Mangochi
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox settlement
Mangochi is a township in the Southern Region of Malawi. Located near the southern end of Lake Malawi, in colonial times it used to be called Fort Johnston. As of 2018, it has a population of 53,498.<ref name="Census2018"/>
History
Mangochi was founded by colonial administrator Sir Harry Johnston in the 1890s as a British colonial defence post on the littoral plain of the Shire River's western shore.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Cite web</ref>
David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary-explorer, visited the Mangochi area on multiple occasions. His first passage through the Shire Valley occurred in 1859 during his expeditions around Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi), and he returned to the region in 1861, where he observed the brutal operations of the Swahili-Arab slave trade centered in Mangochi and nearby towns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The British gunboat Gwendolen, named after Lady Gwendolen Gascoyne-Cecil, daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury,<ref>Janie Hampton, "Victory on Lake Nyasa", History Today, vol 64, no. 7, 2014]</ref> was built in Mangochi in 1897.<ref name=Murphy205>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> At Template:Convert, it was the largest ship to sail on Lake Malawi.<ref name=Murphy205/>
In 1905 Mary Hall came through here as she travelled to be the first woman to journey from Cape Town to Cairo. She had arrived on the Monteith from Liwonde.<ref name=women3>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The gunboat, operated by the Protectorate of Nyasaland, is said to have fought the first naval battle of the First World War when it defeated the German vessel Hermann von Wissmann in August 1914.<ref name=bit>The Story of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland A. J. Hanna Faber and Faber, 1960Template:Dead link</ref> The boat was scrapped shortly after World War II.<ref name=Murphy205/>
Dzimwe Community Radio station began in 1998 in Mangochi assisted by Malawi Media Women's Association,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> UNESCO and later USAID.<ref name="histdic">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="robbers">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pam">Template:Cite web</ref>
Rioting in June 2003 injured three people.<ref name=riot>Template:Cite news</ref> From March to November 2007, roughly 480 children were rescued from child labour on tobacco farms in Mangochi.<ref name=childlabor>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2008, elephants terrorised areas around Maldeco Fisheries in Mangochi and caused several deaths and damage to property, mainly crops.<ref name=elef>Template:Cite news</ref> The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture proposed moving the elephants into several game reserves, although the proposal stalled when some residents said they wanted the elephants to remain.<ref name=elef/>
Geography
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Mangochi is at an elevation of Template:Convert, near the southern end of Lake Malawi, between the main lakeshore road and the Shire River<ref name=Murphy205/> and Template:Convert south of its entrance into Lake Malombe.<ref name="Britannica"/> The town is roughly Template:Convert northeast of Blantyre, Malawi's largest city.<ref name=riot/> It is situated 2.2 km (1.4 mi) from Mponda, 3 km (1.9 mi) from M'baluku Laini, 23.7 km (14.73 mi) from Malindi, and 52 km (32 mi) from Chiponde, a neighboring town on the border with Mozambique.
Climate
Mangochi has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw).
Demographics
Population development
| Year | Population<ref name="World Gazetteer">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Census2018">Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|
| 1977 | 3,341 |
| 1987 | 14,758 |
| 1998 | 26,570 |
| 2008 | 39,575 |
| 2018 | 53,498 |
Template:Historical populations
Languages and ethnicities
Yao, specifically the Mangochi dialect, is the main language spoken in this town.<ref name="Language">Template:Cite book</ref> A Swahili settlement was also established in Mangochi.<ref>Baldauf, p. 91</ref> Mangochi is mainly inhabited by the Yao people.<ref name="Britannica"/>
Economy
Mangochi was developed as an agricultural centre and has marine-engineering shops. Cash crops grown in the area include tobacco, cotton, and groundnuts.<ref name="Britannica"/> Rice and maize are intensively grown along the lakeshore, and commercial fishing is also important.<ref name="Britannica"/>
Facilities
Amenities
Amenities include several shops, supermarkets, a post office and banks.<ref name=Murphy205/>
Bridges
Within Mangochi there is the Bakili Muluzi Bridge, which Lonely Planet described as "scenic".<ref name=Murphy205/>
Museums
The Lake Malawi Museum houses ethnic, environmental, and historical exhibits.<ref name=Murphy205/> They include the Hotchkiss gun<ref name=Murphy205/> with which the British gunboat Gwendolen defeated the German gunboat Hermann von Wissmann with a single shot in their brief naval engagement in August 1914. The museum has also a scale model of the Gwendolen.<ref name=Murphy205/> An even older exhibit is a marine steam engine that was built in 1898 and powered the Universities' Mission to Central Africa's SS Chauncy Maples until 1953.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Religion
Mangochi is home to a large mosque<ref name=Murphy205/> as well as a modern Catholic Cathedral.<ref name=Malawitourism>Template:Cite web</ref> The city has the largest Muslim population in terms of percent.
Clocks
Mangochi is home to a clock tower erected in honour of Queen Victoria, dating back to the early 20th century.<ref name=Malawitourism/>
Transport
Mangochi is located just off the M3 road.<ref name=Malawitourism/> All buses travelling from Monkey Bay to Blantyre stop in Mangochi.<ref name=Murphy205/> Minibuses travel to Liwonde, Zomba, and Blantyre.<ref name=Murphy205/> Matolas travel to Liwonde National Park and to the border town of Chiponde.<ref name=Murphy205/>
Tourism
Mangochi is described by Lonely Planet as having a "vaguely Swahili feel", with "palm trees, Arab-looking people and coconuts for sale in the street."<ref name=Murphy205/> There are several guesthouses and lodges for tourists in Mangochi.<ref name=Murphy205/>