Quelimane

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Quelimane
Country
 Mozambique
ProvincesZambezia Province
City Status1942
Area
 • Total117 km2 (45 sq mi)
Elevation
1 m (3 ft)
Population
 (2017 census)
 • Total349,842
 • Density3,000/km2 (7,700/sq mi)
ClimateAw

Quelimane (Portuguese pronunciation:

capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands 25 km (16 mi) from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais (or "River of the Good Signs"). The river was named when Vasco da Gama, on his way to India, reached it and saw "good signs" that he was on the right path. The town was the end point of David Livingstone's west-to-east crossing of south-central Africa in 1856. Portuguese is the official language of Mozambique, and many residents of the areas surrounding Quelimane speak Portuguese. The most common local language is Chuabo
. Quelimane, along with much of Zambezia Province, is extremely prone to floods during Mozambique's rainy season.

History

Pre-colonial era

The town originated as a

Muslim traders (see Kilwa Sultanate
) and was one of the oldest towns in the region.

Etymology

Cathedral of Quelimane in between 1890 and 1910

The origins of the name 'Quelimane' are obscure. One tradition alleges that Vasco da Gama, in 1498, inquired about the name of the place from some inhabitants labouring in the fields outside the settlement. Thinking he was asking what they were doing, they simply replied kuliamani ('we are cultivating').

An alternative explanation is that when the Portuguese reached the settlement, they were welcomed by a notable Arab, or half Arab, who acted as interpreter between them and the natives. The name which the Portuguese applied to this individual, and his settlement, was 'Quelimane' (pronounced Kelimãn), because in the corrupt Arabic spoken on the East African coast 'Kalimãn' is the word for 'Interpreter'. In Swahili it is 'Mkalimani'.[1]

In 1761, the settlement became a town.[2] Until 1853 trade was forbidden to any other than Portuguese.[3] Sisal plantations were organized by Swiss planters in the beginning of the 20th century, namely Joseph Émile Stucky de Quay. The town started to grow and attracted several communities from different backgrounds, including Muslims and Indians, and new infrastructure was built by the Portuguese authorities. Its busy port had tea, grown and processed in the district of Zambézia (particularly important in the region around Gurúè, formerly Vila Junqueiro), as its major export. Coconut was also produced and processed in the city.[4] By 1970, Quelimane had 71,786 inhabitants.

Independence

Montegiro building, Quelimane

Manuel de Araujo, is reportedly overseeing a renewed civic effort at economic and infrastructural restoration.[5]

Tropical Cyclones

Cyclone Freddy at its peak intensity in the South-West Indian Ocean in 2023.
  • Cyclone Filao in 1988 made landfall near Quelimane, causing many deaths. The damage was also the heaviest from this storm in Quelimane.
  • Cyclone Nadia in 1994 struck the northern coast of Mozambique, including Quelimane.
  • Cyclone Bonita in 1996 struck the northern coast of Mozambique 2 years after Nadia.
  • Cyclone Hudah in 2000 made landfall in Northern Mozambique after making landfall in Madagascar.
  • Cyclone Idai affected Quelimane as a tropical depression in 2019.
  • Atlantic
    , and then dissipating.
  • Cyclone Freddy made landfall near Quelimane in the 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season after crossing over from the Australian region and making landfall in Madagascar and again in Mozambique. This storm caused tons of damages and fatalities for everywhere it impacted.

Places of worship

Among the

places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Diocese of Quelimane (Catholic Church), (Reformed Church in Mozambique (World Communion of Reformed Churches), Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique (World Communion of Reformed Churches), Convenção Baptista de Moçambique (Baptist World Alliance), Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, Assemblies of God, Zion Christian Church.[6] There are also Muslim
mosques.

Demographics

Year (census) Population[7]
1997 150,116
2007 193,343
2017 349,842

Climate

Quelimane has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw).

Climate data for Quelimane
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 40.3
(104.5) 		38.5
(101.3) 		38.4
(101.1) 		37.2
(99.0) 		36.4
(97.5) 		33.8
(92.8) 		34.1
(93.4) 		37.0
(98.6) 		39.0
(102.2) 		42.9
(109.2) 		42.8
(109.0) 		41.4
(106.5) 		42.9
(109.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 32.4
(90.3) 		32.1
(89.8) 		31.4
(88.5) 		30.2
(86.4) 		28.6
(83.5) 		26.8
(80.2) 		26.2
(79.2) 		27.6
(81.7) 		29.5
(85.1) 		31.2
(88.2) 		32.1
(89.8) 		32.3
(90.1) 		30.0
(86.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 27.4
(81.3) 		27.3
(81.1) 		26.9
(80.4) 		25.6
(78.1) 		23.2
(73.8) 		21.1
(70.0) 		20.6
(69.1) 		21.8
(71.2) 		23.6
(74.5) 		25.3
(77.5) 		26.5
(79.7) 		27.1
(80.8) 		24.7
(76.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 23.4
(74.1) 		23.4
(74.1) 		23.2
(73.8) 		21.5
(70.7) 		18.5
(65.3) 		16.0
(60.8) 		15.6
(60.1) 		16.1
(61.0) 		18.1
(64.6) 		20.2
(68.4) 		21.7
(71.1) 		22.8
(73.0) 		20.0
(68.0)
Record low °C (°F) 18.9
(66.0) 		17.9
(64.2) 		17.2
(63.0) 		15.9
(60.6) 		11.9
(53.4) 		9.9
(49.8) 		10.3
(50.5) 		10.3
(50.5) 		11.1
(52.0) 		12.8
(55.0) 		14.1
(57.4) 		15.9
(60.6) 		9.9
(49.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 241.4
(9.50) 		238.8
(9.40) 		237.5
(9.35) 		153.3
(6.04) 		82.3
(3.24) 		56.0
(2.20) 		62.4
(2.46) 		29.0
(1.14) 		18.5
(0.73) 		34.1
(1.34) 		88.2
(3.47) 		219.5
(8.64) 		1,461
(57.52)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 11.4 12.9 13.1 9.9 7.6 7.9 8.1 4.3 2.1 2.8 5.2 10.6 95.9
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		78 78 79 79 79 81 79 77 74 68 72 74 77
Mean monthly sunshine hours 220.1 194.9 226.3 228.0 238.7 216.0 229.4 263.5 261.0 257.3 279.0 238.7 2,852.9
Mean daily sunshine hours 7.1 6.9 7.3 7.6 7.7 7.2 7.4 8.5 8.7 8.3 9.3 7.7 7.8
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[8]

See also

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Quelimane is

twinned
with:

References

  1. ^ British Central Africa, Sir Harry H. Johnston, K.C.B., New York, Edward Arnold, 70 Fifth Avenue, 1897, p. 55-56
  2. ^ Quelimane, Britannica.com, USA, accessed on July 7, 2019
  3. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Quilimane" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 750.
  4. ^ QUELIMANE, a film of the cosmopolitan port of Quelimane and tea centre of Vila Junqueiro, Portuguese Mozambique, before 1975.
  5. ^ "Quelimane: One Square Mile of Mozambique". Bbc.co.uk. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  6. ^ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1985
  7. ^ [1] [dead link]
  8. ^ "Klimatafel von Quelimane / Mosambik" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  9. ^ "Portail Petite Enfance". Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2022.

External links

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