Companhia de Moçambique Definitive Stamps 1930s

COMPANHIA DE MOÇAMBIQUE definitive stamps issued in the 1930s depict crocodile, elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus, zebra, rhinoceros, snake, lion, leopard, native man and woman, native habitat and Fortress of S. Caetano Sofala, dhow sail boat and Portuguese ship, and air mail monoplane found in the country at the time. Printer/Designer was Waterlow & Sons Limited, London.

The Mozambique Company (or, Companhia de Moçambique) was a oyal   company operating in Portuguese Mozambique that had the concession of lands in the Portuguese colony, corresponding to the present provinces of Manica and Sofala in central Mozambique.

The company was established on 11 February 1891, with a capital stock of about 5 million dollars obtained from financiers from Germany, the United Kingdom and South Africa. 

The concession was granted for a period of 50 years, during which the company could not only exploit the resources and existing manpower (partly through the chibalo system of forced labor) but also grant sub-concessions. The company was granted the exclusive right to collect taxes, but was itself granted a 25-year tax exemption. In return, the Portuguese state would receive 7.5% of the company's profits and 10% of the sold shares. The company was also required to settle 1,000 Portuguese families and provide education and public administration in its territory.

For decades thereafter, the company underwent many changes as a result of anti-colonial unrest and civil war. By 1972 the company was dissolved and Mozambique obtained its independence from Portugal in 1975.

Source: Wikipedia