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Chimoio is the capital of Manica Province in Mozambique. It is the fifth-largest city in Mozambique.
Chimoio's name under Portugal administration was Vila Pery. Vila Pery developed under Portuguese rule as an important agricultural and textiles centre.
The town lies on the railway line from Beira to Bulawayo, near the Cabeça do Velho rock and the Chimanimani National Park. Located about 95 km from the border, it has been a major destination for Zimbabwean immigrants looking for employment in Mozambique.
In 1899 the Mozambique Company decided to transfer its District Headquarters from Vila Barreto to a settlement named Chimiala, which came to be called Mandigos. This was the name by which the embryo of the current city of Chimoio was known for some time. Mandigos soon began to gain a certain renown, mainly thanks to the abundance of its harvests, which attracted merchants and hotel and social services. Colonization of Manica received its main impetus in 1910 with the arrival of Portuguese Governor João Pery de Lind who set up a number of procedures to further the development of Chimoio. On 17 July 1916, Mandigos was renamed Vila Pery in recognition and honour of Governor João Pery de Lind, whose judicious measures had made Chimoio into one of the biggest and most visible agricultural centres in Mozambique. A few kilometres from the centre of the current city of Chimoio lies the neighbourhood of Soalpo, which bears witness to the agro-industrial development that made the Province of Manica one of the main targets for agriculture investment in the Portuguese colony. This “town close to the city of Chimoio” was built by SOALPO (Sociedade Algodoeira de Portugal, or Portuguese Cotton Company), in 1944. The object of the company was to encourage cotton and textile production.
Vila Pery was raised to the status of city by the Governor-General of Portugal's Overseas Province of Mozambique, Baltazar Rebelo de Sousa, on 17 July 1969, in recognition of the success of its economic and social activities. Vila Pery's football team won its first Mozambican Football Championship title in 1969. The sports club, founded in 1928, contributed to the development of sport and cultural activities. Most of the buildings in the city of Chimoio are milestones of the dynamism in the city's life under Portuguese rule. The Vila Pery Hotel (now the Police social centre), built in 1920, was the first hotel in Vila Pery. The Caldas Xavier Primary School, built in 1948, was the first school in Vila Pery. Nowadays, it houses the Chimoio Municipal Council.
The Montalto Cinema, built in 1969 and abandoned after independence, was so-named because the “monte alto” or high mountain of Mozambique (Monte Binga) is on the Manica plateau. These are but a few of the infra-structures commemorating the city's golden age. Cotton harvesting, silviculture, fruit production (including citrus), and textiles, food and wood industries were the main employers along with services and administration. VILA PERY-CHIMOIO, a film of Vila Pery, Portuguese Mozambique.
In 1974, during the Portuguese Colonial War/Mozambican War of Independence the Mozambican independentist guerrilla group
By this attack, Vila Pery became the first (and only) heavy populated area to be directly hit by FRELIMO during the entire Colonial War. After a military coup in Lisbon, the Carnation Revolution of 1974, the Portuguese authorities offered independence to its African territories, and Mozambique became an independent country.
After achieving independence, the new country was plagued by several years of civil wars (Mozambican Civil War) and social, political and economic instability. During this period the city of Chimoio deteriorated and suffered heavily from the conflict and lack of development.
A trip to Chimoio city always takes place under the curious gaze of a rocky outcrop with a unique aspect. Nature has carved that rock into the shape of an old man's head. Mount Bêngo, commonly known as Cabeça do Velho (Old Man's Head), is one of the city's main tourist attractions nowadays. The climb to the top of the mountain is relatively simple, and a number of small or can sometimes be glimpsed in the forest. The view from the top is interesting, with the whole layout of the city of Chimoio below, together with the surrounding rural landscape. The value of the mountain is not limited to its scenic beauty. At certain times of the year it takes on a spiritual role of great importance to local traditionalistic communities. During the rainy season, the falling water looks like tears running down the face of the “old man”. Local beliefs say that the ancestors are angry and that is why they cry. For these reasons, Mount Bêngo is considered to be a sacred place, where ceremonies invoking the world of the spirit take place.
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