This study is a penetrating insight into the historical process of formation of a new state; the steps taken to create the basis for a democratic development, and the forces working for economic modernisation through centralisation and advanced technology. The study centers on conflicts between these two approaches in a poor and illiterate society. It connects the pre-independence processes with the politically dynamic period up to the the Party Congress of 1983 and the Nkomati Agreement with South Africa. It links the macro-perspective of Maputo to the efforts and frustrations of the simple peasants in the north.