Mozambican Civil War FRELIMO within a year and to form a transitional government in the interim. When this was made known to the public, several thousand Portuguese colonials fled the newly independent country and a clandestine group calling themselves the "Dragons of Death" seized the primary radio transmittor in the capital, Lourenço Marques, and demanded an independent Mozambique without FRELIMO. As a result of the mass exodus of trained professionals, the economy and social organization of Mozambique was shattered on independence. On 25 June 1975 Mozambique became independence from Portugal, with Samora Machel becoming President of the People's Republic of Mozambique. The independence
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