Mozambique
History Timeline
Travel through our timeline of major events in Mozambique's history.
1-1000:
Bantu-speaking people settle in Mozambique.
800:
Arab traders set up outposts for selling ivory, gold and slaves.
1498:
English and Dutch fleets fight the Portuguese settlers for control of the area. Treaties are signed in the 1630's which strengthen Portugal's authority in East Africa.
1752:
Mozambique becomes a Portuguese colony.
1878:
Portugal bans slavery. Until this time, the slave trade had been a large part of the economy.
1891:
Portugal hands over the administration of the region to the Mozambique Company, a private business.
1907:
Maputo becomes the capital of Mozambique.
1962-1974:
Rebels fight for independence from Portugal. The fight becomes more organized in the 1960s, when the Mozambicans form the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, shortened to Frelimo.
1975:
Severe floods are followed by four years of extreme drought. Mozambique's economy suffers because farmers are unable to produce agricultural products.
1977:
Rebels and the government are locked in a destructive civil war.
1990:
A new constitution is drafted. It calls for three branches of government and affirms civil liberties.
1992:
The government and rebels sign a peace treaty.
1994:
Mozambique holds its first multiparty elections. Joaquim Chissano wins.
1990-1995:
More than 1.7 million Mozambicans return to their homes in Mozambique. They had fled the country during the civil war.
2000-2001:
Terrible floods devastate Mozambique, slowing down the government's attempts to rebuild the economy after the war.
2004:
President Joaquim Chissano retires. Armando Guebuza wins in the December election and becomes the new president of Mozambique.
