THROUGH ARMED STRUGGLE: COLONIAL OCCUPATION, NATIONAL LIBERATION WAR AND INDEPENDENCE IN MOZAMBIQUE

Abstract

In the context of Mozambique, the narrative of the liberation war experience is central to the construction of national history in the post-independence period. During this conflict, the marxist-oriented Mozambique Liberation Front sought to define the idea of an independent country as opposed to the territory colonized for over four centuries by the Portuguese empire. Using primary sources from the April 25th Documentation Center, the objective of this article is to understand the context of Mozambique's national liberation war, which took place between 1964 and 1975, and to characterize FRELIMO's role in this conflict from a historical perspective. The paper is developed in three stages, besides the introduction and concluding remarks. First, the article narrates, in broad strokes, the colonial occupation of the Mozambican territory between the end of the nineteenth century and the twentieth century, and then approaches the national liberation struggle. The third part characterizes FRELIMO, its formation and role in the struggle for independence.