Almost twice the size of California, Mozambique is a large, elongated country covering an area of 309,495 sq mi/801,590 sq km. The country has lowlands near the coast, rising to high plateaus in the interior and, near the western border, mountains reaching as high as 7,925 ft/2,415 m. Two of Africa's major rivers—the Zambezi and the Limpopo—flow through the country, and another major tributary, the Rovuma, forms the northern border with Tanzania. Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Naissa, forms part of the border with Malawi.
Mozambique was first populated by Bantu-speaking people whose ancestors arrived in the first century AD. Arab traders set up posts along the coast, and in 1505, soon after explorer Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, the Portuguese made Mozambique their primary trade center on the eastern coast of Africa. This Portuguese colony was one of the most exploited on the continent: Almost every resource was taken from Mozambique, and everything that its colonizers "contributed" was simply put into place to better serve them. After plundering the country for gold, ivory and slaves, the Portuguese virtually turned Mozambique over to private companies that made profits by controlling transportation routes to neighboring landlocked countries and providing cheap (often forced) African labor for the mines and plantations of nearby British colonies. Little attention was paid to the local economic infrastructure or the skills of the country's population.
With this legacy, the stirrings of resistance and the decades of fighting that followed were predictable. Following the shocking Mueda Massacre in 1960, in which Portuguese troops opened fire on peacefully protesting villagers, the independence movement quickly gained momentum. In 1962, the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, known as Frelimo, was formed. After more than a decade of civil war, Frelimo, led initially by the charismatic Eduardo Mondlane, finally succeeded in overthrowing the Portuguese regime. However, when the Portuguese suddenly abandoned the country in 1975, they did so without preparing Mozambique for the change. Frelimo became the new Mozambican government and decided to embrace socialism, establishing close ties with the Soviet Union.
Socialism failed miserably in Mozambique, and a group called Renamo (Mozambique National Resistance) launched a rebellion. During more than a decade of fighting, Renamo was never successful in overthrowing the government, but they did destroy a tremendous number of roads, schools, telephone lines and other elements of the nation's infrastructure. When a peace treaty was finally signed in 1992, there was almost nothing left of the country.
The rebuilding process has gotten off to a good start: In 1994, the country held its first free elections in years. Frelimo won, but only by a narrow margin, with Renamo securing almost half the votes. A free-market economy has replaced the old socialist programs, and foreign aid has been generous. But for all its evident regeneration, Mozambique remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Many of its modest successes have been negated by droughts, famine and, most recently, floods.
Although it will undoubtedly be a few years before substantial tourism begins in Mozambique, the tide is turning. In the meantime, if you go, you're likely to have an entire pristine beach to yourself. Tourists should be aware that there is still tension between political parties, and sometimes violent clashes occur. Land mines and unexploded ordnance are also present throughout the country.
Among Mozambique's chief attractions are beaches, African culture, quiet islands, Portuguese-style architecture and deep-sea fishing.
Mozambique will appeal to adventurous travelers who love beaches and African culture, who have experience traveling in developing nations and who have already visited some of Africa's more accessible countries. Outside of Maputo, do not expect service and sanitation standards to be very high (except in small enclaves such as the Bazaruto Archipelago, which has upscale lodgings).
Maputo's Polana Hotel was a favorite of British author Graham Greene, who used it as a setting in
The Human Factor. Villa Algarve, another beautiful old building in Maputo, has a more sordid history: It was the headquarters of PIDE, the Portuguese secret police that terrorized Mozambique when it was a colony.
Fertilizer companies don't send their salespeople to Mozambique—the country's soil is so good that it rarely needs to be fertilized.
President Joaquim Chissano is an ardent follower of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the former spiritual guru to the Beatles in the 1960s. Chissano believes transcendental meditation helped end the civil war and the country's worst drought in a century.
More than 750,000 people were killed in the country's civil war.
The main exports of the country are shrimp and cashew nuts.
When Mozambique's game parks were closed during the war, no one guarded the animals. As a result, many of them were slaughtered for their skins and horns. The white rhino can no longer be found in Mozambique.
Mozambique's first-ever Olympic gold medal was won by female track-and-field athlete Maria Mutola at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Known as the "Maputo Express," Mutola, who began her sporting career playing football on an all-boys team in shantytowns around Maputo, snared her victory in the 800-m sprint and raced her way into the hearts of her fellow countrymen. A street in Maputo was even renamed in her honor.
