005 est. pop. 19,407,000), 302,659 sq mi (784,090 sq km), SE Africa. It borders on the Indian Ocean in the east; on South Africa and Swaziland in the south; on Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi in the west; and on Tanzania in the north. Maputo is the capital and largest city.

Land and People

The Mozambique Channel separates the country from the island of Madagascar. Mozambique's c.1,600 mi (2,575 km) coastline is interrupted by the mouths of numerous rivers, notably the Rovuma (which forms part of the boundary with Tanzania), Lúrio, Incomati (Komati), Lugela, Zambezi (which is navigable for c.290 mi/465 km within the territory), Revùe, Save (Sabi), and Limpopo. South of the Zambezi estuary the coastal belt is very narrow, and in the far north the coastline is made up of rocky cliffs. Along the northern coast are numerous islets and lagoons; in the far south is Maputo Bay. The northern and central interior is mountainous; Monte Binga (7,992 ft/2,436 m), the country's loftiest point, is situated at the Zimbabwean border W of Beira. About one third of Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) falls within Mozambique's boundaries; Lake Chilwa (Lago Chirua) is at the border with Malawi. Much of the country is covered with savanna; there are also extensive hardwood forests, and palms grow widely along the coast and near rivers.
Administratively, Mozambique is divided into ten provinces and one city (Maputo). In addition to the capital, other cities include Beira, Moçambique, Nampula, Pemba, Quelimane, Tete, Angoche, and Xai-Xai. The principal ethnic groups are, in the north, the Yao, Makonde, and Makua; in the center, the Thonga, Chewa, Nyanja, and Sena; and in the south, the Shona and Tonga. Small numbers of Swahili live along the coast. The population also includes small numbers of Europeans and those of mixed African and European descent, as well as some Asian Indians and Chinese.
About 50% of the inhabitants of Mozambique follow traditional religious beliefs, and 30% are Roman Catholics and 20% Muslims (most of whom live in the north). Although Bantu languages are widely spoken, Portuguese is the official language.

Economy

In 1990, Mozambique was estimated to be the world's poorest nation; since then, the country has been in transition toward a more market-oriented economy and the prospect of raising its standard of living. Mozambique remains an overwhelmingly agricultural and poor country, however, with the majority of its workers engaged in traditional subsistence cultivation. The principal cash crops include cashews, sugarcane, cotton, citrus and tropical fruits, and tea. Cattle and goats are raised, but their numbers are kept low by the tsetse fly. There are forestry and fishing industries, including shrimp. The country's mineral wealth has not been determined fully; however, titanium and natural-gas deposits are being developed by foreign investors. There are also significant coal deposits, which are mined in small amounts, and hydropower potential. Many citizens work abroad in South African mines.
Mozambique's industrial sector is devoted largely to the processing of raw materials. In addition, chemical fertilizer, refined petroleum, construction materials (particularly cement), steel, aluminum, and textiles are produced. Electricity from the giant Cahora Bassa hydroelectric project (located on the Zambezi near Tete) is exported to South Africa. A smaller hydroelectric plant is situated at Chicamba Real (near Beira) on the Revùe River. The economy is also reliant on foreign aid.
The annual cost of Mozambique's imports is usually much higher than its earnings from foreign sales. The principal imports are machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, fuel, chemicals, metal products, food, and textiles; chief exports are aluminum, shrimp, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, and timber. South Africa, the nations of Western Europe, and the United States are the country's chief trading partners. Mozambique also derives income from handling foreign trade for nearby countries; goods are shipped on rail lines that terminate at the ports of Maputo, Nacala, and Lumbo (near Moçambique); the rail line to the port of Beira is in disrepair. A toll road that opened in 1998 carries goods from South Africa's industrial north to Maputo. Mozambique is a member of the Southern African Development Community.

Government

Mozambique's executive branch is headed by a president who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The unicameral legislature consists of a 250-seat assembly whose members are also popularly elected for five-year terms.

History

Early History and Portuguese Influence
Bantu-speakers began to migrate into the region of Mozambique in the middle of the 1st millennium A.D. From 1000, Arab and Swahili traders settled along parts of the coast, notably at Sofala (near modern Beira), at Cuama (near the Zambezi estuary), and on the site of present-day Inhambane. The traders had contact with the interior, and Sofala was particularly noted as a gold- and ivory-exporting center closely linked with—and at times controlled by—Kilwa (on the coast of modern Tanzania).
In 1498, Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator en route around Africa to India, visited Quelimane and Moçambique. Between 1500 and 1502 Pedro Álvares Cabral and Sancho de Tovar, also Portuguese explorers, visited Sofala and Maputo Bay. In 1505, the Portuguese under Francisco de Almeida occupied Moçambique, and Pedro de Anhaia established a Portuguese settlement at Sofala. The Portuguese also set up trading stations N of Cabo Delgado (near the mouth of the Ruvuma), but their main influence (especially after 1600) in E Africa was in the Moçambique region.
Between 1509 and 1512 António Fernandes traveled inland and visited the Mwanamutapa kingdom, which controlled the region between the Zambezi and Save rivers and was the source of much of the gold exported at Sofala. Soon after, Swahili traders resident in Mwanamutapa began to redirect the kingdom's gold trade away from Portuguese-controlled Sofala and toward more northern ports. Thus, Portugal became interested in directly controlling the interior. In 1531, posts were established inland at Sena and Tete on the Zambezi, and in 1544 a station was founded at Quelimane.
In 1560 and 1561 Gonçalo da Silveira, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, visited Mwanamutapa, where he quickly made converts, including King Nogomo Mupunzagato. However, the Swahili traders who lived there, fearing for their commercial position, persuaded Nogomo to have Silveira murdered. Between 1569 and 1572 an army of about 1,000 Portuguese under Francisco Barreto attempted to gain control of the interior, but Barreto and most of the soldiers died of disease at Sena. In 1574, an army of 400 men under Vasco Fernandes Homen marched into the interior from Sofala, but most of the men were killed in fighting with Africans.
In the late 16th and early 17th cent. the official Portuguese presence in the interior was limited to small trading colonies along the Zambezi. At the same time Portuguese adventurers began to establish control over large estates (called prazos), which resembled feudal kingdoms. They were ruled absolutely and often ruthlessly by their owners (called prazeros); Africans were forced to work on plantations, and considerable slave-raiding was undertaken (especially after 1650). Some of the prazeros maintained private armies, and they were generally independent of the Portuguese crown to which they were theoretically subordinate.
From about 1628 the Portuguese gained increasing influence in Mwanamutapa, and they became intimately involved in the civil wars that led to the demise of that kingdom by the end of the 17th cent. Mozambique was ruled as part of Goa in India until 1752, when it was given its own administration headed by a captain-general. Although the Portuguese helped introduce several American crops (notably corn and cashew nuts) that became staples of Mozambique's agriculture, the impact of their presence on African society was mainly destructive.