pointed out, the regime was the political system that subordinated the immense majority of Africans to local authorities entrusted with governing, in collaboration with the lowest echelon of the colonial administration, the native communities described as tribes and assumed to have a common ancestry, language, and culture. The colonial use of traditional law and structures of power was thus an integral part of the process of colonial domination. In the 1940s, the integration of traditional authorities into the colonial administration was deepened. The Portuguese colony was divided into (municipalities), in urban areas, governed by colonial and metropolitan legislation, and (localities), in rural areas. The were led by a colonial administrator and divided into (subdivisions of circunscrições), headed by (tribal chieftains), the embodiment of traditional authorities. Provincial Portuguese Decree No. 5.639, of July 29, 1944, attributed to and their assistants, the , the status of (administrative assistants). Gradually, these traditional titles lost some of their content, and the and came to be viewed as an effective part of the colonial state, remunerated for their participation in the collection of taxes, recruitment of the labour force, and agricultural production in the area under their control. Within the areas of their jurisdiction, the and the also controlled the distribution of land and settled conflicts according to customary norms. To exercise their power, the and had their own police force. The indigenato regime was abolished in 1960. From then on, all Africans were considered Portuguese citizens, and racial discrimination became a sociological rather than a legal feature of colonial society. In fact, the rule of traditional authorities became even more integrated than before in the colonial administration. Legally speaking, by the 1960s and 1970s segregation in Mozambique was minimal compared to that in neighbouring South Africa. Urban centres The largest coastal cities, the first founded or settled by Portuguese people since the 16th century, like the capital , Beira, Quelimane, Nacala and Inhambane, were modern cosmopolitan ports and a melting pot of several cultures, with a strong South African influence. The Southeast African and Portuguese cultures were dominant, but the influence of Arab, Indian, and Chinese cultures were also felt. The cuisine was diverse, owing especially to the Portuguese cuisine and Muslim heritage, and seafood was also quite abundant. Lourenço Marques had always been a point of interest for artistic and architectural development since the first days of its urban expansion and this strong