Angoche

Angoche is a city of Nampula Province in Mozambique. The city was named António Enes until 1976, after the 19th-century Portuguese journalist and colonial administrator, António José Enes. In administrative terms, since 1998, the city is also a municipality.

Angoche
Angoche
Coordinates: 16°14′S 39°55′E
Country Mozambique
ProvincesNampula Province
DistrictAngoche District
Population
 (2007 census)
 • Total89,998
ClimateAw

History

Angoche is an old Muslim trading centre, which local tradition states was founded in the 1490s by refugees from the Kilwa Sultanate. Xosa, the son of one of the leaders of the refugees, was made the first sultan. One of the earliest settlements in Mozambique and an important gold and ivory trading post, it posed a serious rival to the Portuguese settlement in Mozambigue until the mid-16th century, when Angoche was eclipsed by Quelimane as an entry port to the interior.[1] However, Angoche continued to play a role in coastal trade and was an important economic and political centre in the region, with close ties to Ilha de Moçambique. In the 19th century, Angoche became the focus of the clandestine slave trade, which continued until the 1860s when the town was attacked by the Portuguese. While effective Portuguese administration was not established until several decades later, the attack marked the beginning of Angoche's downfall, and the town never regained its former status.[2]

Today, Angoche is a quiet, somewhat dilapidated district capital with few reminders of its past. Several islands lie offshore from the town. The major language of Angoche and nearby Koti Island is Ekoti, a Makhuwa language borrowing from 15th century Swahili.

Demographics
Year Population[3]
1997 60,495
2007 82,388
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References
  1. M.D.D. Newitt, "The Early History of the Sultanate of Angoche", Journal of African History, 13 (1972), p. 398
  2. Lonely Planet Guide to Mozambique, Fitzpatrick, Mary, 2007
  3. "Mozambique: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Retrieved 2008-06-18.

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