Tuesday 3 February Heroes’ Day in Mozambique

Europeans first visited Mozambique during the voyages of the Portuguese explorer, Vasco Da Gama at the end of the fifteenth century. By 1530, Portugal had established a strong presence in the region effectively controlling the area.In September 1964, growing unrest amongst many Mozambicans together with similar movements in other Portuguese territories led to the start of an armed guerrilla campaign against the Portuguese.The anticolonial struggle was led by Eduardo Mondlane of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo).Frelimo launched a guerrilla war against targets in northern Mozambique, claiming to have established its own administrative, educational, and economic networks in the northern districts.On February 3rd 1969, a bomb was planted in a book sent to Mondlane at the FRELIMO Headquarters in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. When he opened the package, it exploded and killed him. Although nobody was ever charged with the killing, most historians believe that it was the work of the Portuguese government rather than political in-fighting within Frelimo.It is estimated that up to 10,000 Mozambiquans died in the conflict that lasted almost ten years, before a ceasefire with Portugal in 1974. Mozambique gained its independence the following year.