THE PORTUGUESE AND : THE PAST AGAINST THE FUTURE

THE PORTUGUESE AND MOZAMBIQUE: THE PAST AGAINST THE FUTURE by DOUGLAS L, WHEELER "SOUTHERN AFRICA IN TRANSITION" FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AFRICAN CULTURE April ll - 13, 1963 Howard University, Washington, D.C.

The Portuguese and Mozambigue The Past Against The Future by Douglas L. Wheeler The Portuguese have been in Mozambique since the end of the 15th century. The prospects of their remaining there in the same status until the end of his century are quite slim, It is certain that the Portuguese record of the past overshadows that of the present and future. Mozambique has witnessed what Professor Duffy has called "an extraordinary continuity of Portuguese behavior and policy in Africa."' Although there is this "continuity," the is a history of varying fortunes, diverse administrations and changes not unlike that of other tropical territories in southern Africa. Within the context of the Portuguese empire, Mozambique's relative importance has greatly increased. Yet the fortunes of the African peoples there have not changed accordingly. And it is the tragedy of Mozambique that geography and history combined to make liberal government a glimmer of hope rather than a future certainty. It is the purpose of this brief paper to survey the history of Portuguese rule in Mozambique and some of the implications of the nature of its peoples. To understand overseas administration, the history of the Portuguese is a prime prerequisite for analysis. Africa is in Europe, not Africa. I. The Portuguese Historical Dilemma Modern political history in has too often been analyzed without due historical perspective. Portuguese democrats2 1. James Duffy, Portugal in Africa (London, 1962, Penguin African Library),, p. 19. 2. By Portuguese "democrats" I mean those who oppose the regime of Dr. Salazar and wish to establish the principle of free elections in Portugal. Many "democrats" are in exile, tend to label the regime of Dr. Salazar as unique and extraordinary and completely unnatural with regard to the nature of the Portuguese peopleo3 Although the A_ N ("Nei' State") began as a military coup in 1.926 with its own peculiarities, students of history will find that the regime is not altogether a defiance of the past, but is in fact one answer to the deep problems of Portuguese history. It is necessary therefore to outline some of these problems04 The first point to consider is that since the middle of the 16th century, Portugal as a European power has suffered the effects of a feeling of inferiority and -potenoeo In 1578 Portugal was defeated in a disastrous battle in Morocco and hotey fitersds was taken over by for 60 years. In many ways, the fear of Spr-ish predominance has never abated in Portugal. Involved in this f of a po'wr in the east is the conviction that an empire overseas could someho make up for weakness in Europe. Today this feeling survives in debate over het -l become of Portuguese Africa, A recent book called Three Roads for Oea by Fernando Amorim had this to say in conclusion8 tbe uion of the various Portuguese provinces is necessary for the conev -tion of our political independence and I would go even further to assert this is necessary for our survival as a people. Far more than the other European powers, therefore, Portugal has found more important psychological reasons for maintaining an empire. Fortunately, the extreme viewpoint expressed in this 3. See especially the essay by A. de Oliveira, "Salazarqs Portugal,, in Angoa. A So4=sium Views of a Revolt0 (Oxford University Press, 1962o) 4, The Portuguese Monarchy was replaced by a Republic in 1910, After several decades of instability and chaos the Republic fell to a military coup in 1926. Out of this event rose the regime of Salazar 5. Fernando Amorim, Tree Caminhos Da Politica Ultramarina (Coimbra, 1962), p. ll5 recent work is not general among intellectuals in Portugal. A second problem worthy of mention is that of finanae or economics. The first two centuries of imperial effort provided lucrative rewards. But a spurt of short-lived prosperity in 18th century Brazil was followed by the loss of Brazil in the early 19th century and a long crescendo of worsening finance ending in -he virtually bankrupt decade of 1890 to 1900. In some ways Portugal has never recovered from the loss of Brazil at a cracial moment in her history. In the last few decades of the 20th century, however, the African territories of Portugal have been very important for the home economy0 A third problem of importance is related to the historical fear of Spain. The English alliance was originally based on the need 6 for protection against Spain. Often called Britain's "Oldest Ally", Portugal has viewed Britain as a 'Big Brother" for fear of domination by others. For a long while this alliance between a very strong imperial power and a weak one was expedient and advantageous for both. Several times in the 19th century, however, Portugal nearly broke with Britain over African issues, but found herself so tied to British finance and diplomatic support in Europe and Africa that to do so would have been suicidal. It was Britain, during the years between 1890 and 1914, who in effect saved Mozambique, and perhaps Angola, from partition first by Rhodes and later by . Today the Anglo-Portuguese alliance is crippled and dying. True to the tendency in Portuguese exterior policy, 6. The modern alliance is based on the so-called "Marriage Treaty" of 1661 signed by Charles II. when hit tsain Influence wons, the Influences of European powers to the "sat wax stronger. 2hus Portugal In the last few decades has leaned more on Spain and on West Oermany.7 VA moot crucial problem, useful to an understanding of Portuguese policy In Africa, is the bitter political and Ideological debate which has proceeded since the birth of a liberal constitutional regime in 1821 and the institutionalizing of constitutions madeled on the example of the British parliament. True liberalism, however, never took root for long in Portugal and so the masses have been ill- prepared fully to participate in government. Representative government never functioned smoothly. The counterpart to this melancholy truth is that even today over one-third of the nation cannot read or write. The key political problem centered around the fact that governments, once in power, met such bitter opposition, and could rarely resist the temptation to manipulate elections, or were compelled by circumstances to do so. In 1873, for example, there was an opportunity to follow the true spirit of the Constitution and allow free elections. It was possible then that an ordered, well-organized party system would emerge. The Marquis of Sa da Bandeira, creator of liberal legislation for Portuguese Africa which was eventually neglected, predicted in 1873 that the executive (the Monarchy or Ministries' Cabinets) tended toward dictatorship in difficult 7. One student in speculated that Spain would dominate Portugal if the African territories were lost. Although this conclusion is subject to doubt, there does seem to be an intimate connection between maintenance of empire and "independence" in Europe.

-5 circumstances. They rarely allowed free elections and refused to take the ultimate consequences of representative government.8 This tendency toward autocracy in times of crisis was not overcome in 1873, or 1893, or after the weakening of the 1910 Republic. The aura of Salazar's regime reflects this very political tradition. It is not an exaggeration to say that he has created "order" out 'of pre-1926 chaos. Unfortunately this is only a surface feat. In terms of similar situations in Latin American polities, the official theory of the "State" is that the only alternative to disagreement and disorder is "ordered unity". Yet this dilemma in Portuguese-speaking areas is quite old, It remains a dilemma because such possible solutions as mass education, solid economic development, and social mobility have not been completely accepted in principle by the government oligarchy. Angola and Mozambique face the effects of this heritage of extreme solutions to political problems. Liberal and conservative conflict in Portugal remained so violent and unsettled that good government was forgotten and left relegated to dreams, propaganda, or unfulfilled plans. Portugal appears prepared for great change now. Those familiar with present conditions in the country can attest to the general discouragement of the youth and an uneasy relationship between "the people" ("o povo") and the "state" ("0 Estado"). Nevertheless, to say Fascist tendencies will end with the passing of Salazar would be rash and overly optimistic. Even the most convinced liberals 8. Andre Meyrelles, 0 Marques de Sa da Bandeira (Lisbon, 1876), See also V. de Braganca Cunha, Eight Centuries of Portuguese Monarchy (New York, 1911), pp. 206-0o. of today, as Captain Henrique Galvao, have curious histories as Fascist stalwartso9 II. The Portuguese and the Nature of MosambLue Mozambique was discovered in 1498 by Vasco da Gama. In the 16th century the coast and ports of Mozambique were merely stepping stones to the Indian empire. Indeed, until 1752, when Mozambique was separated from the Government of and made a separate Captaincy-General, Goa was the capital of the territory, not Mozambique island, and Governors came from India. For a period, offices in Mozambique were suctioned to the highest bidders in India° There ws a moderate gold trade and export at , Mozambique and up the Zambesi at Sena and Toeo But by 1700, having lost their foothold on the Zanzibar coast, the Portugae oe turned their attention to Mozambique and settled down to a grim battle with alimate9 a pitiful European population, and grinding °10 Mozambique may have been the jewel in Portugasls Indian crown in 1700,1 but within the entire empire that unhealthy settlement was quite insignificant and nearly forgotten in Lisbon. Brazil was the true "milah cow" of importance, and Angola's role in the Brazilian economy overshadowed a neglected Mozambique. A document in 1849 called Mozambique "the most backward of all our possessionso"12 Early Portuguese rule was essentially that of a maritime empire 9o See Henrique Galvao, D2Mko (Lisbon, 1935, Polo Imperio series). 10. Charles Boxer and Carlos de Azevedo, Fort Jesus and the Portuguese at Xmo (London, 1960). U1 Eric Axelson, The Portuguese in Southeast Africa lkO- (Johanesburg, 1960), po 195. 12. Archivos Das Celonias (Lisbon), "A Intrucao Primaria em MorAmbique do 1840-1849," II, no. 12, June 1918, pp. 290-296.

-7 represented on land by a handful of traders, a few plantation owners, and soldiers. The system of prazos or entailed Crown estates concentrated in the Zambesi valley. Religious and missionary effort in Mozambique had proved disappointing over the long run, and in this regard it is still the most neglected Portuguese region in Africa, next to the islands and Portuguese Guinea. Geography helped shape the pattern of administration and settlement. Nearly three-quarters of the present territory is land of 1000 feet altitude or below. Interior settlers of Mozambique were discouraged by malarial climate and depressing conditions not as favorable as the vast plateaus of Angola. More than one Governor in the 18th century killed himself out of desperation.13 Various white colonization schemes failed because of climate and lack of preparation by Lisbon. Private companies for trade and mineral exploitation were numerous in Mozambique, in contrast to th@ situation in Angola, but until the 19th century all such companies had short and violent lives. The extremely long coastline discouraged travel overland, so rivers or the sea became the only highways. In the late 17th century a new influence was added to the settled population of Arabs, Portuguese, and Africans: Indian traders from the coast of southwest India. These Banians emigrated to the coastal towns as Mozambique and soon dominated general trade. The Government tried and failed to harness their business talents. Together with the Arab influence, they have complicated the hope for unity of Mozambique peoples in the past as well as in 13. Rocha Martins, Historia das Colonias Portuguesas (Lisbon, 1933), p. 257. the future.14 8lavr~ya£d slave-trade continued to flourish in Mozambique with its a nt and poorly developed economy. and the extremely small Tropean poMuataono Mambique needed slavery to provide revenue it might have gained from or mining. The 19th century was the most crucial time for the future of 'Ymsunbique. Besides general stagnation caused by a continuation of slave-trade and slavery, two other factors also contribut4d to itp weth cord .ion duri g this period: the Negoni invasions wh h ce to aead about 835 and the economic and political deve pnen of _1and Southern . Both factors have had ound ctc upon the unity and outlook of the peoples In the reion~ th 'f the Zabesii. In effect, these factors divided the ter toiyto rieveral sections, and created the possibility that .beday iue may be several nations instead of one. The Ngoni-Zulu comlng from the South swept over southern "iPbxbique from 1319 t 1840, devastating Portuguese settlements15 aloM4 the coast and ubecting to their rule the Thonga peoples, a nr* peaceful and agricultural population with several centuries' reuidence south of the Zambesi. The highly organized and pastoral military invaders conquered spottily, but generally became the masters of the country between the Save and Limpopo rivers. Organizing larger aroes than those of the Portuguese "vassal" groups, they were masters of the interior until the 1890's, when the Portuguese sent 14. In 1962, about 10,000 Indians were obliged to leave Mozambique because of the Portuguese reaction to the loss of Portuguese India in December 1961. 15. According to Livingstone, in 1856 the Ngoni raiders considered the Portuguese especially near Sena and Tete as "a conquered tribe". Dr. Livingstone, Missionary Travels and Researches in (New York, 1858 edition), pp. 703-08.

-9 expeditions which succeeded in conquering them. In late 1895, King , warlord of the Gaza Ngoni (Vatuas or Shanganas) was defeated in the field by the Portuguese and exiled to the Azores 16 Islands. A new era had begun for Mozambique peoples. In another sense, a new era for Mozambique began about the year 1869, when the Portuguese negotiated a treaty with the Transvaal Republic for close economic and political relations on southern Mozambique. Since the late 1830's, Boer parties entered Portuguese territory near Delagoa Bay seeking new lands. Formal negotiations settled mutual problems after several decades. In 1855, through the signing of various treaties, the original so-called "Unholy Alliance" was created, in which the Portuguese and Union of South Africa Agreements were drawn up as to frontier lines, mutual defense plans, and road development. The great port in Delagoa Bay was the prize that attracted Transyaal to the Portuguese. Earlier in the 1840's, because of the need to expedite export trade from the Transvaal (and later the existence of a cheap labor supply in Mozambique), the Boers had negotiated unsuccessfully to buy Lourenco Marques. After various disagreements following the 1855 alliance, new frontiers were drawn in 1869 and Portugal lost some territory on the southwestern frontier to the Transvaal. But this treaty of 1869 was a prelude to a closer alliance between the two territories. Curiously, during 1869 to 1870 several Portuguese officials considered conquering and occupying the region of what is now 16. James Duffy, Portuguese Africa (Cambridge, 1959), pp. 230-36 for the Potuguese military c ampaigns in Mozambique. See also Rocha Martins' Historia for a more detailed if chauvinistic treatment, pp. 554-78.

Southern Shodesia.17 Gold umin prospectors had aroused Portuguese interest In the plateau west of 4vellmneo But a deoisionowaking body in the Overseas Ministry in Lisbon vetoed the idea as prture, impractical, and virtually impossible with the weakened state of Portuguese power and the famous fighting ability of the Mashona and Matabele. Thus Portugal passed up one chance to beat Modes in the later "Scramble" for Central Africa. i8 Delagoa Bay, the magnificent harbor for Lourengo Marquos, was a key trump card held by the Portuguese during the gold and di nd rush in South Africa. When the railroad from this port to Pretoria was completed in the 1880's, the fate of southern -Ioambique was sealed. There would be a long and intimate link with South Africa. In vain imperialist Cecil Rhodes negotiated and intrigued for years for the ports of Beira and Lourengo Marques.19 His fears for landlocked white territories in the late 19th century have f taken a new form in the 20th. Now the Portuguese in Mozambique fear that South Africa or the plateau countries to the west and north (Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, and Tanganyilka) will partition the coast among themselves. Mozambique is unique in the history of the Portuguese empire in its experience of chartered Company rule in the late 19th century and early 20th. Company rule in Mozambique was as much the expression of international capital's expansiveness as it was of Portuguese economic atrophy. There were three major chartered 17. Archivo Historico Ultramarino (Lisbon, Archive of the Overseas Ministry), Angola, Junta Consultiva, 1870, Pasta 207, no. 395 Document. 18. Rhodes came out to South Africa only in 1870, as a yourg man. 19. See the study by Philip R. Warhurst, Anglo-Portuguese Relations in South-Central Africa 1890-1900 tLondon, l902).

-II 20 companies with quasi-governmental rights and dutles, 7ae Zambesia Company, which began about 1878, merged with English and French capital in 1891-92. The Nyassa Company, chartered in 1891, was dissolved finally by the Government in 1929, when. its lands north of the Zambesi were reintegrated into regular ad..irat.. on. The most important company of all was the Mozambique Compayr, wni ih was given a royal charter in 1891 and dissolved only in 194.). l2hese companies had full economic rights of developzrv., givir, & out of revenue to the Portuguese Government, and maintaining administrations in the interioro The left an unfort'.unate legacy in its territory west of Sofala, since its administratore discour2i aged activity of most non-Catholic missionaries. All in all, company rule in much of Mozambique was merely an ephemeral phase of administration, a passing stage of rule, delaying the day when Portugal took full responsibility for certain regions. For the most part, the companies were financial failures. Portuguese rule up to 1900 achieved little in the way of balanced economic development. The agreements with South Africa for export of labor from Mozambique to work in the mines of the Transvaal, or to guarantee a minimum of traffic of exports through Lourengo Marques, had the effect of encouraging a vulnerable, highly artificial eccnomy. Depending primarily upon revenue earned in activity outside Mozambique itself, whether by South Africans or tribes of southern Mozambique labor, the economy promised a future 20. Grande Enciclopedia Portuguesa e Brasileira (Lisbon and Rio, 1924-1956), Vol. V, p. 265, "Companhias" artiole. 21. Eduardo Moreira, Portuguese (London, 1936), Chap. V. Duffy, Portuguese Africa, p. 127: "Protestant mission work in Mocambique has not been as successful as in Angola".

-12- as problematic as its past, Unfortunately for future harmony in Mozambique, the last few decades of development for the Estado Non were devoted to the concept of trying to make the territory a true "white land." Today there are nearly seven milion Africans in the population and about 85,000 whites. The following table will indicate the great recent increase in white settlement in Mozambiqut during this periodo2 Pooulation of territory 1932 18,000 Europeas 1940 Z76500 1950 48,,00 1955 67s000 1960 85,000 By succeeding in encouraging emigration to Moambique, Portugal in recent years has achieved what planners such as Sa da Bandeira in the 19th century failed to do. Some speak of another Brazil. Yet hope for another Brazil is impossible now, Optimum conditions for racial mixing seem to be absent in modern Mozambique, where racial mixture is slightly less frequent than in Angola (by no means "another Brazil" in the racial sense). And in spite of the growing size of emigration to Mozambique, there is a greater differentiation in size between the African population and the European than there is in Angola023 About 120000 fewer Portuguese have emigrated to Mozambique than to Angola. and they are confronted with an African population larger by perhaps 2 million. Mozambique's growth in the 20th century has been less important than that of Angola, and her peoples show the effects of less opportunity for education.24 In contrast to this, the Portuguese 22, Duffy, Portugal in Africa, p. 204. 23. The white population of Angola is over 200,000 with about 5 million Africans. 24. Antonio Figueiredo, Portural and the Empire, p. 107

-13 population is supposed to be more sophisticated and advanced than its counterpart in Angola. Nevertheless, these comparisons have yet to be drawn by impartial students, Too often in the past comparisons have been made between Angola and Mozambique by persons committed to one or the other territory. The only clear distinction seems to be that Mozambique in the 20th century has been less of a penal colony than Angola (not as true in the 19th century), and that Mozambique was more difficult of access for Portuguese and foreigners alike025 III. The Peonles and Their Problems As shown above, Mozambique has a mixed population, and the racial spectrum of her peoples is more like that of Guinea than of Angola. In addition to the Portuguese, there is a considerable Arab-Swahili group concentrated north of the Zambesi and along the coast to Cape Delgado, The Macua-Lomwe peoples predominate in the north, and the Thonga, Chopi, and Ngoni (Zulu, Xosa, and Swazi) peoples are in the majority in the region south of the Zambesi. In 1927 the missionary-anthropologist Henri Junod wrote. "There is no true national unity among the Thongas,"26 He underlined the fact of lack of homogeneity in the south. In the north, above the Zambesi, the peoples were not particularly affected by the 19th century Ngoni invasions and they are far more Arabized. It is important to view emigration in the territory in perspective. Emigration in Mozambique is by no means a phenomenon peculiar to the 20th century. The contact of Mozambique peoples with 25, For a general bibliography, though not definitive, see Mario Costa, Bibliografia Geral de MocambigUe (Lisbon, 1946), 26. Henri Junod, The Life of a South African Tribe (2 vols., London, 1927), I, p. 14.

-14 territories outside their official frontiers has been a remarkabl consistent trend in their history. In the 18th and 19th centuries, and even before, trade and internecine warfare caused the peoples to cross the territory from north to south and from east to west and back again, in response to the many pressures of the era. An early factor causing migration close to Portuguese settlements, common to much of tropical Africa, was the head tax° The dizimo, or Portuguese house tax, was regularly initiated in Mozambique administration about 1854. 27 For at least :''ourzads tereafter, this tax was ineffective in producing revenue° But by 1895, when the Portuguese army had gained greater control of the Interior, considerable numbers from the southern tribes worked in the mines of the Transvaal and also emigrated to work In Southern Rhodesia. Theoretically, taxation began in Mozambique in the l9th century (although some tribute had been collected beginning in the 16th century) as a substitute for the abolition of forced labor. Gradually the tax was raised until in 1920 it was said to provide "the chief source of revenue of the province."- Morecver, the hut tax in the southern districts around Inhambane and Loureneo Marques was paid in English gold, that exchange being highly favorable to the Portuguese authorities. A Chopi musician's song, as recorded in about 1940, went as follows:29 It is time to pay taxes to the Portuguese The Portuguese who eat eggs. And chicken. Change that English pound.' Emigration for the southern half of Mozambique has been the 27. Intelligence Division, Royal Navy, I.D. 1189, A Manual of Portuguese East Africa (London, 1920), p. 154. 28. Intelligence Division, A Manual, pp. L48-51o 29. Hugh Tracey, Chopi Musicians (Oxford University, 1948), p. 10o

-15 major influence in the lives of the people. In 1950 a Portuguese report estimated that emigration from Mozambique to the bordering territories was in recent years from J million to 2 million°30 The Tete district on the Zambesi suffered depopulation from so-called "clandestine emigration" into Nyasaland. Since the entire African population is less than 7 million, it is easy to get an idea of the adverse social effects of such emigrations upon the peoples. As early as 1910, observers wrote of the ill effects of mine labor upon the Thonga and Chopi. Thousands returned from the mines broken in health, with bad habits, etco31 An account of 1910 by a Portuguese priest reviewed the emigration situation. Shiploads of workers from as far north as Beira entered the to disembark and travel overland. English agents from the mines roamed the interior of Mozambique to recruit workers. According to Padre Cruz, out of every 100 workers who traveled to the mines, from 10 to 20 never returned Africans, especially in southern Mozambique, were attracted by prospects of earning "the English pound" in Transvaal, for since much of their formerly abundant cattle were wiped out by the cattle plagues before the turn of the century, European currency became the medium for purchasing wives and achieving marriage.32 Thus the "major incentive" for emigration, according to Cruz, was the desire to earn enough to marry. Although Portuguese employers in Mozambique, even at that time, often objected to heavy emigration, Cruz believed that the trend was beneficial to the African, since he returned 30. Oliveira Bolio, M (Lisbon, 1951), p. 211. 31. O.W. Barrett, "Impressions and Scenes of Mozambique," N Georaahic MNaazine (XXI, 1910), ppo 807-30. 32. Daniel da Cruz, Em Terras de Gaza (Porto, 1910), pp. 214-19.

-16 vith money, new ideas, and more incentive to "progress'.33 In the early years of the 20th century, there was more emigration to the coasts and the ports. Thousands of Africans in the age group of 10 to 20 worked in the services in the port towns, and the Government encouraged the native Chiefs to help recruit workers for Lourengo Marques. Excessive emigration, noted Cruz, seemed to have changed the language of the peoples by giving many of them an opportunity to acquire a considerable smattering of English°.4 The Convention of 1909 between the Portuguese Government and the Union of South Africa formalized the emigration arrangements. The Union was allowed to recruit annually between 65,000 and 85,000 workers for the mines. The recruiting had to take place below 22 degrees south latitude, or at about the Save river.35 Portugal, in return, had a guarantee of a high percentage of the railroad traffic from Pretoria to Lourengo Marques. This agreement has been modified since 1909, but its essence remains the same. Methods of recruitment, treatment in the mines, and the attitude of the Portuguese Government have been surveyed thoroughly elsewhere by scholars, two of whom participated in a lively debate.36 According to a recent estimate of 1961, some 400,000 men leave Mozambique annually to work in outlying territories. This emigration is not only a drain upon the economy of Mozambique and its 33. Ibid., pp. 219-21. 34. Cruz, Em Terras, p. 222. 35. Edwin S. Munger, "Mozambique: Uneasy Today, Uncertain Tomorrow", American Universities Field Staff, Reports Service (IX, no. 4, 1961 report). 36. Marvin Harris, Portugal's African Wards (New York, 1958); A. Rita-Ferreira, "Labour Emigration among the Mogambique Thonga. Comments on a Study by Marvin Harris", Africa, (xxx, 1960), pp. 141-52.

-17 future internal development, but it is a factor of division among the peoples. Southern Mozambique has suffered far more from the arrangement than has the north. One problem of importance is the extraordinarily high ratio of women to men, especially noticeable in the vital age group of from 15 to 44 years. A common ratio in southern Mozambique is an average of 120-130 women to 100 men (or about 15-20 women more than the average European ratio).37 Contract labor, to quote a conservative estimate, is indirectly responsible for nearly 12- 15,000 annual deaths beyond bhe norm In younger age groups. The Government contract labor system has been criticized by private circles of the European population. The Bishop of Beira and certain newspapers in the two major towns have expressed their disapproval of the social effects of the essentially "artificial" economy. They object to clear proof of "demographic anemia".38 An editorial entitled "Suggestion" in a December 1961 issue of the Diario de Mo0ambique lamented the fact that so many thousands of workers left home to work at the port and railroad of Beira. Workers left their families for months and lived alone in a commuity i.no The editorial writer mildly "suggested" that family residences be constructed for these migrant workers as a healthy alternative favored by the family-minded Portuguese society.39 Recently in northern Mozambique a shortage grew to critical proportions. Mozambique peoples in the 20th century and earlier 37. See Marvin Harris' articles in Africa, 1960. Some of these figures derive from a private source of information in Lisbon. 38. Munger, "Mozambique", pp. 8-11. 39. Diario de Mogambique (Lourengo Marques), 3 December, 1961, p. 14, "Sugestao", pp. 9, 14.

-18- have been diverted from agriculture to the migrant jobs. Food shortage in itself would indicate need or a better balanced economy. The significant differences between the northern and southern regions of the territory can in part be gauged by differing tax rates fox- each region. The northernmost districts pay rates of 90 escudos ($3.25), while the southern districts pay about 300 escudos ($11.50).40 It is clear from these figures that the peoples of the south participate in the modern money (cash) economy in greater depth and hence are subject to greater demands of the administration. IV, The Past Against the Future There is an inescapable unity about the history of Portugal and Portuguese Africa. Can there be a dynamic present or optimistic future with such a depressing and weighty past? Are not the reforms of 1963 merely faint echoes of the statesmen of 1863? Certainly the past for Portugal would seem to advise a traditional solution to the dilemma of today, so that enterprises undertaken can be "finished with honor" for the nation.41 Those considering the shape of the future of Mozambique must take into account the highly atavistic and sensitive nature of the Portuguese as well as the nature of the millions of people in the territory. Violence and rebellion such as occurred in Angola in 1961 have not appeared in Mozambique. There is a strong case to be made for /""the claim of a recent observer that "Of all countries in southern Africa, Mozambique has the least specifically racial tension." 42 40. Figueiredo, Portugal and the Empire, p. 112. 41. Diario de Moqambique, 3 January, 1962. See use of the term, "finish with honor" in editorial. 42. Munger, "Mozambique", p. 15.

-19 There exists a mixed Luso-African population of over 25,000, yet this figure must be weighed against the European population of over 80,000. In fact, the so-called assimilado policy has failed, and Brazilian critics, perhaps the best Judges of racial mixture plans, have admitted that the policy broke down long ago.43 It is very likely that a century ago the prospects for a mixed society in Angola and Mozambique were quite favorable. In 1845-50 in Angola (reliable figures for Mozambique do not exist), one source estimated that the ratio of mulattoes to whites was nearly 5 to 3. Nevertheless, racial tension, or lack of it, cannot be measured by figures of racial mixture alone. Racial feelings in Portuguese territory may not be all sweetness and light, as pictured in the propaganda pamphlets, yet, as in other Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, race relations have been more difficult along economic lines than along social lines. In Portugal itself, mixed persons or mulattoes have the same status and opportunity as whites. The movements for independence among the Portuguese in Mozambique constitute an important element in future developments. A tradition of dissent from Lisbon directives or policy has been long established, perhaps originating in the refusal of the Governor of 1836 to publish or execute the abolition of slave trade decree. Dissident elements grew up in the colony and were reinforced after 1821 by the Portuguese Government's practice of exiling the more incorrigible liberals to the unhealthy settlements of Mozambique. 45 43. Jose H. Rodrigues, Africa e Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, 1961), pp. 268-81. 44. Jose de Aldama Ayala, Compendio Geografico-Estadistico de Portugal y sus Posesiones Ultramarinas (Madrid,7T , pp. 450-51. 45. Sa da Bandeira Trabalho Rurale Administracao Colonial (Lisbon, 173j).

-20 There is even a curious history of masonry in Mozambique in the past century. In recent times, European newspapers are slightly more outspoken than those in Angola. Nevertheless, it is difficult to measure the chances of a liberal nucleus against the larger reactionary group, for the mentality of Mozambique settlers bears a strong resemblance to that of the Southern Rhodesian settlers. The Government has recently encouraged large emigration schemes from northern Portugal and the Azores and Cape Verde Islands. Agricultural projects, such as the great Limpopo Valley Settlement Scheme, plan to settle thousands of Europeans in a potentially rich section. Ironically, the Limpopo valley has long attracted invaders of all sorts, from the Bantu waves of the 15th century to the Ngoni'legions under Manicusse in the 1820's. All have found ~46 the Limpopo valley a haven and ideal habitation. As shown above, the position of Mozambique, bordering on Southern Rhodesia and South Africa, has long influenced internal policy. It can be argued that this influence has been one-sided and detrimental to true development of Mozambique and her peoples. Beira and Lourengo Marques represent the favorite seaside resorts of the white supremacist neighbors. In the realm of economic considerations, these two powers will always strive to keep these ports in friendly hands. Edwin Munger has suggested that Mozambique faces partition by all four powers on the borders, including Nyasaland and Tanganyika. 46. Cruz, Em Terras de Gaza, p. 229. Cruz anticipated the English suggestions of 1921 that the Limpopo valley should be developed thoroughly and scientifically as a unique asset for Mozambique. The valley was long subject to yearly which dispersed the populations nearby, yet new dam-building schemes have solved this problem. Duffy, Portuguese Africa, p. 334.

K -21Southern Mozambique in some ways is more South African than Portuguese. Yet today the economic situation has altered. The Union transportation system has improved so that Lourenqo Marques is no longer the crucial sine qua non for Transvaal, so coveted by Rhodes, 417 Kruger, and perhaps Kaiser Wilhelm. On the other hand, South African native miners are far more difficult to hire today than in 1909, when the original agreement was signed. Thus, Mozambique tribes provide the bulk of the labor. The Portuguese administration has held Joint military exercises with the Union recently. And it is well known that Loureneo Marques can be reached by car from the 118 Union border in one hour. The port of Beira has been greatly developed, along with the railroad to the Rhodesian plateau. Relations between the two white communities have increased since the 1961 Angolan crisis, and it is reasonable to assume that Southern Rhodesian troops would cooperate with the Portuguese in a time of crisis. In this case, the next question will be whether land-locked Southern Rhodesia would simply help, or would proceed then to help themselves to a corridor of territory to the coast which would include Beira. Recent history in Mozambique indicates the restlessness of the Portuguese community itself. The European community gave a fairly heavy vote to the opposition candidate, General Humberto Delgado, in the 1958 elections. Lisbon was startled, but well remembered stirrings in the 1940's which paralleled those in Portugal. In April 1961, Mozambique liberals reacted to the Angolan crisis with 47. Ronald Robinson and John Gallagher, Africa and the Victorians (London, 1961), p. 218. 48. Munger, "Mozambique", p. 13.

-22 40 determination: they addressed a bold petition to the President of Portugal, Americo Tomas, and demanded reform and self-government.5 "The future of southern Africa", as they now saw it, was in a desperate perspective. The Portuguese Goverument, however, has lately issued public promises of reform and change in the future, including the abolition of the regime indigenato, or the placing of Africans in a special rights' category. In late 1962, Professor Adriano Moreira, a striking personality and scholar, was dismissed from the post of Minister of Overseas. Such a turn of events would not seem to favor the implementation of liberal plans in Mozambique at the pace desired by white liberals and African nationalists. Recently in 1963, nationalist organizations have achieved greater unity and purpose, and together with newly acquired competent leadership, have established bases in Tanganyika, itself independent in December, 1962. Yet it seems the most powerful forces in military terms will long remain in Southern Rhodesia and South Africa. Only a unilateral decision by Mozambique European liberals will be able to even the odds of success for the true autonomy of Mozambique. The destiny of that large territory, of over 290,000 square miles, and with nearly 7 million Africans, has too long been tied to outlying nations. The legacy of Portuguese rule is a dependence upon these areas to the west and south which is slowly changing with the arrival of thousands of European farmers. As pessimistic as it may sound, unless a sudden and unexpected change occurs in Portugal, 49. I prefer to use the term "liberal" instead of "democrat", as used by Portuguese exile groups in Britain and Brazil. It has yet to be proven'that these "liberals" will become "democrats" when in power. Now the term serves to attradt supporters with little knowledge of the vagaries of Portuguese politics. 50. Figueiredo, Portugal and the Empire, p. 118. V-23 or the Angola situation worsens, independence in Mozambique will be won only by the old method of attrition. The future will be difficult because the past has handed down an irrevocable legacy: feelings of bitterness against oppression and adversity. Governments can fall in a day and laws can be rewritten in a week, but the influence of tradition cannot be erased in a short time. The peoples of Mozambique have received until now little opportunity for self-expression and fulfillment. Their rulers have provided too little education to enable them to take more initiative. But it cannot be forgotten that the Portuguese have given these peoples a unifying language that is widely known by ear if not by writing; and the peoples of Mozambique have had means of becoming familiar with areas other than their own. Portuguese rule has instilled a conservatism based upon loyalty that has been partly conditioned by their own poverty at home. There is considerable evidence that, in the future, divisions and differences will appear between the north and the south in Mozambique. Forces both outside and inside the territory would seem to foreshadow partition. Although the situation is not as clear-cut as in the cases of Nigeria or the Sudan, geography, Portuguese economic schemes, and tribal invasions have created a cleavage. If nationalist movements do cross tribal lines,51 the true test of unity is yet to come. Until national movements cross and erase regional lines, and until the economies of the north and south are balanced together, unity will be difficult for the parties with a national outlook. Perhaps only outstanding leadership and organization can achieve the needed solidarity. 51. Munger, "Mozambique", pp. 15-17.

To say that the legacies of Portuguese rule are as "inevltable as Greek tragedy" is to tend toward historical determinism. A study of Portuguese history, however, might force some to this point of view. Portugal, as well as other European nations, has been reluctantly caught up in the "winds of change". As an astute statesman wrote about Portuguese Africa. What has happened in these last years, and what is now happening in Africa can serve as a lesson to those who still harbor the old illusions 4Z think they can resist the tide that is invading everything. What is needed is not to oppose it, but to enter into it, move along with it, moderate its impetus, and divert it to where it favors our interests instead of letting it destroy us .... The world today is passing through an enormous transformation; and this is such that it sweeps before it the preconceptions of men and nations, and prepares the future - not for petty vanities, b1 for the indestructible fraternity of men on earth. ' This statement is from a book by Joao de Andrade Corvo, in 1883, the Minister for Navy and Overseas. Re addressed himself to the Portuguese nation. Perhaps for present purposes, to this might be added an encouragement for his Roman- loving descendants: In Hoc Sijno Vinces. Douglas L. Wheeler March, 1963 52. Andrade Corvo, Estudos sobre as Provincias Ultramarinas (3 vols., Lisbon, 1663), I, pp. 213-14.