Beira, Mozambique until Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. Beira is located on the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean located between Madagascar and Mozambique. The city sits north of the mouth of the convergence of two major rivers of Mozambique: the Buzi River and the Pungwe River. The Buzi crosses across Manica and Sofala provinces to form a wide estuary. The Pungwe crosses from the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe also through Manica and Sofala provinces to Beira. The city was established in 1890 by the Portuguese and soon supplanted Sofala as the main port in the Portuguese-administered
Chimoio Colonial War. After a military coup in Lisbon, the Carnation Revolution of 1974, the Portuguese authorities offered independence to its African territories, and Mozambique became an independent country. The change in name from Vila Pery to Chimoio took place on 12 June 1975, during the public rally of the first President of independent Mozambique - Samora Moisés Machel - on his journey from the Rovuma to the Maputo. One of the most visible marks of this period of fighting for independence is the Praça dos Heróis (Heroes’ Square). An impressive mural was painted depicting the various episodes in Mozambican history,