PLANT DIFFUSION IN MOZAMBIQUE

LOCAL, REGIONAL AND TRANSCONTINENTAL DYNAMICS, WITH EMPHANSIS ON AMAZONIAN PLANTAS, IN THE CONTEXT OF COLONIAL BRAZIL

Abstract

The lack of written sources on plant domestication makes it difficult to distinguish between natives and exotics in Mozambique. This problem includes the scarcity of information about the similarities and differences of the cultivation and processing systems, referring to the place of diffusion and dispersion. To alleviate this deficit, this study was carried out with the objective of knowing the vegetables that arrived in Mozambique through the port of Inhambane, coming from colonial Brazil. The methodology adopted was based on bibliographic consultation and interviews with family farmers in the districts of Inhambane. The research results point to the existence of native vegetables whose management began with indigenous peoples, from the movement of fruits, seeds, roots, stems and tubers from one region to another. Then the Swahili Arabs introduced the cultivation of spices. In the 15th century, the Portuguese decreed the mandatory cultivation of vegetables brought from colonial Brazil, such as corn, peanuts manioc, pepper, sweet potato, cashew, and others. Colonial policies propagated the panting of exotic plants, perpetuating the rejection of native plants.