Marracuene, earlier known as Vila Luísa, is a town in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Maputo Province Maputo Province is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo (which comprises a separate province). The province has an area of and a population of 1,968,906 (2017 census). Its capital is the city of Matola. Geography ...

Marracuene District Marracuene District is a Districts of Mozambique, district of Maputo Province in southern Mozambique. The principal town is Marracuene. The district is located in the center of the province, and borders with Manhiça District in the north, the city ...

, located 30 km north of

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...

on the Incomati River. The Parque de Campismo de Marracuene, a popular camping destination, is located nearby.

History

On February 2, 1895, Marracuene was the site of a decisive battle between Portuguese forces under major Caldas Xavier and Gaza forces of emperor Gungunyane. The Portuguese were able to defeat the larger Gaza forces by means of repeating rifles and a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

Tourism

Marracuene served as a popular tourist destination in Mozambique's colonial era thanks to a 21-mile beach on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

; the town also served as a key link in the

Lourenço Marques Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088 ...

Railway System.

References

*Hance, William A. and Irene S. Van Dongen. "Lourenço Marques in Delagoa Bay." ''Economic Geography'' 33.3 (1957): 238–256. *Wheeler, Douglas L. "Gungunyane the Negotiator: A Study in African Diplomacy." ''The Journal of African History'' 9.4 (1968): 585–602.

External links

Kruger Park site on Marracuene
Populated places in Maputo Province Marracuene Conflicts in 1895 {{Mozambique-geo-stub