THE ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF THE TERRITORIES OF 

 THE COMPANHIA DO NYASSA. 



By VICENTE ALMEIDA D'CA. 

 General Secretary of the Companhia do Nyassa. 



THE Territories of the concession of the Companhia 

 do Nyassa are situated in the most northerly part of the 

 Province of Mozambique and are bounded on the east 

 by the Indian ocean, on the north by the River Rovuma 

 as far as its confluence with the River Msinge, and thence 

 by a parallel line up to Lake Nyasa, on the west by 

 Lake Nyasa and the Anglo-Portuguese Frontier, and 

 on the south by the River Lurio. 



These Territories comprise an area of about 200,000 

 square kilometres. At the date of the Charter of Con- 

 cession (21 st September, 1891) effective dominion was 

 exercised over the Island of Ibo, where the town of Ibo 

 had existed for centuries, and at Tungue, which had been 

 in military occupation since 1887 when operations were 

 directed against the forces of the Sultan of Zanzibar. 

 Other islands of the coast had been occupied a long- 

 time before this, but the attacks of the Arabs and 

 Sakalaves in the I7th and i8th centuries had led to their 

 .abandonment. 



The Companhia do Nyassa did not take official posses- 

 sion of the Territories until October, 1894, and this 

 possession was confined to occupying the above men- 

 tioned localities. Its first work, therefore, was to obtain 

 effective possession of all the Territories, the adminis- 

 tration and exploitation of which had been conceded to 

 it. On this first and principal work, the Company has 

 been employed for twenty years, and, by means of 

 successive advances in penetrating lines and enveloping 

 circles, it has carried out the most essential part of this 

 effective occupation. The latest steps undertaken were 

 the occupation of the lands of the famous chieftain 

 Mataka in 1912 and the commencement of the occupation 



