Mozambique

Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, waves of Bantu-speaking people migrated from the west and north through the Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the plateau and coastal areas. They established agricultural communities or societies based on herding cattle. They brought with them the technology for smelting and smithing iron. Portuguese Mozambique (1498 until 1975) - From about 1500 Portuguese trading posts and forts displaced the Arabic commercial and military power, becoming regular ports of call on the new European sea route to the east. The Portuguese were able to wrest much of the coastal trade from Arab Muslims between 1500 and 1700 By the early 20th century the Portuguese had shifted the administration of much of Mozambique to large private companies War for independence (1964 until 1974) - The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) initiated a guerrilla campaign against Portuguese rule in September 1964 FRELIMO took control of the territory after 10 years of sporadic warfare. Civil war (1977 until 1992) - Starting shortly after the independence, the country was plagued from 1977 to 1992 by a long and violent civil war between the opposition forces of anti-Communist Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) rebel militias and the FRELIMO regime. Democracy (1993 until present) - Elections were held in 1994 which most people accepted as free and fair. In 1995 Mozambique joined the Commonwealth of Nations. Since 2013, an insurgency by RENAMO has been occurring, mainly in the country's central and northern regions.

Mainly low-lying with a tropical climate; higher terrain in the north and west (Monte Binga 2,436 m). While drought affects its hinterland, cyclones from the Indian Ocean can bring devastating floods. The River Zambesi runs east-west across the country.

Mozambique was an under-developed Portuguese colony until its independence in 1975. Inefficient Marxist rule followed and a long civil war lasted until 1992. Mozambique is among the poorest countries in the world. Since 1992 there has been economic growth, but Mozambique depends heavily on overseas aid and on its proximity to South Africa for access to export markets. It has rich mineral deposits, including coal and iron, and significant hydroelectric power sources.