 As a result , in an attempt to avoid a naval conflict with the superior British Royal Navy , Portugal adjusted the borders of her colony and the modern borders of Mozambique were established in May 1881 . Control of Mozambique was left to various organisations such as the Mozambique Company , the <unk> Company and the Niassa Company which were financed and provided with cheap labour by the British Empire to work mines and construct railways . These companies penetrated inland from the coastline , setting up plantations and taxing the local populace who had until then resisted encroachment by the colonists . 
