high then recently erected and protected by bastions at intervals. In 1871 the town was described as a poor place, with narrow streets, fairly good flat-roofed houses, grass huts, decayed forts and rusty cannon, enclosed by a wall 6 ft. The town developed around a Portuguese fortress completed in 1787.
The existing town dates from about 1850, the previous settlement having been entirely destroyed by the natives. The various forts and trading stations which the Portuguese established, abandoned and reoccupied on the north bank of the river were all called Lourenço Marques. They explored the lower courses of the rivers emptying their waters into Delagoa Bay, notably the Espírito Santo. On the northern bank of Espírito Santo Estuary of Delagoa Bay, an inlet of the Indian Ocean, Lourenço Marques was named after the Portuguese navigator, who with a companion (António Caldeira) was sent in 1544 by the governor of Mozambique on a voyage of exploration. Maputo has grown considerably as it experienced economic growth rates as high as 9% annually, but inequality is still a problem. It is estimated that 80% of the city's population live in slums without running water or electricity, but the city has little money to invest in infrastructure.
The city is surrounded by Maputo Province, but is administered as its own province. The city manufactures cement, pottery, furniture, shoes, and rubber. Cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwood are the chief exports. According to the 2007 census, the population is 1,766,184. Today it is a port city on the Indian Ocean, with its economy centered around the harbour. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its municipal building. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. Maputo, known as Lourenço Marques before independence, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique.
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