Dear Margaret, I don't know if I like what you wrote.... Our point of views are a little bit different. According to most of us, THE U.S. wanted the Portuguese to handover Angola AND Mozambique to the communists, but the Portuguese decided to fight back. The war lasted for over 12 years. And the funny thing is that, NOT like the US in Vietnam, the Portuguese were winning this war. Remember, Portugal was the LAST European country to leave its colonies in Africa (and it was the first to claim them, 500 years ago). When the right-wing government fell - due to the 1974 coup - the most important decision of the new Government was to give the colonies away, to their "representatives",i.e., to those who were some days before called "terrorists" by some, and later "freedom fighters". Ok... they tryed to organize elections, but we all knew who was going to win. I hope you noticed that I wrote that the "independance of the colonies" was a decision of the Portuguese Government. The portuguese never felt they were defeated by the foreign countries (USSR and sattelites, China, and - why not? - the US, France, the Nordic European countries, etc) that were supporting the local guerrillas. So, because they were afraid of what was coming, many "portuguese" - i.e. WHITE, BLACK AND INDIAN portuguese - decided to leave the country. Most came to Portugal (mainland), many went to South Africa, Americas, etc. And these "retornados" (those who came back home, although many, nor their ancestors, had never seen Portugal before) were damn right. Soon, the war took over Angola and Mozambique for almost one generation! As we didn't have to leave in a rush (like the Americans from Saigon), we had all the time to organize the transportation of the the government officials, the documents, files, etc. That's why most relevant documents (or their copies) are (safe) in Lisbon. Luis K W Lisboa-Portugal ---------- > From: Margaret <marpg2000@comcast.net> > To: prt-madeira@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [PT-MADEIRA] Mozambique (Portuguese) Research > Date: Quinta-feira, 28 de Setembro de 2006 16:57 > > Dear Marcia and Roland: > > The Portuguese fled Lourenco Marques in the "70's and relocated in Portugal. > Perhaps their records were taken and given to the Portuguese government. I > would suggest that you contact the Archives there and see if they are > available. We saw many of the refugees in Madeira in the early "70's. > They were very sorry that they had to leave because they had opportunities > there that they had to leave behind. > > Many government officials fled and I feel that perhaps they took valuable > information with them. You may find that your uncle is in Madeira. Housing > was found for the refugees and he very well may be thriving in Madeira. > > Best of wishes > Margaret > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Marcia & Roland" <roland1@wol.co.za> > To: <prt-madeira@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 10:03 AM > Subject: [PT-MADEIRA] Mozambique (Portuguese) Research > > > > Dear List > > > > > > > > Does anybody have any idea how I would go about doing research in > Mozambique > > (Maputo - previously Lourenco Marques). We have discovered that my > > great-grandmother had a brother who came through from Portugal and settled > > in the then Lourenco Marques. He had a restaurant/hotel called The Lido. > > > > > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > > > Kind regards, > > > > Marcia Bezuidenhout > > > > South Africa > > > > Researching: Serena, Vieira, De Abreu, Caldeira