Source 22.7: Independence as Threat

Independence had meaning not only for those who sought it but also for those who opposed it. In 1961, a Portuguese archbishop in Mozambique, Alvim Pereira, distributed a document to local seminary students and priests that outlined his opposition to independence for Mozambique and other Portuguese colonies.

Questions to consider as you examine the source:

Alvim Pereira

Ten Principles, 1961

1. Independence is irrelevant to the welfare of man. It can be good if the right conditions are present (the cultural conditions do not yet exist in Mozambique).

2. While these conditions are not being produced, to take part in movements for independence is acting against nature.

3. Even if these conditions existed, the Metropole has the right to oppose independence if the freedoms and rights of man are respected, and if it [the Metropole] provided for the well-being, for civil and religious progress of all.

4. All the movements which use force (terrorists) are against the natural law. . . .

5. When the movement is a terrorist one, the clergy have the obligation, in good conscience, not only to refrain from taking part but also to oppose it. . . .

6. Even when the movement is peaceful, the clergy must abstain from it in order to have spiritual influence on all people. . . .

7. The native people of Africa have the obligation to thank the colonists for all the benefits which they receive from them.

8. The educated have the duty to lead those with less education from all the illusions of independence.

9. The present independence movements have, almost all of them, the sign of revolt and of Communism; they have no reason. . . .

10. The slogan “Africa for the Africans” is a philosophical monstrosity and a challenge to the Christian civilization, because today’s events tell us that it is Communism and Islamism which wish to impose their civilization upon the Africans.

Source: Eduardo Mondlane, The Struggle for Mozambique (Penguin Books, 1969), 74–75.