Lourenço Marques

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For the geographical name, see Maputo

Lourenço Marques was a 16th century Portuguese trader.

[edit] Biography

He explored the area that is now Maputo Bay in 1544. He settled permanently in present-day Mozambique, where he spent most of his life with his black wife and mixed-race children.

By order of King John III the bay was named Baia de Lourenço Marques in his honor, although this name was never in common use.

[edit] Other uses

Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique, was named after him before Mozambique became independent from Portugal in 1975; it got its present name on 3 February 1976. It was the seat of the governor-general of Portuguese East Africa and gave its name to one of the six districts into which that colonial province was divided.

[edit] Sources and references

• Harm J. De Blij, The Functional Structure and Central Business District of Lourenco Marques, Mocambique, Economic Geography, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 56-77.
• Catholic Encyclopaedia
• WorldStatesmen- Mozambique