Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/18

8 M Z M Z to frequent the Portuguese settlements in 1687, and were succeeded by the Battias from Hindustan. From Cape Delgado to Quilimane the native race on the coast is the Makua, who, notwithstanding the presence of Arabs, Banyans, and Battias, have preserved in a remarkable degree their purity of descent, although their language has undergone considerable change. The whole of the country between the Rovuma and the Zambesi is thickly populated by branches of this race governed by numerous petty independent despots. The Makua are divided into four families or groups the Low Makua, the Lomwe or Upper Makua, the Maua, and the Medo. The Makololo, a powerful Basuto tribe who inhabited the valley of the Zambesi, were about twenty-five years ago not only con quered but almost annihilated by the Manganja and Makua races. South of the Zambesi are the Landeens or Northern Zulus, who under Umzeila subdued Gasa, and press closely on the coast settle ments of the Portuguese, which again are bounded on the south by Usibepu s land. Natural Features and Resources. Though the climate of the Mozambique country is subject to sudden and great alterations, the mean annual temperature is high. The cool season lasts from April to August. In the rainy season, which begins in December and sometimes continues to March, the heat when rain is not falling, which is scarcely ever, is almost insupportable. On the rivers and the coast the mangrove swamps cause fever to Europeans, but the climate is not dangerous if moderate care is taken. The whole of the country south from the Rovuma to the Zambesi possesses naturally great fertility, the richest portion, however, be ing that between Angoche and Quilimane. The mountain ranges which flank Lake Shirwa are of great height and towards Quilimane extend almost to the coast. In the basin of the Zambesi the soil is fertilized by the inundations of the river, and yields abundantly with almost no labour. The low coast land of the Gasa country is almost equally fruitful. The whole region of Mozambique is inter sected by numerous rivers, some of which are navigable, while at several of the estuaries there are admirable natural harbours. Ebony, the gum-copal tree, the india-rubber climber, sandal-wood, and a large number of valuable timber trees are found in the extensive forests. In the interior elephants, antelopes, and buffaloes abound;? as well as lions and leopards, and the rhinoceros and hippopotamus frequent certain regions. Game in immense variety is plentiful, and the pearl and other fisheries are valuable. The mineral resources of the country are of exceptional importance. There are immense deposits of coal in the neighbourhood of the Zambesi and of Delagoa Bay, and adjoining the coalfields ironstone of the best quality is very plentiful. Malachite and copper are found in the interior, north-west of Mozambique. The gold-mines of Manica, about 120 miles west of Sofala, are supposed to be the richest on the east coast of Africa. Industry ami Commerce. Almost nothing has been done to develop the resources of the country, and the Portuguese have scarcely carried their discoveries beyond the regions where they have settled. Journeys through the Makua country have lately been made by II. E. O Neill and the Rev. Chauncey Maples. 1 The Zambesi valley and the districts round Lakes Nyassa and Shirwa have been explored by Kirk and Livingstone. The regions border ing on the Transvaal have been visited by Carl Mauch and St Vincent Erskine. Although a great part of the country is admir ably adapted for the growth of cotton, coffee, and sugar, scarcely any attempt has been made to form plantations. The caju tree, which yields an intoxicating liquor, is, however, largely cultivated, and the cocoa-nut tree is also grown. The number of independent chiefs in the Makua country renders it almost inaccessible to traders, but ivory is sold in large quantities for the Indian market, the annual value being about 70,000. The other exports include bees wax, corn, gums, india-rubber, and oil. The financial difficulties of the Portuguese Government have completely retarded the com mercial enterprise of the settlements. The trade is almost entirely in the hands of the Banyans, who are supplied by French and Dutch houses Avith goods, chiefly cotton and silk cloths, brandy, wine, and old guns, which they barter for produce with the natives on the coast. The only river by which there is regular communi cation with the interior is the Zambesi. On the coast of Mozam bique there are several native ports of call, between which and Madagascar a large surreptitious trade in slaves was carried on until 1877. With this island, and also with Zanzibar, there is a large general coasting trade. The British India Company s steamers from Zanzibar in connexion with steamers from Aden and Lisbon also call every twenty-eight days at Mozambique, and a monthly steamer from Natal calls at Delagoa Bay, Inhambane, Quilimane, and Mozambique. The general shipping trade is carried on by about 400 vessels, of which about one-half are coasters. English vessels in 1877 were said to number 79 of 30,000 tons, French 72 of 13,000 tons, Portuguese 41, Arab 19, Dutch 8, and German 9. For the Portuguese settlements see the report by Consul Elton in Accounts and Papers, 1876, and L. de B., Les Colonies Portugaises : court expose de Uur 1 See Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc., 1882. situation actuelle, Lisbon, 1S"S. For the region in general see the works of the travellers referred to. (T. F. H.) MOZARAB, Spanish Mozdrabe, is a corruption of the Arabic Mustarib, coll. Musttfriba, which denotes persons not Arab by race who have assimilated themselves to the Arabs. This name was applied by the Moslems in Spain to the Christian communities existing among them, in Cordova, Seville, Toledo, and other large cities, in the exercise of their own laws and religion. The ancient liturgy (see vol. xiv. p. 707) used by the Christians of Toledo, the first great body of this kind who were freed from the Moslem yoke, is commonly known as Mozarabic. MOZART, WOLFGANG AMADEUs 2 (1756-1791), one of the greatest musicians the world has ever produced, was born at Salzburg, 27th January 1756. He Avas educated by his father, Leopold Mozart, a violinist of high repute, in the service of the archbishop of Salzburg. When only three years old he shared the harpsichord lessons of his sister Maria, five years his senior. A year later he played minuets, and composed little pieces, some of which are still pre served in Maria s music-book. Not long afterwards he attempted to write a concerto. This, his father said, was so difficult that no one could play it, whereupon Wolf gang replied that no one could be expected to play a great work like a concerto without having first diligently practised it. When five years old he performed in public, for the first time, in the hall of the university. In 1762 Leopold Mozart took Wolfgang and Maria on a musical tour, during the course of which they played before most of the sovereigns of Germany. The little "Wolferl s" 3 charming appearance and disposition endeared him to every one ; and so innocent and natural were his manners that at Vienna he sprang upon the empress s lap and kissed her heartily. The emperor Francis I. sat by his side while he played, and called him his "little magician." When he slipped one day on the polished floor the arch duchess Marie Antoinette, afterwards queen of France, lifted him up, whereupon he said, "You are very kind; when I grow up I will marry you." The favour shown to him at court was almost incredible ; yet he remained as gentle and docile as ever, and so amenable to parental authority that he used to say, "Next after God comes my father." In 1763 the whole family started again. Wolferl now sang, coniposed, and played on the harpsi chord, the organ, and the violin, winning golden opinions everywhere. At every court he visited he was loaded with caresses and presents ; but the journeys were expen sive, and the family terribly poor. In Paris they lodged at the Bavarian embassy, giving performances on a grand scale both there and at Versailles, where Wolferl s organ- playing was even more admired than his performance on the harpsichord. Here, also, he published his first composi tions two sets of sonatas for the harpsichord and violin. On 10th April 1764 Leopold Mozart brought his family to England, engaging a lodging in Cecil Court, St Martin s Lane, whence he afterwards removed to Frith Street, Soho. On 27th April and 19th May Wolferl played before the royal family with immense success, accompanying the queen in a song and playing at sight anything that the king set before him. " Our treatment here," says Leopold Mozart in one of his letters, " exceeds all our previous ex perience. We could not believe ourselves in the presence of the king and queen of England, so friendly were their manners." Wolferl gave a public concert at the Great Room in Spring Gardens on 5th June, and on the 29th played a concerto at Ranelagh. He now made his first attempt at the composition of a symphony ; published a 2 In the baptismal register his name stands, Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfganyus Theophilus (Lat. Amadeus, Germ. Gottlieb). 3 The German diminutive of Wolfgang.