Liberation and Biographical Narrative in Mozambican Historiography: The Struggle in Cabo Delgado, 1962–1974

Abstract

Over the last 25 years, memoirs and testimonies have appeared in Mozambique recounting the life stories of participants in the armed struggle for national independence led by FRELIMO (1964–1974). Most of the protagonists have remained loyal to FRELIMO and many have had political careers after independence. Their memoirs have been published in the course of reinforcing the Frelimo party’s political dominance in the early 21st century. Although some scholars are dismissive of the usefulness of this corpus as historical source material, the article argues that close reading provides an understanding of the often messy, contradictory experience that participants in the struggle lived through, and the outcome of which was far from predictable. Starting with a discussion of developments in the study of ‘life writing’ within the cultural studies discipline and pointing to examples of analogous bodies of work in Kenya and the Soviet Union, the article presents an informed analysis of the struggle against the Portuguese colonial armed forces in one crucial theatre of conflict, Cabo Delgado province. Our reading brings out the details of liberation warfare, including internal struggles over strategy and tactics, as well as lessons learned from overcoming military and political obstacles and setbacks. We conclude that the memoirs contribute materially to Mozambican historiography by allowing us to look behind a linear or triumphalist vision of liberation history, by confirming outlines suggested in earlier work based mainly on colonial military sources, and by illuminating more precisely than hitherto possible the relevance of particular roles and individuals.