How did Portugal’s New State regime shape colonial Mozambique after 1926?

Following the 1926 coup in Portugal, the New State (Estado Novo) regime consolidated colonial administration to prioritize capital accumulation for Portugal and its settlers. While the regime unified administrative and educational systems, these were designed primarily to benefit the Portuguese, often at the expense of the African population.1

Under the New State, colonial authorities maintained strict control over the economic and physical mobility of Africans. Although the regime promoted infrastructure development and economic expansion in the 1950s and 1960s, these policies favored Portuguese settlers, who were encouraged to exploit monopolies and business opportunities denied to Africans. This systemic exclusion and the regime's harsh response to political dissent—including imprisonment and execution—fueled widespread discontent.1

Ultimately, the regime's refusal to consider decolonization led to the outbreak of the war for independence in 1964, as the Frelimo movement launched an armed challenge against Portuguese colonial power. The regime's inability to suppress this resistance eventually contributed to its collapse following a military coup in Portugal in 1974.1