Beira

/bay"reuh/, n.

a seaport in central Mozambique. 115,000.

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Coastal city (pop., 1997: 412,588), southeastern Mozambique.

Located near the mouth of the Zambezi River, it is the chief port for central Mozambique and for landlocked Zimbabwe and Malawi. Founded in 1891 as a trading company's headquarters, it passed to Portuguese administration in 1942 and then to independent Mozambique in 1975. It is the terminus of railways from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia, and Malawi.

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▪ Mozambique

      port city, central Mozambique. Beira is situated on the Mozambique Channel (Indian Ocean) at the mouths of the Púngoè and Búzi rivers. It was founded in 1891 as the headquarters of the Companhia de Moçambique (“Mozambique Company”) on the site of an old Muslim settlement. The city's administration passed from the trading company to the Portuguese government in 1942 and then to independent Mozambique in 1975. The port developed as a trade and transportation outlet for the products of Central Africa and as a transshipment point for coastal cargo. The city is the busy ocean terminus of railways from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Congo (Kinshasa), and Malaŵi, and it serves as the main port for Zimbabwe and Malaŵi. Principal exports passing through Beira are ores, tobacco, food products, cotton, and hides and skins. The main imports are liquid fuels, fertilizers, wheat, heavy equipment, textiles, and beverages. A fishing harbour, which includes canneries, processing plants, and refrigerated stores, was constructed at Beira in the early 1980s. Repeated bombings of the Umtali-to-Beira railway line, first by Rhodesian guerrillas prior to Zimbabwe's independence in 1980 and then later in the early 1980s by the Mozambique National Resistance Movement (MNRM), resulted in frequent interruptions of rail service. Pop. (1991 est.) 298,847.

▪ historical province, Portugal

      former principality and historical province, north-central Portugal, extending from the banks of the Douro River in the north to the upper course of the Tagus in the southeast and from the Spanish frontier in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The region was reconquered from the Moors in the 8th century, but Moorish attacks continued until the 15th century. It was also contested during the Portuguese-Castilian wars. In 1835 Beira was divided into the districts of Aveiro, Coimbra, Viseu, Guarda, and Castelo Branco. In 1936 three new provinces were created from it: Beira Litoral (the coast, with Coimbra as its capital), Beira Alta (with Viseu its capital), and Beira Baixa (with Castelo Branco predominant), known as the Beiras. Despite further administrative reorganization, the defining character of each of these three provinces has remained strong. From the west, which includes Aveiro and its lagoon, the university city of Coimbra, and the city of Figueira da Foz at the mouth of the Mondego River, the land rises to a series of rugged hills and mountain ranges up to Torre (Alto da Torre), mainland Portugal's highest point. To the east, close to the border with Spain, are well-preserved fortifications including Almeida and Sabugal. The rugged, stony region contains numerous sites of historical, cultural, and natural interest. Two notable local doctors, Fernando Namora (Namora, Fernando Goncalves) and Miguel Torga (Torga, Miguel), as well as Aquilino Ribeiro (Ribeiro, Aquilino), a regional writer, depicted rustic life in Beira.

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