 As successful self @-@ determination movements spread throughout Africa after World War II , many Mozambicans became progressively nationalistic in outlook , and increasingly frustrated by the nation 's continued subservience to foreign rule . For the other side , many <unk> indigenous Africans who were fully integrated into the Portugal @-@ ruled social organization of Portuguese Mozambique , in particular those from the urban centres , reacted to the <unk> claims with a mixture of discomfort and suspicion . The ethnic Portuguese of the territory , which included most of the ruling authorities , responded with increased military presence and fast @-@ paced development projects . 
