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2/20/1953 - Governor-General Gabriel Teixeira by Edwin S. Munger

INSTITUTE OF CURRENT V ORLD AFFAIRS ESM Lourenco Marques Governor General Gabriel Teixeira Mozarabique Mailed Salisbury February Mr Walter S Rogers Institute Current World Affairs Fifth Avenue York New York Dear Mr Rogers As office closed behind His Excellency around massive white black telephones squawk neatly piled papers crossed heavy shake hands motion cushloned He leaned chair fixing cigarette black holder Now His Excellency strongly built cUrly decisive manner smile humor chuckle He senior Cptaln Portuguese Nvy pungent breeze blows through frank verbstlon Te describe Portu guese policy explained dlgnldd I human rights Ntlve Mozsmblcue Every Ntlve human being personal dignity lways respected He expressed pers6nal admiration facets Afrlcan cultures whlch Intlmtely through African languages during early twenty years But Native encounters OW Europea society child Is liable caught propaganda When people misled there nonsense until straightened The Governor General reputatlon among level contemporaries African rltories finest administrators continent He great pride efficiency administration It comes great shock British people steeped cliche Latin laziness Mozambique government which operstlon badly clogged Beira British company produced tremendous improvement cpacity speed efficiency operation His Excellency sharp coments about large scale finnclal disasters Africa He smiled By being short money avoid mistakes starting small scale success In poten tially large African resettlement project encourage Afrlcns better productive crops insisted first nearly perfectly possible The white stand Nstlve certain Native listen watch He white before We concentrated making first crops demon strted success convince words The Governor General great emphasis overall improvement education health productivity among indigenous people Mozambique He would select spend money dozen Africans lengthy education Europe officials interested having pieces tlklngabout He saldhe jections African could mission example secure education going efforts success would through improving conditions He talked about diffi culties bringing social vices scattered population He spending drinking schemes However Nives liked apart small villages difficult bring technical There barrier different regard personal property Someone machinery couldn village whole In general His Excellency forelgn technical personnel expensive He level fully ualified quired charge various proects What needed middlemen between experts people filter ideas For foreigners there barriers their effectiveness The Governor General willing doesn decided particular problem He Professor Salazar asked present asked What plans Gabriel Teixelra answered Sir I leading build sound foundation I pctures A cooperative scheme going effect African farmers At being rules concerned The Governor General explained If regulations laust enforced But beginning regulations enforce regulations which Let digress moment The Portuguese achieved greet little recocnlzed success msiutein stability their African possessions through turmoil recent years Angola Mozamblcue largest territories Afrlcs mention smaller Portuguese Guinea islands Bight Biafra Portugal relstlvely European power I would suggest troubles Africa Britain France faced Portugal would close losing control In I chisvellian keeping situa Portuguese surpass other powers Africa petition Belgians In general their success having toughest easiest policy Afric toward indigenous people There thievery example Portuguese territory elsewhere Africa Swift severe punishment meted unfortunate prits break This ready action often avoids miscarriages justice legal technicalltles understood accused Africans generally occur British territory The feeling better punish innocent guilty seems practicl appllction Africans Portuguese territory really msterlslly behind their neigh psrtlculsrly Africans Union higher lvlng standard If policy pursued could confidently predict there would wldespresd trouble What European settlers outside Angola Mozsmblque heartily applaud toughness Portuguese authorities usually forget positlve esslest Portuguese policy The average Afrlcsn street fields inltlstlve soclsl polltlcsl equal Portuguese territory elsewhere Among educated perhaps Fre territory The rungs Of ladder difficult climb there In theory large degree prsctlce height sttslned limited sbillty Whether application culture color morally right politically extremely effec The incipient leader pulls himself somewhat above general accepted civilized society giveh commensurate prestige responsibility becomes supporter status which scquires vested interest Contrast terms politlcl stability places where rising African ability virtually slapped forced become agitator among people This success Portuguese policy I Angola Mozambique From Portu guese point aware African students Portuguese universities Coimbr There spirit African nationalism penetrated upset Portuguese desire people Angola Mozamblcue should think themselves Portuguese cltizens first Africans second To return G0vernor General He illustrated Portuguese approach telling anecdote about visit Sir Godfrey Huggins Southern Rhodesian Prime Inister Sir Godfrey expressed desire native schools Next morning bright early Teixeir Sir Godfrey attrac modern school building showed class pupils mostly European Portuguese Goans Indians number mixed blood Africans As Telxeira story Sir Godfrey admired building asked again about native school I pupil school Actually Governor General pulling Sir Godfrey because there African schools level which white children African children mixed blood attend better schools white children Sir Godfrey appsrently dubious aboUt arrangement Governor General assured worked thought Rhodesian Prime Minister impressed There bitter struggle going psrticulrly northern Mozambique between Catholicism Islam His Excel lency impression there reason African Muslims cnnot perfectly citizens Mozambique He cited Muslim leader visiting north Beira people praying their President Portugal would build mosque The Governor General sounded right helped government assistance buildin mosque This bitter complicated issue Mozambique which involves Sultan Zanzibar mentioned passing It politic His Excellency about struggles between Catholics ProteStants Mozambique Dr Ross African Heritage problem Portu guese reaction Friendshi N Y Portuguese Rative Policy encouraging assimilsdos civilized Afrlcmns setting culture instead color summed their method presenting demogrsphlc statistics For Mozambique figure given civilized populatlo broken follows White Mixed Goan Indlan Africn Chinese Among assumptions commonly evaluating position competing power groups thoughts actions conditioned their social economic status individuals similar status expected think similarly Their social economic goals suffi ciently alike organize politically promote group against other groups The striking about Portuguese Africa stratification entirely reflection The identification small significant number Africans Christianity Western culture Portuguese nationalism underlies different alignment power elsewhere southern Africa Ruthlessness coupled opportunity stronger polltlcsl cement indigenous people Western minority mterlal benevolence fixed ceiling soclal polltlcal advance Sincerely yours Edwin S Mugger P S A notable exception paucity accounts English Portuguese policy Principles Methods Portuguese Colonial Administration C01oniesn SUbs euently Professor Colonial Law Colo Administration University Lisbon published Colston Papers Butterworth London His fundamental principles Portuguese policy political unity spiritul assimilation administrative differentiation pending local characteristics economic solidarity Por tuguese territory Received York