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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Idea of Mozambique and Its Enemies, c.1890-1930
Author:Smith, Alan K.ISNI
Year:1991
Periodical:Journal of Southern African Studies
Volume:17
Issue:3
Period:September
Pages:496-524
Language:English
Geographic terms:Mozambique
Portugal
Subjects:colonialism
colonial administration
History and Exploration
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/2637196
Abstract:This article deals with the conflicting viewpoints which sought to dominate Mozambique in the early 20th century. Motivated by varying degrees of liberalism, humanitarianism, paternalism and state-of-the-art racism, Portuguese colonial administrators believed that they could create an equitable society that would be beneficial to all of its inhabitants. They were sober and realistic about the limited capabilities of Portugal and the not necessarily unlimited possibilities offered by the African continent. Despite the logic of the positions put forward by these 'colonial realists', however, their lobbying efforts failed to make many converts among the various interests that were concerned with Mozambique. They were opposed at virtually every juncture by an aggressive metropolitan petit bourgeoisie, anachronistic survivors of the mercantile era, and various types of capital, both domestic and foreign, each of which was more concerned with immediate exploitation rather than long-term solutions. This struggle was to be maintained throughout the first three decades of the 20th century. It created a power vacuum that enabled Antonio Salazar to establish a type of colonial regime (a regime of 'ultra-colonialism') which bore little resemblance to what the early administrators had envisaged. Notes, ref., sum.
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