MOZAMBIQUE, a town of Portuguese East Africa, till 1907 capital of the province of Mozambique, and the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric in the province of Goa, is in 15° 4' S., 44' E., 7,157 m. from Southampton, and 175 m. from Ibo. The town occupies the whole of a small coral island at the mouth of Mossuril bay. The name Mozambique, used first to designate the island, was also given to the town and extended to the whole of the Portuguese possessions on the east coast of Africa. There are three forts, of which the principal, St. Sebastian, on the northern end of the island, was built in 1510 entirely of stone brought from Portugal. The harbour is deep enough to admit vessels drawing 28 ft. The channel is beaconed and lighted by buoys, and there is a lighthouse on Goa island. There is a milling establishment and an oil factory in the town. The Municipal council is appointed by the Government. In 1925, 1,669 ships entered and 1,689 left the port. There is a passenger pier. Malaria and bilious fever are prevalent in the rainy season.
The inhabitants, who number about 7,00o, consist chiefly of Mohammedan natives of mixed descent speaking a dialect of the Makwa language. There are Parsee, Banyan, Goanese and Arab traders, and about 30o Europeans, besides half-caste Portu guese. The annual average value of the imports for the three years 1904-06 was £97,035, of the exports L71,636. The im port trade is mainly with Great Britain and India, the chief articles being cotton, coloured shawls and hardware. The exports, of about 5o,000 tons annually, are chiefly ground-nuts, a little rubber of inferior quality, sesame and other oil seeds and timber. Mozambique was discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1498. There was then a flourishing Arab town on the island, of which no trace exists. The history of the Portuguese town is closely identi fied with that of the province, for which see PORTUGUESE EAST AFRICA. Mozambique has been eclipsed by Lourenco Marques.