Lourenço Marques was a 16th-century Portuguese trader and coloniser.

Biography

Lourenço Marques explored the area that is now

Maputo Bay Maputo Bay ( pt, Baía de Maputo), formerly also known as Delagoa Bay from ''Baía da Lagoa'' in Portuguese, is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90&n ...

in 1544 and settled permanently in present-day

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 ...

, where he spent most of his life with his indigenous wife and their children. By order of King John III, Maputo Bay was named Baía de Lourenço Marques in his honour, but this name was never in common use among the foreign community.

Other uses

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 ...

, the capital city of

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...

since 1917, was founded as Lourenco Marques before this Overseas Province of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, the so-called Portuguese East Africa where was the seat of the

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, became independent from the colonial power in 1975: the city got its present name on 3 February 1976, giving its name to one of the six districts into which the province was divided.Lourenco Marques
a film of Lourenço Marques, the city in Portuguese Mozambique.

References and sources

;References ;Sources *Harm J. De Blij, ''The Functional Structure and Central Business District of Lourenço Marques, Mocambique'', ''Economic Geography'', Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 56–77.

Marques, Lourenco History of Mozambique Marques M Maputo 16th-century explorers Explorers of Africa 16th-century Portuguese people {{Portugal-explorer-stub