Cuamba is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and district of

Niassa Province Niassa is a province of Mozambique with an area of 129,056 km2 and a population of 1,810,794 (2017). It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. Lichinga is the capital of the province. There are a minimum estimated 450,00 ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, lying north west of Mount Namuli. Before independence the town was known as ''Nova Freixo'' (New Ash). It lies on the EN8 road, which connects it to the city of

Nampula Nampula is the capital city of Nampula Province in Northern Mozambique. With a population of 743,125 (2017 census), it is the third-largest city in Mozambique after Maputo and Matola. The city is located in the interior of Nampula Province, appro ...

in the east and to the Malawian border in the west.

History

Cuamba was created by the

Niassa Company The Niassa Company or Nyassa Chartered Company () was a royal company in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, then known as Portuguese East Africa, that had the concession of the lands that include the present provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nia ...

, a royal

charter company The Charter Company of Jacksonville, Florida was a conglomerate with more than 180 subsidiaries that was in the ''Fortune'' 500 for 11 years beginning in 1974 and ranked 61st in 1984. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in late 1984, e ...

in what was then known as

Portuguese East Africa Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

. The land concession of the Niassa Company extended from 1891 and 1929, and it established a military outpost initially called Kuamba in this period. The name referred to a small kingdom in the area, and Cuamba became the official name of the settlement in 1937. Its name was changed to Nova Freixo in 1952, a reference to the city of

Freixo de Espada à Cinta Freixo de Espada à Cinta (), sometimes erroneously called Freixo de Espada Cinta (an archaism), and officially Town of Freixo de Espada à Cinta (), is a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality in the northeastern region of Portugal, nea ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, the birthplace of Sarmento Rodrigues (1899-1979), the colonial governor-general of Mozambique. The town reverted to its original name of Cuamba in 1976, and was elevated to city status in 1971.

Transport

It lies on the junction of the

Nacala railway Nacala railway, also known as Northern Corridor railway and Nacala Corridor railway, is a railway line that operates in northern Mozambique on a lineGarcia, Ana.; Kato, Karina.Politicas Públicas e Interesses Privadas: uma análise a partir do Co ...

line, connecting

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

to the seaport of

Nacala Nacala (also known as Cidade de Nacala or Nacala-Porto) is a city on the northern coast of Mozambique. Located in the southwestern indentation of inner Fernao Veloso Bay, it is the deepest natural port on the east coast of Africa. Nacala serves a ...

, and the branch line to

Lichinga Lichinga is the capital city of Niassa Province of Mozambique. It lies on the Lichinga Plateau at an altitude of , east of Lake Niassa (Lake Malawi). The town was founded as Vila Cabral as a farming and military settlement. It is served by L ...

. There is an airport in the city called Cuamba Airport.

Education

The town is home to the School of Agriculture of the

Catholic University of Mozambique The Catholic University of Mozambique (, UCM) is a university in Mozambique. UCM was founded on August 10, 1996, by the Mozambican conference of Bishops to make higher education available to central and northern Mozambique. Before UCM's creati ...

Demographics

References

{{coord, 14, 49, 00, S, 36, 33, 00, E, type:city, display=title Populated places in Niassa Province

History

Transport

Education

Demographics

See also

References