Samora Machel: A Look at Mozambique's History #neocolonialism #samoramachel #africanhistory

We explore the realities of Portuguese colonialism in Mozambique. We delve into the reasons behind the violence, exploitation, and suppression that marked this period. Understanding this history is vital for our future. At this time, when we are winning this independence, we must reflect on the reality which prevailed in the previous situation under colonial domination. Why did colonialism kill? Why did it seize, deport, and massacre people? Why were our mothers and wives raped, our traditions humiliated, our civilization negated, and Mozambicans arrested for the slightest show of patriotism? Why was alcoholism made widespread, and prostitution and the disintegration of the family encouraged, and why were whole families removed from their home regions and forced to abandon their ancestral lands, their cattle, houses, and few possessions? Why did all this happen in many places in our country as the unmistakable mark of the Portuguese colonialists? Could this have been a sadistic manifestation of the evil genius of a people, the result of the bestial wickedness of a man or group of men? Let us not deceive ourselves about this. Portuguese colonialism was the form that imperialist domination assumed in our country, the exploitation of a whole people and their resources by foreign capitalism, both Portuguese and from other countries. It was in order to exploit our labor power that thousands of Mozambicans were enslaved and taken to the coasts of the Americas, where the few who arrived were sold as commodities. It was in order to exploit our sweat that the colonial administrators seized us and sent us into forced labor.