formerly (until 1976) Lourenço Marques
Port city (pop., 1997: 989,386), capital of Mozambique .
It lies on the northern bank of Espírito Santo Estuary of Delagoa Bay , an inlet of the Indian Ocean. It derived its former name from the Portuguese trader who first explored the region in 1544. The town developed around a Portuguese fortress completed in 1787. Created a city town in 1887, it superseded Moçambique as the capital of Portuguese East Africa in 1907. Since the nation's independence in 1975, the collapse of tourism and reduced access to foreign trade have damaged the city's economy.