Mozambique

Mozambique, a southeastern African nation that was originally settled by migrants from west-central Africa who founded several large kingdoms, became a central port for the India–Africa–Europe trade triangle after the Portuguese first arrived at the turn of the 16th century. After more than 100 years controlling the coastal areas, the Portuguese expanded their reach into the interior and in 1752 declared Mozambique an official colony. The slave trade started immediately; trafficking people became one of the colony’s major exports that continued until the early 1900s, decades after the Portuguese outlawed it. Mozambique’s colonial standing remained mostly unchanged until events in Europe caused it to worsen during the years between the First and Second World Wars. With a focus on conflicts and wars, this entry reviews ...