A Mozambique Timeline

I’ve typed up a brief chronology of important events in Mozambique for your reference. (The timeline was taken almost word-for-word from Culture and Custom of Mozambique by George O. Ndedge. I’m not attempting to plagiarize!) This timeline has been incredibly helpful to reference as I’ve learned more about the country.

In case you don’t feel like reading through the whole timeline, I’ve pulled out a few facts from Mozambique’s recent history that I think are worth noting.

Mozambique was in a state of unrest for a long time. For about ten years, starting in 1964, Mozambique fought for independence from Portugal. The Frelimo forces that defeated Portugal set up a communist government in Mozambique.

For this reason, almost immediately after the war with Portugal was over, in 1976, an anti-Frelimo party, Renamo was formed. What followed was almost 20 years of civil war. Almost thirty years of war took their toll on Mozambique and left it one of the poorest countries in the world when their first elections were held in 1994. Under government initiatives and strategies for poverty reduction, the economy of Mozambique is beginning to bounce back, but the scars from war still remain.

A Mozambique Timeline

3^rd Century – Iron Age Bantu-speaking communities move into area from west-central Africa.

11^th Century – Shona empire develops in the area between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers.

12^th – 15^th Centuries – Arab traders dominate the coastal trade between the Mozambican coast and Arabia.

1498 – Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrives.

16th – 17th Centuries – Portuguese venture into interior. Colonists set up trading posts and mining ventures.

18^th – 19^th Centuries – Mozambique becomes major slave-trading center.

1820s – Nguni warlord from what is today South Africa invades southern Mozambique and founds the Gaza kingdom.

1842 – Portugal outlaws slave trade from Mozambique. However, clandestine trade continues for decades.

1895 – 1917 – Portuguese pacification wars.

1902 – Lorenço Marquez (present day Maputo) becomes colonial capital.

1950s – 1960s – Colonial economy thrives. New Portuguese settlers arrive, especially after World War II.

1962 – The Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) is founded under the leadership of Eduardo Mondlane.

1964 – Frelimo forces begin war of independence.

1969 – Eduardo Mondlane, Frelimo’s leader, is assassinated. Samora Machel replaces him.

1975 – Mozambique attains independence under the leadership of Samora Machel. Many Portuguese settlers leave Mozambique.

1976 – Anti-Frelimo resistance group, Remano, is established by Mozmabican rebels, apartheid South African, and the South Rhodesian regime.

1977 – Under the leadership of Samora Machel, Frelimo adopts Marxist-Leninist doctrine. Frelimo becomes the sole political party.

1986 – President Samora Machel is killed in a mysterious airplane crash. Joachin Chissano Succeeds him as president.

1989 – Frelimo formally abandos its commitment to the Marxist-Leninist idealogy. Mozambique embraces political and economic reforms.

1990 – A new constitution that allows for multiparty elections and a free market economy is instigated.

1992 – A U.S.-negotiated peace accord between Mozambican government and Renamo rebel forces is signed.

1994 – National elections are held in December and President Chissano and the ruling Frelimo party emerge victorious.

1995 – Government publishes its Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Mozambique program, which sets out for the first time explicit policies for poverty reduction in the country.

2000 – Heavy rains, the highest recorded in 100 years, hit Mozambique. The devastating floods kill 700 people and displace nearly 500,000.

2004-5 – General Elections. Frelimo emerges victorious with 62 percent of the vote. Armando Guebuza is sworn in as president to replace Joachin Chissano.