The Republic of Mozambique, or Mozambique, is a country in Southern Africa, bordering South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In Mozambique, the military decision to withdraw occurred within the context of a decade of armed anti-colonial struggle, initially led by American-educated Eduardo Mondlane, who was assassinated in 1969.
Mozambique's decision to enforce UN sanctions against Rhodesia and deny that country access to the sea led Ian Smith's regime to undertake overt and covert actions to destabilize the country.
When Vasco da Gama, exploring for Portugal, reached the coast of Mozambique in 1498, Arab trading settlements had existed along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries, and political control of the coast was in the hands of a string of local sultans.
'Mozambique' first described a small coral island at the mouth of Mossuril Bay, then the fort and town on that island, São Sebastião de Moçambique, and later extended to the whole of the Portuguese colonies on the east coast of Africa.
Mozambique held elections in 1994, which were accepted by most parties as free and fair while still contested by many nationals and observers alike.