Mozambique's first inhabitants were San hunter and gatherers, ancestors of the Khoisani peoples. Between the first and fourth centuries AD, waves of Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from the north through the Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the plateau and coastal areas. The Bantu were farmers and ironworkers.

After World War II, while many European nations were granting freedom to their colonies, Portugal clung to the concept that Mozambique and other Portuguese possessions were overseas provinces of the mother nation, and emigration to the colonies soared. Mozambique's Portuguese population at the time of freedom was about 250,000. The drive for Mozambican freedom developed apace, and in 1962 several anti-colonial political groups formed the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), which initiated an armed campaign against Portuguese colonial rule in September 1964. After 10 years of sporadic warfare and major political changes in Portugal, Mozambique became independent on June 25, 1975. FRELIMO quickly accomplished a one-party Marxist state and outlawed rival political activity.