User:Generalissima/Bazaruto Island

Geography
Bazaruto is the largest and northernmost island of the Bazaruto Archipelago off the coast of southern Mozambique. It is a long, narrow barrier island, around 120 km2 in area.

Climate
Bazaruto, like most of Mozambique, has a tropical savanna climate), designated as Aw according to the Köppen climate classification.

Geology and formation
Bazaruto sits along a mesotidal coastline, with a tidal range of around 3 meters.

History
Archaeological finds at Bazaruto date to the late Iron Age, around the 3rd century CE, attested by sites such as Ponta Dundo, alongside slightly later mainland sites around the Save River estuary, including Chibuene. Bazaruto formed part of an early center of Indian Ocean trade, evidenced by the recovery of Persian porcelain from the Ponta Dundo site. Pearls, amber, tortoise shell, and dugong teeth were prominent trade goods exported from the archipelago.

The island had become increasingly connected to the rising Muslim city-states of the Swahili coast, such as Kilwa, Mombasa, and Malindi. By the early 1500s, Portuguese sources referred to the islands as the Húcicas Grandes, describing them as inhabited by "Black Moor" traders. Afro-Portuguese mulatto families gained increasing prominence as the region fell under Portuguese trade influence. António Rodrigues owned Bazaurto and portions of the adjacent mainland; his friendliness towards Portuguese sailors led to the island becoming a resupply point for ships. This status was supported by the presence of freshwater lagoons, which also enabled cattle ranching on the island.

The island fell under a succession of prominent landowning families. A Sofala mullato named Luís Pereira controlled Bazaruto in the late 1600s. Mucissa, a regional chieftain, was aided in a power struggle against his brother by the Portuguese; in return, he gifted the island to the Portuguese crown in 1721. However, Portuguese control was little-recognized over the region, administered under the Prazo of Mambone. The island experienced periods of drought and famine, and was frequently invaded by tribal groups known to the Portuguese as the Vatuas and Landins. The Mambone prazeiros began to use the island as a supply depot for the growing slave trade. French slave traders made raids into the area well into the 19th century. Combined with food insecurity and Landin invasions, the island was steadily depopulated, with most inhabitants becoming refugees in wooded areas along the mainland. The island was recorded as completely uninhabited by 1886.

Portuguese colonial authorities constructed a lighthouse on the northern tip of Bazaruto in 1913. At some point in the 19th century, a Tsonga band from Machanga migrated to the archipelago to escape Nguni invasions and raids. Various other mainland groups sought refuge in the islands during period of strife and civil war. After the independence of Mozambique, it was placed under Inhambane Province.

Demographics and economy
The island is mainly inhabited by Xitsonga speakers, variously labeled as the Bazaruto or Mahoca. Fishing is the primary economic activity of the island, practiced both for profit and subsistence, with men, women, and children all participating in the trade. Like much of coastal Mozambique, fishermen are organized into Community Fishing Committees. Although poverty is endemic across Inhambane, Bazaruto has fared better due to profits from fishing and tourism.