World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMozambique was a Portuguese colony originally occupied in the 16th century for the India trade. Private companies such as the Mozambique Company, the Zambezia Company and the Niassa Company were granted charters to govern the colony for the first decades of the 20th century, but by 1942 the Portuguese government had revoked all the charters in order to assert direct control over the economy of the entire Portuguese empire. During WW2, natives of Mozambique served in various locations across the Portuguese empire. Two infantry companies consisted of Mozambique colonials were stationed in Portugal proper. Two light rifle companies consisted of Mozambique colonials were stationed in Macau. 800 Mozambique troops were dispatched by ship from Mozambique for Portuguese East Timor; the ship turned back around in the Indian Ocean when the Japanese refused safe conduct. Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The communist People's Republic of Mozambique ruled until the establishment of the democratic Republic of Mozambique in 1990 after a bloody civil war.

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