Mthwakazi
UMthwakazi is the name by which the people commonly known as the Ndebele, who mainly inhabit the provinces of Matebeleland and the Midlands in present-day Zimbabwe, refer to themselves. They were given the name by their
founder, King Mzilikazi kaMatshobane, who ruled the pre-colonial Ndebele Kingdom in what is today Zimbabwe.
The word "Ndebele" is an umbrella term which describes the composition of people from the historic Mthwakazi kingdoms of Mzilikazi and Lobengula, who speak the following languages in their native regions in present day Zimbabwe: Kalanga, Lozwi, Ndebele, Nguni, Nambya, Sotho, Tonga, Venda, Xosa and Zulu.
The Ndebele kingdom: 19th century
The Ndebele kingdom: 19th century AD
Although Portuguese missionaries and traders occasionally make their way inland from the coast, they have little effect on the African tribes living in the region of modern Zimbabwe. It is Europeans from southern Africa who later exert a profound influence. In 1837 the Boers, pressing north, drive theNdebele out of the Transvaal and across the Limpopo. North of the river the Ndebele chief, Mzilikazi, establishes a powerful kingdom. As warriors and cattle-breeders the Ndebele easily subdue the agricultural Shona, long resident in the region. But in the 1880s the Ndebele are unable to resist a new onslaught from the south, this time led by the British community of south Africa. Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCdCLs9x The growth of the Rhodesias: AD 1890-1900
The population of settlers rapidly increases in the territory adminstered by Rhodes's British South Africa Company. There are as many as 1500 Europeans in the region by 1892. More soon follow, thanks partly to developments in transport.
The railway from the Cape has reached Kimberley in 1885, at a fortuitous time just before the start of Rhodes's ambitious venture (one of the stated aims of his company is to extend the line north to the Zambezi). Trains reach Bulawayo as early as 1896. Victoria Falls is the northern terminus by 1904. Meanwhile the territory has been given a name in honour of its colonial founder. From 1895 the region up to the Zambezi is known as Rhodesia. During the early 1890s the company has considerable difficulty in maintaining its presence in these new territories. Lobengula himself tries to maintain peace with the British, but many of his tribe are eager to expel the intruders. The issue comes to a head when Leander Jameson, administering the region for Rhodes, finds a pretext in 1893 for war against Lobengula. With five Maxim machine guns, Jameson easily fights his way into Lobengula's kraal at Bulawayo. Lobengula flees, bringing to an end the Ndebele kingdom established by his father. There is a strong tribal uprising against the British in 1896-7, but thereafter Rhodes's company brings the entire region up to the Zambezi under full control. Read more: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCdwaf2j Cecil Rhodes: AD 1871-1891Cecil Rhodes: AD 1871-1891
In the last quarter of the 19th century the driving force behind British colonial expansion in Africa is Cecil Rhodes. He arrives in Kimberley at the age of eighteen in 1871, the very year in which rich diamond-bearing lodes are discovered there. He makes his first successful career as an entrepreneur, buying out the claims of other prospectors in the region. In the late 1880s he applies these same techniques to the gold fields discovered in the Transvaal. By the end of the decade his two companies, De Beers Consolidated Mines and Gold Fields of South Africa, dominate the already immensely valuable South African export of diamonds and gold. Rhodes is now rich beyond the reach of everyday imagination, but he wants this wealth for a very specific purpose. It is needed to fulfil his dream of establishing British colonies north of the Transvaal, as the first step towards his ultimate grand vision - a continuous strip of British empire from the Cape to the mouth of the Nile. The terms of incorporation of both Rhodes's mining companies include clauses allowing them to invest in northern expansion, and in 1889 he forms the British South Africa Company to fulfil this precise purpose. Established with a royal charter, its brief is to extend British rule into central Africa without involving the British government in new responsibility or expense. The first step north towards the Zambezi has considerable urgency in the late 1880s. It is known that the Boers of the Transvaal are interested in extending their territory in this direction. In the developing scramble for Africa the Portuguese could easily press west from Mozambique. So could the Germans, who by an agreement of 1886 have been allowed Tanganyika as a sphere of interest. Rhodes has been preparing his campaign some years before the founding of the British South Africa Company in 1889. In 1885 he persuades the British government to secure Bechuanaland, which will be his springboard for the push north. And in 1888 he wins a valuable concession from Lobengula, whose kingdom is immediately north of the Transvaal. Lobengula is the son of Mzilikazi, the leader of the Ndebele who established a new kingdom (in present-day Zimbabwe) after being driven north by the Boers in 1837. Fifty years later, in 1888, Lobengula grants Rhodes the mining rights in part of his territory (there are reports of gold) in return for 1000 rifles, an armed steamship for use on the Zambezi and a monthly rent of £100. With these arrangements satisfactorily achieved, Rhodes sends the first party of colonists north from Bechuanaland in 1890. In September they settle on the site which today is Harare and begin prospecting for gold. In support of Rhodes's scheme, the government declares the area a British protectorate in 1891. A settlers' colony: AD 1890-1953
A settlers' colony: AD 1890-1953
As with the founding fathers of early American colonies, the first European settlers in Rhodesia feel from the start that government should be in their hands. They insist on having a voice in the colony's legislative assembly, which by 1903 consists of seven officials of the British South Africa Company and seven elected settlers. Four years later they have a majority of the seats. And in 1914, when the company's 25-year-charter is due to expire, it is their wishes which prevail. Self-government is their ambition. So their immediate concern is not to accept the embrace of their large neighbour, South Africa, which is eager to absorb this rich territory. They persuade the British government to extend the company's charter for another ten years. Eight years later, with the end of the new charter approaching, a referendum is held on the issue (limited to Rhodesia's European population). Of the votes cast, 60% are for full internal self-government against 40% wishing to become the fifth province of the Union of South Africa. On 12 September 1923 (thirty-three years to the day after the arrival of thefirst settlers at Harare) Rhodesia becomes a self-governing crown colony. It proves prosperous and successful, with the European population rising from 34,000 at the time of the referendum to 222,000 thirty years later. By the 1950s the political future of all African colonies is under intense discussion. Among the European population of the two regions first settled by Rhodes's company there is a general assumption that sooner or later Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia will merge to form a single independent nation. But this is resisted by the Africans, now beginning to find a political voice. Black opposition is strongest in the northern colony, with its much smaller white minority. Here, from the African point of view, the danger of union seems all too evident. Northern Rhodesia will be overshadowed by the strong European culture of Rhodesia, postponing perhaps indefinitely the ideal of independence under black majority rule. Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCnXMjW0 Federation: AD 1953-1963Federation: AD 1953-1963
Confronted with conflicting demands, and aware of its responsibilities for Nyasaland as well as the two Rhodesias, the British government imposes in 1953 an awkward compromise in the form of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. This is to be a self-governing colony, with its own assembly and prime minister (first Lord Malvern, and from 1956 Roy Welensky).
The intention is to derive the greatest economic benefit from the larger unit while minimizing political tension between the three parts of the federation, each of which retains its existing local government. The federated colonies are at differing stages in their political development. All they have in common is an almost complete absence of any African voice in the political process. Rhodesia has been a self-governing colony for three decades, but with no African suffrage (a tiny 'B roll' of African voters is added to the electorate in 1957). Northern Rhodesia has a legislative council with, since 1948, two seats reserved for African members. At the time of federation there are no Africans on Nyasaland's legislative council. Two years later, in 1955, places are found for five members. The intended economic benefits materialize during the early years of the federation, helped by a world rise in copper prices, but this is not enough to stifle increasing political unrest - particularly as British colonies elsewhere in Africa win independence (beginning with Ghana in 1957). In the early 1960s African politicians in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland win increasing power in their legislative councils. The pressure grows to break up the federation. In March 1963, by which time all three colonies are demanding independence, the British government finally concedes. The federation is formally dissolved on 31 December 1963. Read more: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCon2ME3 Before and after UDI: AD 1957-1979
During the years of federation the parties are formed which will subsequently fight the bitter struggle for the future of an independent Rhodesia. On the African side the first leader to emerge is Joshua Nkomo. In 1957 he is elected president of the local branch of the African National Congress. After this is banned in Rhodesia, he founds in 1960 the National Democratic Party. When this in turn is proscribed, in 1961, he replaces it with ZAPU (the Zimbabwe African People's Union). His colleagues in ZAPU include Ndabaningi Sithole and Robert Mugabe. Together they split from ZAPU in 1963 and form the rival ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union). This political pressure from Rhodesia's African majority, combined with support for their cause from the United Nations, causes the federal government in 1961 to introduce a new constitution, allowing for African representation in Rhodesia's parliament. But the proposal creates its own backlash, prompting Ian Smith to found a new party, the Rhodesian Front, committed to white supremacist policies and offering the promise of an independent Rhodesia governed by the European minority. In elections in 1962 the new party wins a surprise victory, replacing the more moderate United Federal Party. Winston Field becomes prime minister, with Ian Smith as his deputy. On April 1964, four months after the end of the federation, Smith replaces Field as prime minister of Rhodesia, now once again a separate self-governing colony. His first act in office is to order the arrest of Nkomo and Mugabe. Each remains in detention until 1974 (Sithole joins them from November 1965). Smith now tries to persuade the British government to grant the Rhodesian Front's single overriding demand - independence on the basis of white minority rule. Meeting a flat refusal on this issue, he takes matters into his own hands. On 11 November 1965 he publishes a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). The first response of the British government is patient diplomacy (including two meetings between Harold Wilson and Smith on warships off Gibraltar, the Tiger in 1966 and the Fearless in 1968), but this is met by intransigence on Smith's part. The result is economic sanctions, imposed by the United Nations with British approval in 1968. The sanctions take a long time to bite. Meanwhile guerrilla activity by separate ZAPU and ZANU forces from across the borders is having rather more unsettling effect - particularly after Nkomo and Mugabe settle their differences in 1976 and form a united Patriotic Front. By 1978 Smith recognizes the need for concessions. He comes to an agreement with a moderate African leader, bishop Abel Muzorewa, leader of the UANC (United African National Council). In return for guarantees securing white political and economic interests, multi-racial elections will be held in 1979. With the Patriotic Front banned from participating, Muzorewa emerges as prime minister of a transitional government. But nothing is solved. The Patriotic Front continues its guerrilla campaign. The situation is finally resolved at talks in London in December 1979, attended by all three African leaders. UDI is overturned and Rhodesia reverts briefly to the status of a British colony. Britain agrees to provide funds to purchase the land of British farmers willing to sell, for a much-needed land distribution programme. Elections are organized for February 1980. Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCqik7Zy Zimbagwe: from AD 1980Zimbabwe: from AD 1980
In the election Mugabe's ZANU party wins a decisive victory over Nkomo and ZAPU. The newly independent nation takes the ancient name Zimbabwe. Mugabe rules at the start in a conciliatory manner. The provisions to protect European political rights are respected (Smith continues to serve as a member of parliament until 1987). And Nkomo is brought into the cabinet. However there is an underlying conflict between ZANU and ZAPU. The former draws its support from the majority Shona people, while ZAPU is linked with the minority (but historically dominant) Ndebele. Tribal hostilities become a noticeable feature of Zimbabwe's political life after Mugabe dismisses Nkomo from his cabinet in 1982, just two years after independence. In 1987 the two leaders make a new attempt to resolve the nation's divisions by merging their parties as ZANU-PF, making Zimbabwe effectively a one-party state. At the same time the constitution is changed to give Mugabe the role of executive president. Nkomo subsequently serves as a vice president (until his death in 1999). During the 1980s Mugabe's Marxist policies do harm to the economy, but in the changing fashion of the 1990s there is a move towards a market system. There is also a token gesture towards multiparty democracy, though this does nothing to prevent ZANU-PF winning 98% of the seats in parliament in 1995. In 1996 Mugabe is elected unopposed for a new six-year term as president. Several factors cause widespread unease about Zimbabwe after twenty years of independence. Political opponents are persecuted. Sithole, for example, is evicted from his farm in 1994 and is arrested in 1995 for allegedly plotting to assassinate Mugabe. It is widely suspected that the underlying purpose in each case is to dissuade him from standing as a presidential candidate in 1996. The white community is unsettled by frequently announced plans to appropriate many of their farms without compensation, for redistribution to Africans. And there are allegations of financial corruption in senior government circles. The underlying tensions flare up in dramatic fashion during the first half of 2000. In February Mugabe is defeated in a referendum designed to increase his hold on power. His immediate response is to escalate his long-standing campaign to appropriate the larger commercial farms owned by white Rhodesians. Mugabe's armed supporters, described as veterans of the war for independence, forcibly occupy some 500 farms (out of a total of 4500 owned by whites). Meanwhile a new opposition party - the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change), formed in January and led by a trade unionist, Morgan Tsvangirai - shows signs of being able to mount a very serious challenge to ZANU-PF in forthcoming elections. The election campaign is marred by high levels of violence and intimidation from Mugabe supporters, resulting in thirty or more deaths. Even so, the result is close. ZANU-PF wins 62 seats in the new assembly, with MDC just short of victory with 57. Immediately after the election, in June 2000, Mugabe publishes a list of 804 large commercial farms (most, but not all, white-owned) which are to be appropriated by the state for the resettlement of peasants. He insists that compensation is the responsibility of the British government. This is something which in principle is agreed in London, since it is widely recognized that the ancestors of the British farmers claimed dubious ownership over these lands a mere hundred years ago. On independence in 1980 there was an agreed scheme for compensation. It was discontinued by Britain in 1988 on the grounds that the benefit was accruing not to Zimbabwe's peasants but to the political elite (of 2000 farms acquired by the government in this way, 420 were transferred to the ownership of prominent ZANU-PF supporters). The land problem is likely to remain on Zimbabwe's political agenda rather longer than Mugabe himself, whose dictatorial behaviour and attempts to cling to power become increasingly extreme as the new millennium progresse Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCrQtSYq Morden day Zimbabwe.2008 elections
In 2007, in the run up to the 2008 general and presidential elections, Tsvangirai is arrested on his way to a Harare prayer meeting and is severely beaten and tortured in prison. But with great courage he emerges from hospital to continue his political campaign against Mugabe, in a context in which the Zimbabwean economy has collapsed with inflation running at a level unheard of since Germany in the 1920s. When the elections are held, at the end of March 2008, it is announced that in the parliamentary contest Tsvangirai's party has defeated Mugabe's (MDC 99 seats, ZANU-PF 97 seats in the assembly). And exit polls suggest that, in spite of intimidation of MDC supporters, Tsvangirai has defeated Mugabe in the presidential election. But in spite of mounting international pressure Mugabe refuses to release the presidential results, saying merely that he will be contesting a second round. Tsvangirai, convinced that he has won, says that he will refuse to participate in an illegal second round. Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCsGLDDY Mthwakazi UMthwakazi is the name by which the people commonly known as the Ndebele, who mainly inhabit the provinces of Matebeleland and the Midlands in present-day Zimbabwe, refer to themselves. They were given the name by their founder, King Mzilikazi kaMatshobane, who ruled the pre-colonial Ndebele Kingdom in what is today Zimbabwe. The word "Ndebele" is an umbrella term which describes the composition of people from the historic Mthwakazi kingdoms of Mzilikazi and Lobengula, who speak the following languages in their native regions in present day Zimbabwe: Kalanga, Lozwi, Ndebele, Nguni, Nambya, Sotho, Tonga, Venda, Xosa and Zulu. The Ndebele kingdom: 19th century AD Although Portuguese missionaries and traders occasionally make their way inland from the coast, they have little effect on the African tribes living in the region of modern Zimbabwe. It is Europeans from southern Africa who later exert a profound influence. In 1837 the Boers, pressing north, drive theNdebele out of the Transvaal and across the Limpopo. North of the river the Ndebele chief, Mzilikazi, establishes a powerful kingdom. As warriors and cattle-breeders the Ndebele easily subdue the agricultural Shona, long resident in the region. But in the 1880s the Ndebele are unable to resist a new onslaught from the south, this time led by the British community of south Africa. Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCdCLs9x The growth of the Rhodesias: AD 1890-1900 The population of settlers rapidly increases in the territory adminstered by Rhodes's British South Africa Company. There are as many as 1500 Europeans in the region by 1892. More soon follow, thanks partly to developments in transport. The railway from the Cape has reached Kimberley in 1885, at a fortuitous time just before the start of Rhodes's ambitious venture (one of the stated aims of his company is to extend the line north to the Zambezi). Trains reach Bulawayo as early as 1896. Victoria Falls is the northern terminus by 1904. Meanwhile the territory has been given a name in honour of its colonial founder. From 1895 the region up to the Zambezi is known as Rhodesia. During the early 1890s the company has considerable difficulty in maintaining its presence in these new territories. Lobengula himself tries to maintain peace with the British, but many of his tribe are eager to expel the intruders. The issue comes to a head when Leander Jameson, administering the region for Rhodes, finds a pretext in 1893 for war against Lobengula. With five Maxim machine guns, Jameson easily fights his way into Lobengula's kraal at Bulawayo. Lobengula flees, bringing to an end the Ndebele kingdom established by his father. There is a strong tribal uprising against the British in 1896-7, but thereafter Rhodes's company brings the entire region up to the Zambezi under full control. Read more: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCdwaf2j Cecil Rhodes: AD 1871-1891Cecil Rhodes: AD 1871-1891 In the last quarter of the 19th century the driving force behind British colonial expansion in Africa is Cecil Rhodes. He arrives in Kimberley at the age of eighteen in 1871, the very year in which rich diamond-bearing lodes are discovered there. He makes his first successful career as an entrepreneur, buying out the claims of other prospectors in the region. In the late 1880s he applies these same techniques to the gold fields discovered in the Transvaal. By the end of the decade his two companies, De Beers Consolidated Mines and Gold Fields of South Africa, dominate the already immensely valuable South African export of diamonds and gold. Rhodes is now rich beyond the reach of everyday imagination, but he wants this wealth for a very specific purpose. It is needed to fulfil his dream of establishing British colonies north of the Transvaal, as the first step towards his ultimate grand vision - a continuous strip of British empire from the Cape to the mouth of the Nile. The terms of incorporation of both Rhodes's mining companies include clauses allowing them to invest in northern expansion, and in 1889 he forms the British South Africa Company to fulfil this precise purpose. Established with a royal charter, its brief is to extend British rule into central Africa without involving the British government in new responsibility or expense. The first step north towards the Zambezi has considerable urgency in the late 1880s. It is known that the Boers of the Transvaal are interested in extending their territory in this direction. In the developing scramble for Africa the Portuguese could easily press west from Mozambique. So could the Germans, who by an agreement of 1886 have been allowed Tanganyika as a sphere of interest. Rhodes has been preparing his campaign some years before the founding of the British South Africa Company in 1889. In 1885 he persuades the British government to secure Bechuanaland, which will be his springboard for the push north. And in 1888 he wins a valuable concession from Lobengula, whose kingdom is immediately north of the Transvaal. Lobengula is the son of Mzilikazi, the leader of the Ndebele who established a new kingdom (in present-day Zimbabwe) after being driven north by the Boers in 1837. Fifty years later, in 1888, Lobengula grants Rhodes the mining rights in part of his territory (there are reports of gold) in return for 1000 rifles, an armed steamship for use on the Zambezi and a monthly rent of £100. With these arrangements satisfactorily achieved, Rhodes sends the first party of colonists north from Bechuanaland in 1890. In September they settle on the site which today is Harare and begin prospecting for gold. In support of Rhodes's scheme, the government declares the area a British protectorate in 1891. A settlers' colony: AD 1890-1953 As with the founding fathers of early American colonies, the first European settlers in Rhodesia feel from the start that government should be in their hands. They insist on having a voice in the colony's legislative assembly, which by 1903 consists of seven officials of the British South Africa Company and seven elected settlers. Four years later they have a majority of the seats. And in 1914, when the company's 25-year-charter is due to expire, it is their wishes which prevail. Self-government is their ambition. So their immediate concern is not to accept the embrace of their large neighbour, South Africa, which is eager to absorb this rich territory. They persuade the British government to extend the company's charter for another ten years. Eight years later, with the end of the new charter approaching, a referendum is held on the issue (limited to Rhodesia's European population). Of the votes cast, 60% are for full internal self-government against 40% wishing to become the fifth province of the Union of South Africa. On 12 September 1923 (thirty-three years to the day after the arrival of thefirst settlers at Harare) Rhodesia becomes a self-governing crown colony. It proves prosperous and successful, with the European population rising from 34,000 at the time of the referendum to 222,000 thirty years later. By the 1950s the political future of all African colonies is under intense discussion. Among the European population of the two regions first settled by Rhodes's company there is a general assumption that sooner or later Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia will merge to form a single independent nation. But this is resisted by the Africans, now beginning to find a political voice. Black opposition is strongest in the northern colony, with its much smaller white minority. Here, from the African point of view, the danger of union seems all too evident. Northern Rhodesia will be overshadowed by the strong European culture of Rhodesia, postponing perhaps indefinitely the ideal of independence under black majority rule. Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCnXMjW0 Click to set custom HTMLFederation: AD 1953-1963Federation: AD 1953-1963 Confronted with conflicting demands, and aware of its responsibilities for Nyasaland as well as the two Rhodesias, the British government imposes in 1953 an awkward compromise in the form of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. This is to be a self-governing colony, with its own assembly and prime minister (first Lord Malvern, and from 1956 Roy Welensky). The intention is to derive the greatest economic benefit from the larger unit while minimizing political tension between the three parts of the federation, each of which retains its existing local government. The federated colonies are at differing stages in their political development. All they have in common is an almost complete absence of any African voice in the political process. Rhodesia has been a self-governing colony for three decades, but with no African suffrage (a tiny 'B roll' of African voters is added to the electorate in 1957). Northern Rhodesia has a legislative council with, since 1948, two seats reserved for African members. At the time of federation there are no Africans on Nyasaland's legislative council. Two years later, in 1955, places are found for five members. The intended economic benefits materialize during the early years of the federation, helped by a world rise in copper prices, but this is not enough to stifle increasing political unrest - particularly as British colonies elsewhere in Africa win independence (beginning with Ghana in 1957). In the early 1960s African politicians in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland win increasing power in their legislative councils. The pressure grows to break up the federation. In March 1963, by which time all three colonies are demanding independence, the British government finally concedes. The federation is formally dissolved on 31 December 1963. Read more: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCon2ME3 Before and after UDI: AD 1957-1979 During the years of federation the parties are formed which will subsequently fight the bitter struggle for the future of an independent Rhodesia. On the African side the first leader to emerge is Joshua Nkomo. In 1957 he is elected president of the local branch of the African National Congress. After this is banned in Rhodesia, he founds in 1960 the National Democratic Party. When this in turn is proscribed, in 1961, he replaces it with ZAPU (the Zimbabwe African People's Union). His colleagues in ZAPU include Ndabaningi Sithole and Robert Mugabe. Together they split from ZAPU in 1963 and form the rival ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union). This political pressure from Rhodesia's African majority, combined with support for their cause from the United Nations, causes the federal government in 1961 to introduce a new constitution, allowing for African representation in Rhodesia's parliament. But the proposal creates its own backlash, prompting Ian Smith to found a new party, the Rhodesian Front, committed to white supremacist policies and offering the promise of an independent Rhodesia governed by the European minority. In elections in 1962 the new party wins a surprise victory, replacing the more moderate United Federal Party. Winston Field becomes prime minister, with Ian Smith as his deputy. On April 1964, four months after the end of the federation, Smith replaces Field as prime minister of Rhodesia, now once again a separate self-governing colony. His first act in office is to order the arrest of Nkomo and Mugabe. Each remains in detention until 1974 (Sithole joins them from November 1965). Smith now tries to persuade the British government to grant the Rhodesian Front's single overriding demand - independence on the basis of white minority rule. Meeting a flat refusal on this issue, he takes matters into his own hands. On 11 November 1965 he publishes a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). The first response of the British government is patient diplomacy (including two meetings between Harold Wilson and Smith on warships off Gibraltar, the Tiger in 1966 and the Fearless in 1968), but this is met by intransigence on Smith's part. The result is economic sanctions, imposed by the United Nations with British approval in 1968. The sanctions take a long time to bite. Meanwhile guerrilla activity by separate ZAPU and ZANU forces from across the borders is having rather more unsettling effect - particularly after Nkomo and Mugabe settle their differences in 1976 and form a united Patriotic Front. By 1978 Smith recognizes the need for concessions. He comes to an agreement with a moderate African leader, bishop Abel Muzorewa, leader of the UANC (United African National Council). In return for guarantees securing white political and economic interests, multi-racial elections will be held in 1979. With the Patriotic Front banned from participating, Muzorewa emerges as prime minister of a transitional government. But nothing is solved. The Patriotic Front continues its guerrilla campaign. The situation is finally resolved at talks in London in December 1979, attended by all three African leaders. UDI is overturned and Rhodesia reverts briefly to the status of a British colony. Britain agrees to provide funds to purchase the land of British farmers willing to sell, for a much-needed land distribution programme. Elections are organized for February 1980. Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCqik7Zy Zimbagwe: from AD 1980Zimbabwe: from AD 1980 In the election Mugabe's ZANU party wins a decisive victory over Nkomo and ZAPU. The newly independent nation takes the ancient name Zimbabwe. Mugabe rules at the start in a conciliatory manner. The provisions to protect European political rights are respected (Smith continues to serve as a member of parliament until 1987). And Nkomo is brought into the cabinet. However there is an underlying conflict between ZANU and ZAPU. The former draws its support from the majority Shona people, while ZAPU is linked with the minority (but historically dominant) Ndebele. Tribal hostilities become a noticeable feature of Zimbabwe's political life after Mugabe dismisses Nkomo from his cabinet in 1982, just two years after independence. In 1987 the two leaders make a new attempt to resolve the nation's divisions by merging their parties as ZANU-PF, making Zimbabwe effectively a one-party state. At the same time the constitution is changed to give Mugabe the role of executive president. Nkomo subsequently serves as a vice president (until his death in 1999). During the 1980s Mugabe's Marxist policies do harm to the economy, but in the changing fashion of the 1990s there is a move towards a market system. There is also a token gesture towards multiparty democracy, though this does nothing to prevent ZANU-PF winning 98% of the seats in parliament in 1995. In 1996 Mugabe is elected unopposed for a new six-year term as president. Several factors cause widespread unease about Zimbabwe after twenty years of independence. Political opponents are persecuted. Sithole, for example, is evicted from his farm in 1994 and is arrested in 1995 for allegedly plotting to assassinate Mugabe. It is widely suspected that the underlying purpose in each case is to dissuade him from standing as a presidential candidate in 1996. The white community is unsettled by frequently announced plans to appropriate many of their farms without compensation, for redistribution to Africans. And there are allegations of financial corruption in senior government circles. The underlying tensions flare up in dramatic fashion during the first half of 2000. In February Mugabe is defeated in a referendum designed to increase his hold on power. His immediate response is to escalate his long-standing campaign to appropriate the larger commercial farms owned by white Rhodesians. Mugabe's armed supporters, described as veterans of the war for independence, forcibly occupy some 500 farms (out of a total of 4500 owned by whites). Meanwhile a new opposition party - the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change), formed in January and led by a trade unionist, Morgan Tsvangirai - shows signs of being able to mount a very serious challenge to ZANU-PF in forthcoming elections. The election campaign is marred by high levels of violence and intimidation from Mugabe supporters, resulting in thirty or more deaths. Even so, the result is close. ZANU-PF wins 62 seats in the new assembly, with MDC just short of victory with 57. Immediately after the election, in June 2000, Mugabe publishes a list of 804 large commercial farms (most, but not all, white-owned) which are to be appropriated by the state for the resettlement of peasants. He insists that compensation is the responsibility of the British government. This is something which in principle is agreed in London, since it is widely recognized that the ancestors of the British farmers claimed dubious ownership over these lands a mere hundred years ago. On independence in 1980 there was an agreed scheme for compensation. It was discontinued by Britain in 1988 on the grounds that the benefit was accruing not to Zimbabwe's peasants but to the political elite (of 2000 farms acquired by the government in this way, 420 were transferred to the ownership of prominent ZANU-PF supporters). The land problem is likely to remain on Zimbabwe's political agenda rather longer than Mugabe himself, whose dictatorial behaviour and attempts to cling to power become increasingly extreme as the new millennium progresse Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCrQtSYq Morden day Zimbabwe.2008 elections In 2007, in the run up to the 2008 general and presidential elections, Tsvangirai is arrested on his way to a Harare prayer meeting and is severely beaten and tortured in prison. But with great courage he emerges from hospital to continue his political campaign against Mugabe, in a context in which the Zimbabwean economy has collapsed with inflation running at a level unheard of since Germany in the 1920s. When the elections are held, at the end of March 2008, it is announced that in the parliamentary contest Tsvangirai's party has defeated Mugabe's (MDC 99 seats, ZANU-PF 97 seats in the assembly). And exit polls suggest that, in spite of intimidation of MDC supporters, Tsvangirai has defeated Mugabe in the presidential election. But in spite of mounting international pressure Mugabe refuses to release the presidential results, saying merely that he will be contesting a second round. Tsvangirai, convinced that he has won, says that he will refuse to participate in an illegal second round. Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCsGLDDY Mapungwe and Great Zimbagwe: 11th-15th c.AD
Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe: 11th - 15th c. AD
The plateau between the rivers Zambezi and Limpopo, in southeast Africa, offers rich opportunities for human settlement. Its grasslands make excellent grazing for cattle. The tusks of dead elephants provide an easy basis for a trade in ivory. A seam of gold, running along the highest ridge, shows signs of having been worked in at least four places before 1000 AD. The earliest important trading centre is at Mapungubwe, on the bank of the Limpopo. The settlement is established by a cattle-herding people, whose increasing prosperity leads to the emergence of a sophisticated court and ruling elite. In 1075 the ruler of Mapungubwe separates his own dwelling from those of his people. He moves his court from the plain to the top of a sandstone hill, where he rules from a palace with imposing stone walls. It is the first example of the zimbabwe of this region - a word in Shona, the local Bantu language, meaning literally 'stone houses'. Zimbabwe become the characteristic dwellings of chieftains, and about 100 hilltop ruins of this kind survive. Easily the most impressive is the group known as Great Zimbabwe, which in the 13th century succeeds Mapungubwe as the dominant Shona power - with a kingdom stretching over the whole region between the Limpopo and the Zambezi. Great Zimbabwe is not close to the local gold seam, but its power derives from controlling the trade in gold. By this period mine shafts are sunk to a depth of 100 feet. Miners (among them women and children) descend these shafts to bring up the precious metal. As much as a ton of gold is sometimes extracted in a year. The buildings of Great Zimbabwe are evidence of equally great labour. Massive stone walls enclose a palace complex with a great conical tower, while impressive dry-stone granite masonry is used in a fortress or acropolis at the top of a nearby hill. The buildings date from the 13th and 14th centuries, the peak of Great Zimbabwe's power. In the 15th century Great Zimbabwe is eclipsed by two other kingdoms, one to the south at Khami (near modern Bulawayo) and one to the north, near Mount Darwin. This latter kingdom is established by a ruler who is known as the Munhumutapa - a title adopted by all his successors. Munhumutapa is the potentate of whom word is sent home to Europe by new arrivals on the African coast in the early 16th century. His court is first reached by a Portuguese traveller in about 1511. ead more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad28#ixzz1rCsoPXgM |
Miffs Prodigious Gugulethu Eish: Source
Miffs Prodigious Gugulethu Eish: Source
Despite a few scares on the way to the ablution block, Chris Harvie finds Zimbabwe ready and willing for visitors Leander Starr Jameson stood on the steps of Bulawayo's first hotel in 1874 and declared the town open. His speech - his entire speech - went like this: "It is my job to declare this town open, gentlemen. I don't think we want any talk about it. I make the declaration now. There is plenty of whisky and soda inside, so come in." That was it. And the good news is that, after years of chaos, the whole of Zimbabwe is open for business again and not only is there whisky and soda, there is also fuel at the pumps and food in the shops and restaurants. The electricity is on most of the time and there's water in the taps. The phoenix has risen from the ashes and is soaring in almost-full flight. Crossing at the Beitbridge border has never been easy. It's still uneasy but if you follow the arrows, you won't need any help from the chancers who will stalk you. The roads are in reasonable nick and the $1 tolls every 200km are obviously being put to good use in patching up the few remaining potholes. The most surprising aspect of our stay was the outstanding quality of the game viewing. Far from being poached out, the animals and birds seem to have reclaimed their territory from mankind during the past few quieter years and are more visible and relaxed than ever before. Zimbabwe's national parks all have their individual appeal and each offers a range of accommodation, from well-equipped chalets to basic camping. It would be wrong to suggest that everything is perfect. Some of the buildings are inevitably a bit run down and the ablution blocks in the campsites are not in a great state of repair, but camping is about roughing it a bit, after all, so it's no great hardship to push a rock against a shower door where the bolt has broken. The water is hot and the toilets are clean and functional. Surely that's all you really need? If you haven't been to Matopos (officially now known as Matobo), you haven't understood Zimbabwe. Standing on a giant koppie next to Cecil Rhodes's grave, you can look out over bright lichen and boulder-strewn peaks, with seemingly endless ridges rolling away towards the hazy horizon. It is truly a majestic place, which brings home all the contrasts of this disrupted land. Everybody wants a bit of Zimbabwe and the issues and claims are real but despite numerous attempts by the powers-that-be to shift him, Cecil Rhodes still has his World's View, with Jameson, the whisky-drinker, alongside him. We tried in vain to visit King Lobengula's nearby grave but nobody seemed to know exactly where it was, this missing link in history seeming somehow anomalous in a confident land, proud of its heritage and broadly tolerant of its past. Its views aside, camped on the dam at Matopos at the end of two days filled with rock art and rhinos and looking into an unpolluted star-scattered sky, we reckoned it couldn't get much better - until we arrived in Hwange the next day. After checking in at the main camp, we quickly pitched our tent next to the mangled fence. One of my co-voyagers had never been on safari so a quick drive in the late afternoon was called for. "Oh look, there's a wild dog," announced the game virgin, and he was right. In fact, at Hwange, he was to see three wild dogs and then two lionesses stalking a sable before he saw a kudu or an impala. A leopard brazenly dodged the potholes in the road in front of us and we photographed numerous idyllic borehole scenes with scatterings of antelope, zebra and giraffes. The bird life was equally rewarding, with sightings of crowned crane and frequent crimson-breasted shrikes. A couple of days later, dragging reluctantly north towards Victoria Falls, I was filled with foreboding. On my previous visit, I had cycled across the bridge from Zambia for lunch at the Victoria Falls Hotel. Successfully fighting my way through the hordes of hawkers, I found myself alone on the hotel verandah, where I was offered a warm Coke and cheese sandwich, "If we can find some cheese." This time? Transformed. I had one of the most delicious pieces of salmon I have ever eaten on the same stoep, which boasted a polished refurbishment and dozens of tables filled with revelling tourists. Camping on the river's edge at the Zambezi National Park's Chundu camp, with a long-drop loo and washing in the river, we walked along its banks, startling close-up waterbuck, kudu, baboons and numerous smaller critters. And yes, we saw wild dog on the way in. Eleven of them. Hunting. Wow. The drive to Mana Pools from Vic Falls requires a stopover and ours was at Binga - rather a sad spot on Kariba, littered with abandoned houseboats. But Mana Pools is one of the most beautiful places on earth (once you've reconstructed your shattered skeleton after the road). Nine wild dogs wandered through the Nyameni campsite as we put the tent up. Truly. By day, we walked freely in the bush, scattering the baboons and walking up close to eland, waterbuck and zebra. The earth-quaking roars of a pride of lion over the river in Zambia kept us awake all night and the hippos pulled up on the banks next to our tent, lying like fat ticks in the sand. The animals are described as "habituated", which is an interesting term. They are not tame but they are used to human presence, which means a wide berth is still advisable. I had more than a few scares on the way to the ablution block. Nyameni camp is truly astonishing. Next time, I shall stay for a week. Or maybe two. Late one afternoon, we hired a kayak from a park official called Lovemore and a fishing rod from another called Trymore. Lovemore took us down the river gurgling with grunting hippos, stopping on an island or two to fish for bream in the pools. A pair of elephant tussled on the bank. The sun dropped through an orange sky into the river as we headed back upstream with two fish bagged and the hippos erupting loudly around us. Safely ashore, we were greeted, unbelievably, by another member of the staff called Givemore. These names seemed to sum up the new Zimbabwe and all three of these Mores begged us to spread the word and send our friends. We promised we would. A few last words of advice when visiting Zimbabwe: don't rush. Be appreciative of the Zimbabweans' enthusiasm for their new-found stability. Buy your supplies at TM supermarkets countrywide. Pay your fines with a good grace and get a receipt. Beware of wild dog everywhere. And avoid Jack's Zimbabwean Whiskey - it tastes like meths, and is slightly purple in colour, so probably is meths. Even Leander Starr Jameson, however enthusiastic he might have felt for highland flavours, would have had to draw the line somewhere well above this tipple were it to fall to him to celebrate the reopening of Zimbabwe with a tot or two, but that reopening is nevertheless worthy of huge celebration Miffs Prodigious Gugulethu Eish
GRAND MYTH---Mwari drops man from the skyA myth from the Shona people in Zimbabwe, collected by Harold Scheub, professor of African languages and literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Scheub is author of "A Dictionary of African Mythology" (see bibliography.)Three Christian converts. Courtesy Africa Focus (c) 2000, University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.Mwari, the supreme being, is the god of fertility, the sower, the rain-giver. One of his praise names is Dzivaguru, great pool, because he supplies the people with rain. Mwari is both male and female. As a female, Mwari is merged in the pool with its darkness and mystery; this is the god of below. As a male, Mwari is owner of the skies, the god of light, the father of creation who manifests himself in lightning or the shooting star; this is the god of above. He is an ambivalent god, both immanent and transcendent. He is ever present in his own creation. Mwari put his creation, Musikavanhu, into a deep sleep and then let him drop from the sky. While he fell, Musikavanhu awoke and, in the distance, saw a white stone which was also dropping from the sky at great speed. God ordered Musikavanhu to point a finger at this stone. Musikavanhu obeyed, and the stone stopped. Musikavanhu began to fly towards the stone, and the closer he got to it the bigger the stone became, and finally he could no longer see where it finished on either side. Musikavanhu fell softly onto the stone, and the first spot his feet touched softened and emitted water. Touching the stone, Musikavanhu heard God's voice coming from it. This place became the stone of the pool, today called Matopos, a place that is venerated. Musikavanhu, bored, began to wander about. When night fell, he sat down near the stone from which God had spoken, and slept. In a dream, he saw the birds in the air, and many animals on the earth that were jumping from stone to stone. When Musikavanhu awoke, he was surprised to see that all he had just dreamt had become reality. God told Musikavanhu what he was allowed to eat, and what food was forbidden. He was free to eat vegetables, and fruit from the trees, but not to kill and eat animals. Nor were the animals allowed to eat each other. One day, while Musikavanhu slept, a snake crept over his loins and left its marks. When he woke up, he was overcome by a strange feeling; he had trouble breathing and his penis moved like a snake. A voice told him to go to the pool, and the pain would pass. On his way there, he saw a beautiful young woman sitting on a stone near the pool. She looked like him, but she could neither speak nor move. Again, Musikavanhu heard the voice; it told him to touch her with his hand. He did, and the young woman came to life, and a snake moved across her loins, too. She was overcome by the same emotions as Musikavanhu. The voice spoke and told Musikavanhu to be kind to his wife, and to all the animals too. He was also to set aside one day a month for the honor of God. When Musikavanhu had completed the tasks set by God he had to return to heaven. Before he went, he told his children to observe God's laws, or God would punish them. People lived in peace for a long, long time. One day Musikavanhu's children got drunk and became proud. They told the animals and the other people that God was dead and that one of them would be God. God's voice warned them, but because of their pride they could no longer hear it. God then became angry; he cursed the earth, and the sea's water became salty, the land dried up and thorns grew. During the rainy season, the rivers swept away many people, and crocodiles appeared in the waters. The sun became hot, and the animals began to eat one another and attack men. And men started killing each other. |