Mozambique History

History
Arabia, Persia, and India.[9]

The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the arrival of the Portuguese, who began a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975, becoming the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. After only two years of independence, the country descended into an intense and protracted civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992.

The only official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, which is spoken mostly as a second language by about half the population. Common native languages include Makhuwa, Sena, and Swahili. The country's population of around 29 million is composed overwhelmingly of Bantu people. The largest religion in Mozambique is Christianity, with significant minorities following Islam and African traditional religions. 

Timeline
1498 - This year marked the Portuguese entry into trade, politics, and society of the region 1530 - The Portuguese gained control of the Island of Mozambique and the port city of Sofala in the early 16th century, and by the 1530s, small groups of Portuguese traders and prospectors seeking gold penetrated the interior regions, where they set up garrisons and trading posts at Sena and Tete on the River Zambezi and tried to gain exclusive control over the gold trade 1951 - The Portuguese overseas colonies in Africa were renamed the Overseas Provinces of Portugal 1975 - Within a year, most of the 250,000 Portuguese in Mozambique had left—some expelled by the government of the nearly independent territory, some fleeing in fear—and Mozambique became independent from Portugal 1977 - 1992 A long and violent civil war between the opposition forces of anti-Communist Mozambican National Resistance rebel militias and the Mozambique Liberation Front regime 1977 - 1992 An estimated one million Mozambicans perished during the civil war, 1.7 million took refuge in neighbouring states, and several million more were internally displaced 1995 - over 1.7 million refugees who had sought asylum in neighboring countries had returned to Mozambique. An additional four million internally displaced persons had returned to their homes 2014 - About 12,000 refugees are now in neighbouring Malawi

Websites

 * History of Mozambique
 * Mozambique: History timeline
 * Mozambique: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide
 * Mozambique: History and Culture
 * Mozambique History-Britannica
 * Mozambique: History, Women's Oral histories, translated and in English