Mozambique is celebrating 40 years of independence today. 6 things you might not know about the country

Former Mozambican president Samora Machel
Image by: © Sowetan

1. Origins

The original population of Mozambique were Bushmen who were hunter-gatherers. The great migrations from the Great Lakes saw the bantu speakers migrating to Mozambique in the first millennium, and Arab and Swahili traders settled in the region thereafter. It was colonised by Portugal in 1505.

2. Independence

Guerrilla activity began in 1963 and was so effective that 10 years later Portugal was forced to dispatch 40,000 troops to fight the rebels. A cease-fire was signed in 1974, and after 470 years, Mozambique became independent on June 25, 1975.

3. Samora Machel’s murderers have never come to light

The first president of Mozambique was Samora Machel (Graca Machel's ex husband). He supported and allowed revolutionaries fighting white minority regimes in Rhodesia and South Africa to operate within Mozambique. Soon after Mozambique's independence both of these countries attacked Mozambique with an anti-Frelimo organisation called RENAMO. He died in a plane crash in 1986 and it has widely been suspected that the apartheid regime was behind his death.

4. Economy

Things were tough for Mozambique’s economy following the in 2000/2001 floods which affected about a quarter of the population and destroyed much of its infrastructure. There was also drought in 2002. As a result poverty remains widespread.

5. Music

Popular music in the country is varied; ranging from giant timbila orchestras, marrabenta to hip-hop and Maputo jazz-fusion.

6. Tourism

This is a huge cash cow for Mozambique. In 2003 an estimated 726,100 tourists visited the country. Popular spots include Inhambane, Xai Xai, Pemba, Ponta do Ouro and Ponta Malongane.