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,
People's Republic of Mozambique preceding independence, FRELIMO consolidated its presence in the south and in urban areas. This was done through the work of militant groups ("grupos dinamizadores" or "dynamic groups"), which also included Mozambicans of Portuguese origin. The period prior to independence was also marked by the settling of scores and public trials against members FRELIMO who had strayed from the FRELIMO party line. "Traitors," "reactionaries," and real or suspected agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency or PIDE, the Portuguese security agency. The Central Committee of FRELIMO adopted the constitution of the People's Republic of Mozambique on June 20, which established that