Maputo has bee the capital of Mozambique since 1898. The city was previously called Lourenco Marques until the country's independence in 1975. It is the largest city in Mozambique and the country's most important border.
It is situated at the mouth of the Santo River in the extreme south, 90km from the border with South Africa.
In comparison with other sub-Saharan African cities, the urban area feels small and concentrated, with wide streets and old trees. People are generally out and about in the streets walking, driving and getting on with life. There are often street parties and Sunday's are generally spent with family and friends all along the main harbor road.
You can buy fresh cooked fish and chicken "flatties" right from the pavement.
Unfortunately the development in importing cars from Japan has make cars very affordable for the middle class to even poorer man, which means traffic congestion in the city has become a nightmare.
The vibe in Maputo is friendly and active, but street vendors have become quite a nightmare. There are far less begging than in other African countries, but the vendors hassle you not stop to buy their cheap knock off chinese made, very low quality goods. Fake name brands galore.
The other big issue in Maputo, but also in Mozambique as a whole, is the "police". Unfortunately corruption is still very much part of everyday life here and generally encouraged rather than frowned upon by higher authorities. Having a car here is a complete nightmare and you very rarely do not get pulled over with some long story about why you are getting a fine this time.
The reason could be anything from some legit issues such as speeding, a broken tail light, not wearing a safety belt etc. However, some of the more creative ones are, your number plate is about a half a centimeter too far from the left, your tired are too flat or too hard, your mirrors must have registration numbers on, your windows are too dirty etc.
One thing is for sure, I would love to be a corrupt "cop" in this country, they make more money that probably some very high up people and because of the fact that they get away with it, there is a huge waitlist of people who would like to become traffic police officers.
A bit about the history...
The very first inhabitants of what is now Mozambique were the San hunters and gatherers, ancestors of the Khoisani peoples. Between the 1st and the 5th centuries AD, waves of Bantu speaking people migrated from the north through the Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the plateau and coastal areas. The Bantu were farmers and iron workers.
When Vasco da Gama, exploring for Portugal, reached the coast of Mozambique in 1498, Arab trading settlements had existed along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries, and the political control of the coast was in the hands of a couple of local sultans.
From about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts became regular ports of call on the new route to the east. Mozambique first described as a small coral island at the mouth of Mossuril Bay, the the fort and town on that island, Sao Sebatiao de Mocambique, and later extended to the whole of the Portuguese colonies on the east coast of Africa.
After World War II, while many European nations were granting independence to their colonies, Portugal's Estado Novo regime headed by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar issued a decree officially renaming Mozambique and other Portuguese possessions as overseas provinces of the mother country, and emigration to the colonies soared.
The drive for Mozambican independence developed apace, and in 1962 several anti-colonial political groups formed the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), which initiated an armed campaign against Portuguese colonial rule in September 1964. This conflict, along with the two others already initiated in the other Portuguese colonies of Angola and Portuguese Guinea, became part of the so-called Portuguese Colonial War.
Mozambique became independent after ten years of sporadic warfare in Mozambique and Portugal's return to democracy through a leftist military coup in Lisbon on 25 April 1974. FRELIMO took complete control of the territory after a transition period, as agreed in the Lusaka Accord.
Portuguese populations rapid exodus left Mozambique economy crippeled. In addition, after the independence day on 25 June 1975, the eruption of the Mozambican Civil War (1977 to 1992) destroyed the remaining wealth and left the former Portuguese Overseas Province in a sate of absolute disrepair.
CIVIL WAR
Formed in 1975, the RENAMO (Mozambican National Resistance), and anti-communist group sponsored by the Rhodesian Intelligence Service, and sponsored by the apartheid government in South Africa as well as the United States after Zimbabwe's independence, launched a series of attacks on transport routes, schools and health clinics, and the country descended into civil war.
In 1984, Mozambique negotiated the Nkomati Accord with PW Botha and the South African government, in which Mozambique was to expel the African National Congress in exchange for South Africa stopping support for RENAMO.
At first both sides complied but it soon became evident that infringement were taking place on both sides and the war continued. In 1986, Mozambican President Samora Machel died in an air crash in South African territory. Although unproven, many suspect the South African government of responsibility for his death. Machel was replaced by Joaquim Chissano as president.
In 1990 with apartheid crumbling in South Africa, and support for RENAMO drying up in South Africa and in the United States, the first direct talks between the FRELIMO government and RENAMO were held.
In November 1990 a new constitution was adopted. Mozambique was now a multiparty state, with periodic elections and guaranteed democratic rights. On 4 October 1992, the Rome General Peace Accord, negotiated by the community of Sant Egidio with support of the United Nations, were signed in Rome between President Chissano and RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama, which formally took effect on October 15, 1992.
A UN Peacekeeping Force (ONUMOZ) oversaw a two-year transition to democracy. The last UNOMOZ contingents departed in early 1995.
Mozambique held elections in 1994, which were accepted by most parties as free and fair while still contested by many nationals and observers alike. FRELIMO won, under Joaquim Chissano, while RENAMO, led by Afonso Dhlakama, ran as the official opposition.
In 1995, Mozambique joined the Commonwealth of Nations, becoming at the time, the only member nation that had never been part of the British Empire. By the end 0f 1995, over 1.7 million refugees who sought asylum in neighboring countries returned. This was the largest repatriation
No comments:
Post a Comment