Originally the territory of Mozambique was inhabited by different ethnic groups such as the Makonde, the Makua and the Tsonga (part of the Nguni people). Between the 13th century. and the end of the 15th century, the current Mozambique constituted a commercial system that was headed by Kilwa and other Swahili city-states (with the port city of Sofala, probable outlet for mining production); even after Vasco da Gama had rounded the Cape of Good Hope (1498), the jurisdiction of that kingdom was still tangible, called Monomotapa by the Europeans. Rather than conquering the territory, in a first period, the Portuguese were interested in securing the port bases for commercial traffic and their influence was limited to the coasts; only in the 17th century. they began the mining exploitation and the colonization, clashing hard with the natives but without reaching a sure control of the territory. This was first administered by the Portuguese Indies, and only in 1752 was an administration created for Portuguese East Africa, while, also given the limited resources, Mozambique became important above all as one of the major centers for the collection and start of slaves to Brazil.

As part of the partition of Africa in the second half of the 19th century. the borders of the Portuguese possessions were defined. The enhancement of Mozambique was left to a few large commercial companies that focused on cotton cultivation and transport with South Africa and Rhodesia, while, in the 1920s, with the first political associations, the African elites began to manifest a desire for emancipation. After the Second World War, and especially in the 1960s, Portugal, to contain the expansion of the ‘African revolution’, tried to integrate Mozambique politically in the national territory and economically in the region, especially with South Africa. But the response of Mozambican nationalism was the armed struggle, fueled in particular by the Frente de Libertaçao de Moçambique (FRELIMO), a Marxist-inspired movement founded in 1962.

According to localcollegeexplorer, the collapse of the dictatorship in Portugal (1974) allowed the constitution of a mixed transitional government, chaired by J. Chissano, which was followed by the declaration of independence (25 June 1975): the powers were assumed by FRELIMO and S. Machel, but the goal of building a socialist society was frustrated by economic backwardness, the exodus of white technicians and bad relations with Rhodesia and South Africa, which fueled discontent and supported the anti-government armed movement Resistencia Nacional Moçambicana (RENAMO). After the obscure plane crash in which Machel died (1986), Chissano became president and allowed the launch of a Constitution (1990), opening the doors to a multi-party system.

The end of the long and bloody civil war left an exhausted country. The administration that emerged from the 1994 legislative and presidential elections, which had seen the affirmation of FRELIMO and the confirmation of Chissano, had as a priority objective that of reviving the fortunes of the economy, compressing defense spending, starting the privatization of several state-owned companies and liberalizing the prices of numerous basic necessities: the consequent improvement of the main macroeconomic indicators led the International Monetary Fund to grant loans. The stabilization process of the political situation turned out to be more uncertain. The presidential and legislative elections (1999), won by Chissano and FRELIMO, were the subject of a violent contest by RENAMO, which threatened secessionist intentions. The protests were repeated, albeit with less violence, in 2004 when Chissano A. Guebuza, candidate of FRELIMO, was elected to succeed. The new president, reconfirmed in 2009, continued on the path of economic reforms. The hopes of consolidating economic development were fueled between 2006 and 2007 by the cancellation of a large part of the national debt by the World Bank.

The presidential consultations held in October 2014 recorded the victory of the FRELIMO candidate F. Nyusi, who obtained 57% of the votes against the 37% of the preferences awarded by the opponent A. Dhlakama of RENAMO. In August 2019, President Nyusi and the leader of RENAMO O. Momade signed a historic peace agreement that should put an end to the hostilities between the two political parties; in October 2019 Nyusi was reconfirmed in the office with over 70% of the preferences.