Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mueda Massacre
Discontent with the situation grew and a nationalist consciousness gradually developed. In
June 1960, at Mueda in northern Mozambique, an official meeting was held by villagers
protesting peacefully about taxes. Portuguese troops opened fire on the crowd, killing
many demonstrators. Resentment at the 'massacre of Mueda' helped politicise the local
Makonde people and became one of the sparks kindling the independence struggle. Ex-
ternal support came from several sources, including Julius Nyerere's government in
neighbouring Tanganyika (now Tanzania). In 1962, following a meeting of various polit-
ical organisations working in exile for Mozambican independence, the Frente pela Liber-
tação de Moçambique (Mozambique Liberation Front; Frelimo) was formed in Dar es Sa-
laam, Tanzania, led by Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane.
The Independence Struggle
Frelimo was plagued by internal divisions from the outset. However, under the leadership
of the charismatic Mondlane and operating from bases in Tanzania, it succeeded in giving
the liberation movement a structure and in defining a program of political and military ac-
tion to support its aim of complete independence for Mozambique. On 25 September 1964
Mondlane proclaimed the beginning of the armed struggle for national independence.
In 1969, Mondlane was assassinated by a letter bomb at his office in Dar es Salaam. He
was succeeded as president by Frelimo's military commander, Samora Moises Machel.
Under Machel, Frelimo sought to extend its area of operations to the south. The Por-
tuguese meanwhile attempted to eliminate rural support for Frelimo by implementing a
scorched earth campaign and by resettling people in a series of
aldeamentos
(fortified vil-
lage complexes).
However, struggles within Portugal's colonial empire and increasing international criti-
cism sapped the government's resources. In 1974, at a ceremony in Lusaka (Zambia), Por-
tugal agreed to hand over power to Frelimo and a transitional government was estab-
lished. On 25 June 1975 the independent People's Republic of Mozambique was pro-
claimed with Samora Machel as president and Joaquim Chissano, a founding member of
Frelimo's intellectual elite, as prime minister.
Early Years of Independence
The Portuguese pulled out virtually overnight, leaving the country in a state of chaos with
few skilled professionals and virtually no infrastructure. Frelimo, which found itself sud-
