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political, and economic relations within the local communities and between these communities
and the outside world. When the Portuguese arrived in the fifteenth century they found a
relatively dense settlement of Africans and a smaller number of Indians living along the coast,
including the territory around the present-day coastal city of Beira in Sofala Province. The
interior territory, stretching west, was significantly less populated. Ndau-, Sena-, Teve-,
Tonga-, Gorongosa-, and Shona-speaking peoples inhabited the region. These groups were
patrilocal, organized by lineage or clan structures. Politically they were vertically
hierarchical, with power vested in a chief at the top of the organization. The authorities were
supported in descending order by mambos or subchiefs, their assistants, and lineage or clan
elders. These groups continue to inhabit the area, they are patrilocal, and there is some
encoun-tered evidence indicating that the political structures are similar to those the Portuguese
Today, the port city of Beira and the coast remain more densely populated than the
interior regions; however, a high percentage of the population in central Mozambique is now
squeezed into a narrow band running along the historic trade corridor between Zimbabwe and
the coast. This area was, and continues to be, the site of significant economic investment.
During the war the region was heavily defended (and often attacked), attracting many
refugees thousands of
As early as 1525 the Portuguese gained military control over parts of Sofala Province.
In the 1600s the Portuguese government granted concessions to Portuguese settlers to extend
this control. These concessions, known as prazos, granted settlers monopolistic marketing
authority, land, and the right to exploit local labor and collect taxes The holders of
prazos had complete political and economic authority in their areas and often waged war to
expand or maintain control From the 1600s to the 1800s, the history of Sofala and
Manica Province is one of intense conflict between the Portuguese and the local populations,
with the former losing many military campaigns. However, a combination of fac-
tors—including the prazos, labor practices which involved slavery, and military cam-
paigns—created or stimulated divisions within local communities and between communities
and led to population dislocation. These separations created opportunities for the "disadvan-
taged" or disaffected in many communities to rebel against the control or rules established
145. For a brief summary of ethnic groups in this region and their political structures, see Lundin (1992a).
For a more specific discussion of the Shona, see Beach (1994).
146. District Agricultural Officer, personal communication, July 1992; Chief, Services of Provincial
Department of Agrarian Economics, personal communication, July 1992. See also Myers, West, and Eliseu
(1993).
This area is unique in these provinces. The communities further away from the corridor are poorer and were
virtually undefended during the war. In the areas north and south of the corridor, power and economic struggles
and relations are different; land access and tenure relations, as a result, are distinct (see Alexander 1994).
147. For two different perspectives on the prazos, see Isaacman (1972); Isaacman and Isaacman (1983); and
Lundin (1992a). For a historical discussion, see Lacerda (1929).
148. Lundin (1992a) notes that the prazos also had cooperative relationships with local communities and
customary authorities. They often paid tribute to local leaders for their assistance and cooperation and their
owners often married the daughters of customary authorities. These cooperative arrangements transformed both
the nature of customary society and the power of the prazos.