Zumbo

Zumbo is the westernmost town in

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 ...

, on the

Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

. Lying on the north-east bank of the Zambezi-

Luangwa River The Luangwa River is one of the major Tributary, tributaries of the Zambezi River, and one of the four biggest rivers of Zambia. The river generally floods in the rainy season (December to March) and then falls considerably in the dry season. I ...

confluence, it is a border town, with

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

(and the town of Luangwa, previously called Feira) across the Luangwa River and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

(with its border post at Kanyemba) diagonally across the Zambezi and 2 km upstream. In 2005, Zumbo had a population of 33,000, and it lies in the Zumbo District of

Tete Province Tete is a Provinces of Mozambique, province of Mozambique, located in the northwest of the country. It has an area of 98,417 km2 and a population of 2,648,941 (2017 census). Tete, Mozambique, Tete is the capital of the province. The Cahora ...

. Zumbo was established as a trading post in the last part of the 17th century by the Portuguese. It became prosperous as it traded along the middle Zambezi and into Zimbabwe, and up the lower Luangwa, trading for

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

as far away as

Lake Bangweulu Lake Bangweulu ('where the water sky meets the sky') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in northern Zambia. Bangweulu is one of the world's great Wetland, wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Wetlands and the Bangweulu flats or ...

. It dominated the area, and traders from Zumbo settled in Feira. Zumbo declined after Northern and

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

(later Zambia and Zimbabwe) became part of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, cutting off its trade with those territories. In the 1970s the Cahora Bassa Dam and lake were created downstream. Zumbo is at the farthest upstream extent of the lake. The town's strategic location meant that in the

Mozambican War of Independence The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and Portuguese Armed Forces, Portugal. The war officially started on 25 September 1964, and ended with a ceas ...

and

Mozambican Civil War The Mozambican Civil War () was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992 due to a combination of local strife and the polarizing effects of Cold War politics. The fighting was between Mozambique's ruling Marxist Front for the Liberat ...

, guerrilla warfare was active in and around the town and many landmines were laid. Zumbo was abandoned for a time in the civil war and partially destroyed, and reconstruction is still continuing. As well as

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

in the river and lake, economic activity relies on trade with the neighbouring countries, inevitably involving

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

as well. There are small

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

mines near the town, and the main crops grown on the fertile banks and floodplain of the rivers are rice,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

, and beans. Road connections with the rest of Mozambique are in very poor condition, and the main means of travel and supply is by boat from Songo at the Cahora Bassa Dam. {{Authority control Populated places in Tete Province 17th-century establishments in the Portuguese Empire