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Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane (1920–1969) was one of the founders of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and its first president until his assassination. Generally considered one the “fathers” of independent Mozambique and the unifier of this young country, in recognition of that and his academic standing—he had a PhD in sociology—the main university of Mozambique is named after him. His singular, exciting, cosmopolitan, and engaged life has thus far attracted less international attention than could be expected, even though, over the last decade, also on account of his centennial in 2020, a growing national and international scholarship is developing around several facets of Mondlane’s biography. One aspect that is still relatively unexplored is his academic training and many years spent abroad studying in South Africa, Portugal, and the United States. His international training and showing how this had a profound impact on his performance as leader of Frelimo.

Samora Moisés Machel was born in 1933 in Portuguese-ruled colonial Mozambique and trained as a nursing auxiliary. He joined the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Mozambique Liberation Front, or Frelimo) soon after its foundation in 1962. After military training in Algeria, he quickly became commander of the group’s armed forces, and when Eduardo Mondlane, Frelimo’s first leader, was assassinated in 1969, he was appointed president the following year. A talented but authoritarian politico-military strategist, he improved discipline within Frelimo and led it in the negotiations for unconditional independence that followed the April 25, 1974, coup in Portugal. At independence on June 25, 1975, he became the first president of the People’s Republic of Mozambique, a one-party state dedicated to radical social transformation. Machel was a convinced Marxist, which he attributed to his experience of racism and discrimination under Portuguese rule, and in February 1977, Frelimo officially became a Marxist-Leninist vanguard party. In the immediate post-independence period, Frelimo launched broad educational and health programs while attempting to shepherd the rural population into large “communal villages” where production could be organized along cooperative lines and social services provided at scale. However, the liberation war in neighboring Rhodesia, along Mozambique’s long western flank, destabilized these programs, especially after the Rhodesians set up and supported a domestic rebel movement, the Mozambique National Resistance (the MNR or Renamo), which carried out sabotage operations in the late 1970s. After Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, South Africa adopted Renamo, which began gradually to develop support based on local resentment of government policy. The war dragged on and even intensified throughout the early 1980s, despite the signing by Mozambique and South Africa in 1984 of the Nkomati Accord, supposedly ushering in an era of good neighborliness. The conflict imposed crippling costs on Mozambique’s economy and society. In October 1986, Machel died in an air disaster at Mbuzini. Machel was a man of sharp intelligence and a gifted and persuasive orator, who as president was nevertheless intolerant of opposition. In 1994, several years after his death, the Frelimo government negotiated a pluralist dispensation with Renamo, having by that time effectively abandoned its socialist project.

The Makonde people of northern Mozambique coalesced during the convulsions generated by the Indian Ocean slave trade. Originally an acephalous society composed of independent hamlets under the loose leadership of a lineage head, the Makonde engaged en masse in the armed struggle for the liberation of Mozambique, which was fought for ten years against Portuguese colonialism (1964–1974). The war and the socialist revolution that ensued thoroughly reshaped Makonde society. The Makonde relocated into communal villages; partook in collective production; scattered throughout the country; and embraced Mozambique’s single party, Frelimo, as a cornerstone of their identity. The liberation struggle also wrought important changes in gender relations, with the engagement of women in guerrilla and political activities. These transformations entailed the adoption of a hierarchical social structure, which superseded—and conflicted with—the horizontal organization of Makonde precolonial society. The Makonde are renowned for their vibrant artistic expression. Their mapiko masks are striking both as plastic objects and for the multifarious performances in which they take life. In the late colonial period, prompted by the patronage of missionaries and traders, a new sculptural tradition emerged, often referred to as “Makonde modern carving.” Executed on African blackwood, largely for an export market, these artworks are characterized by their intricate patterns. The two most recognizable genres are ujamaa, which represents the unity of socialist village life, and shetani, depicting creatures from the spirit world. The Makonde also possess rich song and musical traditions, which convey poignant narratives and criticisms of the dramatic transformations their society underwent. Since late 2017, the Makonde have been severely impacted by the Islamist insurgency that has exploded in the province of Cabo Delgado, resulting in massive displacement and remilitarization.