Manica Province

Manica is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 62,272 km² and a population of 1,945,994 (2017 census). The province is surrounded by Zimbabwe in the west, Tete Province in the northwest, Sofala Province in the east, Save River in the south, and Zambezi river in the northeast. Chimoio is the capital of the province. The highest mountain in Mozambique, Mount Binga (2436 m), lies in this province near the border with Zimbabwe. The Manica province is divided into nine districts and 34 administrative regions. History The province was located in the old Manica kingdom which probably existed since medieval times and existed until the 19th century. Several larger towns in the region were founded before the Portuguese arrival. In the 8th century the province came under the control of Munhumutapa Empire and had commercial relations with Arab-Swahili traders in the coastal regions. Later it came under the Portuguese influence. The territory of the current province was part of the grant of the Mozambique Company, established in 1891. The territory came under direct control under the Portuguese colonial administration in 1942, the "District of Beira" was established, which came to be known as the "District of Manica and Sofala" in 1947. On 5 August 1970 this district was divided into "District Vila Pery" (the old name of Chimoio) and "District of Sofala". During the period of the transitional government (7 September 1974 to 25 June 1975) the District of Vila Pery was renamed "Province of Vila Pery" and later to its present name.