Colonisation Through Broadcasting: Rádio Clube de Moçambique and the Promotion of Portuguese Colonial Policy, 1932–1964

Abstract

Portugal was the colonial nation that invested least in cross-border broadcasting, despite having a long-lasting empire and being ruled by a dictatorship that placed colonisation at the centre of its ideology. The reasons for this are set out in this chapter, which also demonstrates how lack of investment on the part of the state was compensated for by the proliferation of private stations in the Portuguese African colonies during the 1930s and 1940s. The most significant case was that of Rádio Clube de Moçambique. The history of this station is presented here, from its establishment to the outbreak of the colonial war in Mozambique. In addition this chapter also discusses how the Portuguese dictatorship controlled and used Rádio Clube de Moçambique—a private and commercially successful station—to promote the regime’s colonial policy.