1964 — The Shots That Freed Mozambique

On September 25, 1964, FRELIMO guerrillas attacked the Portuguese post at Chai in Cabo Delgado province, opening Mozambique's armed struggle for independence. The attack marked the start of a ten-year guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule, one of three liberation wars Portugal fought simultaneously in Africa.

FRELIMO, led by Eduardo Mondlane, built liberated zones in the north where it ran schools, clinics, and farms while fighting a far better-armed enemy. Mondlane was assassinated by a parcel bomb in 1969; his successor, Samora Machel, led the movement to victory. After Portugal's 1974 Carnation Revolution, a ceasefire was signed and Mozambique became independent on June 25, 1975, with Machel as its first president.