Maputo, << muh POOT oh >> (pop. 1,094,315), is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It has an excellent harbor and is the chief port of Mozambique and several nearby countries. It is located in southern Mozambique on Delagoa Bay, an inlet of the Indian Ocean.
The Portuguese founded the city about 1780 and named it Lourenco Marques. The city became the major white settlement in Mozambique, but most of the whites left in 1975 after Mozambique gained independence from Portugal. In 1976, the city’s name was changed to Maputo.
The main sections of Maputo have wide, tree-lined streets and large beaches. The fortress of Nossa Senhora da Conceicao, built in 1871, is a famous landmark. Food processing is the city’s most important industry.
