A Short History of Mozambique

Malyn Newitt

A splendidly written portrait of Mozambique in the colonial and post-colonial eras, by the premier historian of the country.
Explains why, twenty-five years after the Peace Accord, Mozambicans still remain among the poorest people in the world
Beginning with the slave trade and the drawing of colonial boundaries, Newitt traces the historical origins of Mozambique's checkered history of development. .

A Short History of Mozambique

Malyn Newitt

Description

This comprehensive overview traces the evolution of modern Mozambique, from its early modern origins in the Indian Ocean trading system and the Portuguese maritime empire to the fifteen-year civil war that followed independence and its continued after-effects.

Though peace was achieved in 1992 through international mediation, Mozambique's remarkable recovery has shown signs of stalling. Malyn Newitt explores the historical roots of Mozambican disunity and hampered development, beginning with the divisive effects of the slave trade, the drawing of colonial frontiers in the 1890s and the lasting particularities of the north, centre and south, inherited from the compartmentalized approach of concession companies.

Following the nationalist guerrillas' victory against the Portuguese in 1975, these regional divisions resurfaced in a civil war pitting the south against the north and centre, over attempts at far-reaching socioeconomic change. The settlement of the early 1990s is now under threat from a revived insurgency, and the ghosts of the past remain. This book seeks to distill this complex history, and to understand why, twenty-five years after the Peace Accord, Mozambicans still remain among the poorest people in the world.

A Short History of Mozambique

Malyn Newitt

Chapter one The Mozambican Environment and Ethnography
Chapter two The Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries
Chapter three The Nineteenth Century: African agency in the creation of Mozambique
Chapter four The intervention of Europeans and the scramble for Africa
Chapter five Portuguese Colonial Rule
Chapter six Late Colonial Mozambique
Chapter seven Independence and Civil War
Chapter eight Mozambique after the Civil War
Chapter nine Economy and Society since 1994

A Short History of Mozambique

Malyn Newitt

Author Information

Malyn Newitt was Deputy Vice Chancellor of Exeter University and first holder of the Charles Boxer Chair at King's College London. He is author of more than twenty books on Portugal and Portuguese colonial history including Portugal in Africa: The Last Hundred Years (1981), A History of Mozambique (1994), Emigration and the Sea (2015). He retired in 2005.

A Short History of Mozambique

Malyn Newitt

Reviews and Awards

"This concise book provides a brief though richly detailed account of this important former Portuguese colony in Africa . . . the writing is lively and provides some fascinating details. "--Choice

"Hurst have produced another superb' Short History' in Malyn Newitt's fluent, engaging history of Mozambique. Newitt brings his deep expertise to give longue durée depth to present day challenges, enriching our understanding of the long, fraught post-war period."-- Christopher Cramer, Professor of the Political Economy of Development, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, author of Civil War Is Not A Stupid Thing: Accounting for Violence in Developing Countries

"Malyn Newitt has distilled a lifetime of research and teaching on Mozambique into this well-informed and clearly written text, which will become a mandatory introduction to the country's history. He brings the story up to the present, judiciously weighing up divergent interpretations."-- William Gervase Clarence-Smith,School of Oriental and African Studies, London, Chief Editor, Journal of Global History

"Malyn Newitt has demonstrated why he is one of the leading historians of modern Mozambique. This book charts the creation of Mozambique from colonialism and provides valuable insight into the deep structural and cultural challenges of Mozambique today. A must read for academics, NGOS, governments and business interested in Mozambique's history and how it influences its future." -- Alex Vines, OBE, Head of the Africa Programme at Chatham House and Senior Lecturer, Coventry University