Independence movements in Mozambique Independence movements in Mozambique Groups interested in freeing Mozambique from Portuguese colonial rule and making it an independent nation emerged in the early 1900s, shortly after Portugal had defeated the last of the native chieftaincies and established effective control over the territory. In 1920 or 1923, a government sponsored organisation, the Liga Africana was established in Lisbon for ""assimilados"" -- members of the tiny minority of Africans in the colonies who had been given citizenship status. Gibson states that "although it gathered together only some twenty African and mulatto intellectuals, [it] had significant repercussions in the colonies." Later, in Mozambique,
Mozambique AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated to present-day Mozambique from farther north and west. Beginning in the 11th century, Arab, Persian, and Somali merchants began settlements and establishing commercial ports along the coast, contributing to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and language. 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