Zimbabwe is a landlocked plateau country in the southern part of the continent of Africa. It has a land area three times the size of England.
Zimbabwe is thought to be the location of Ophir, the Biblical land from which King Solomon got gold, ivory, peacocks and other precious items.
The first people in Zimbabwe were the Bantu-speaking Iron Age farmers that settled before 380 AD.
HISTORY
Zimbabwe is thought to be the location of Ophir, the Biblical land from which King Solomon got gold, ivory, peacocks and other precious items.
The first people in Zimbabwe were the Bantu-speaking Iron Age farmers that settled before 380 AD.
The name of Zimbabwe comes from the ancient ruined city of Great Zimbabwe in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi. It means “great house of stones” in the local Chishona language.
Great Zimbabwe is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom, although which kingdom is not certain, during the country's Late Iron Age. Construction on the city began in the 9th century and continued until it was abandoned in the 15th century.
The ruins of Great Zimbabwe were constructed with geometric precision instead of mortar and had religious sculptures matching the sophistication of other medieval civilizations. Chinese and Persian artifacts found at the site also prove they had far-reaching trade networks.
By 1200 Mashonaland, now East Zimbabwe, was an important settlement of the Shona people, who had moved from the North and erected stone buildings.
In the 15th century the Shona empire, under Mutota, expanded across Zimbabwe before it fell to the Rozwi, who ruled until the 19th century.
In 1837 the Matabele, a Bantu people, in retreat after unsuccessful battles with the Boersi, settled in Western Zimbabwe.
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| A Matabele livestock enclosure, as depicted by William Cornwallis Harris, 1836 |
Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, was founded on September 12, 1890 by the Pioneer Column, a small military force of the British South Africa Company. It was originally named Fort Salisbury after the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury. The city was renamed Harare in 1982, after the Shona chief Neharawa.
Mashonaland and Matabeleland, together with what is now Zambia, were granted to the British South Africa company in 1889, and the whole was named Rhodesia in 1895, in honor of Cecil Rhodes.
King Lobengula of Matabeleland accepted British protection in 1888 but rebelled in 1893; he was defeated, but in 1896 after the Jameson Raid the Matabele once more unsuccessfully tried to regain their independence.
Their portion of the area south of the Zambezi river, then known as Southern Rhodesia, became self-governing in 1923 and a member of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953.
African nationalists were campaigning for democracy and the African National Congress (ANC), which had been present since 1934, was reconvened in 1957 under the leadership of Joshua Nkomo. It was banned in 1959 and in 1961 Nkomo created the Zimbabwe African people's Union (ZAPU). In 1963 a splinter group developed from ZAPU, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) with Robert Mugabe as its secretary-general.
After the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1963 the leader of the Rhodesian Front party (RF) Winston Field, became the first prime minister of Rhodesia. The RF was a grouping of white politicians committed to maintaining racial segregation.
In April 1964 Field resigned and was replaced by Ian Smith. Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence was adopted by the mostly white minority government of Prime Minister Ian Smith on November 11, 1965. It announced that the British colony of Rhodesia, self-governed since 1923, regarded itself as a sovereign state. The culmination of a protracted dispute between the British and Rhodesian governments, it was the first unilateral breakaway by a British colony since the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Britain broke off diplomatic and trading links with Rhodesia and the United Nations initiated economic sanctions, but these were bypassed by many multinational companies.
In 1969 Rhodesia declared itself a republic breaking its last links with the British crown. It adopted a new constitution, with white majority representation in a chamber legislature. Rhodesia continued as an unrecognised state for the next decade.
At the beginning of 1979 Smith produced a new majority rule constitution, which contained an inbuilt protection for a white minority but which he had managed to get Bishop Muzorewa to accept. In June 1979 Bishop Muzorewa was pronounced prime minister of what was to be called Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The new constitution was denounced by Mugabe and Nkomo. By now, they were leading the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army from bases in neighbouring Mozambique.
In September 1979 the Lancaster House agreement paved the way for full independence. A new constitution was adopted and elections were held under independency profession in February 1980. They resulted in a decisive win for Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front party.
The new state of Zimbabwe became fully independent on April 18, 1980, with the Rev Canaan Banana as the country's first President and Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister. The Zimbabwe Dollar replaced the Rhodesian Dollar as the official currency.
The national flag of Zimbabwe consists of seven even horizontal stripes of green, gold, red and black with a white triangle containing a red 5-pointed star with a Zimbabwe Bird. The present design was adopted on April 18, 1980. It is based on the flag of Zimbabwe's ruling party, the Zanu-PF.
Robert Mugabe was the President of Zimbabwe from 1987 until his resignation in 2017.
Zimbabwe's commercial farming sector was traditionally a source of exports and foreign exchange, and provided 400,000 jobs. However, the government's land reform program badly damaged the sector. Coffee production, once a prized export commodity came to a virtual halt after seizure or expropriation of white-owned coffee farms in 2000, and has never recovered.
The Zimbabwe dollar was abandoned as its national currency on April 12, 2009 after hyperinflation had led to an inflation rate of 79.6 billion per cent. The country has since been using the U.S. Dollar, the South African Rand, and the Botswana Pula.
In 2013, the finance minister of Zimbabwe announced that after paying its civil servants that month, the country would have just £138 ($217) in its state bank account.
When Shimon Peres stepped down as Israel’s president in July 2014, President Robert Mugabe (born February 21, 1924) assumed the mantle of the world’s oldest head of state.
On November 15, 2017, President Robert Mugabe was placed under house arrest as Zimbabwe's military took control in a coup. He resigned the Presidency a week later.
King Lobengula of Matabeleland accepted British protection in 1888 but rebelled in 1893; he was defeated, but in 1896 after the Jameson Raid the Matabele once more unsuccessfully tried to regain their independence.
Their portion of the area south of the Zambezi river, then known as Southern Rhodesia, became self-governing in 1923 and a member of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953.
African nationalists were campaigning for democracy and the African National Congress (ANC), which had been present since 1934, was reconvened in 1957 under the leadership of Joshua Nkomo. It was banned in 1959 and in 1961 Nkomo created the Zimbabwe African people's Union (ZAPU). In 1963 a splinter group developed from ZAPU, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) with Robert Mugabe as its secretary-general.
After the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1963 the leader of the Rhodesian Front party (RF) Winston Field, became the first prime minister of Rhodesia. The RF was a grouping of white politicians committed to maintaining racial segregation.
In April 1964 Field resigned and was replaced by Ian Smith. Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence was adopted by the mostly white minority government of Prime Minister Ian Smith on November 11, 1965. It announced that the British colony of Rhodesia, self-governed since 1923, regarded itself as a sovereign state. The culmination of a protracted dispute between the British and Rhodesian governments, it was the first unilateral breakaway by a British colony since the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.
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| Ian Smith signing the Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965 |
Britain broke off diplomatic and trading links with Rhodesia and the United Nations initiated economic sanctions, but these were bypassed by many multinational companies.
In 1969 Rhodesia declared itself a republic breaking its last links with the British crown. It adopted a new constitution, with white majority representation in a chamber legislature. Rhodesia continued as an unrecognised state for the next decade.
At the beginning of 1979 Smith produced a new majority rule constitution, which contained an inbuilt protection for a white minority but which he had managed to get Bishop Muzorewa to accept. In June 1979 Bishop Muzorewa was pronounced prime minister of what was to be called Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The new constitution was denounced by Mugabe and Nkomo. By now, they were leading the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army from bases in neighbouring Mozambique.
In September 1979 the Lancaster House agreement paved the way for full independence. A new constitution was adopted and elections were held under independency profession in February 1980. They resulted in a decisive win for Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front party.
 |
| Bishop Abel Muzorewa signs the Lancaster House Agreement |
The new state of Zimbabwe became fully independent on April 18, 1980, with the Rev Canaan Banana as the country's first President and Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister. The Zimbabwe Dollar replaced the Rhodesian Dollar as the official currency.
The national flag of Zimbabwe consists of seven even horizontal stripes of green, gold, red and black with a white triangle containing a red 5-pointed star with a Zimbabwe Bird. The present design was adopted on April 18, 1980. It is based on the flag of Zimbabwe's ruling party, the Zanu-PF.
Robert Mugabe was the President of Zimbabwe from 1987 until his resignation in 2017.
Zimbabwe's commercial farming sector was traditionally a source of exports and foreign exchange, and provided 400,000 jobs. However, the government's land reform program badly damaged the sector. Coffee production, once a prized export commodity came to a virtual halt after seizure or expropriation of white-owned coffee farms in 2000, and has never recovered.
The Zimbabwe dollar was abandoned as its national currency on April 12, 2009 after hyperinflation had led to an inflation rate of 79.6 billion per cent. The country has since been using the U.S. Dollar, the South African Rand, and the Botswana Pula.
In 2013, the finance minister of Zimbabwe announced that after paying its civil servants that month, the country would have just £138 ($217) in its state bank account.
When Shimon Peres stepped down as Israel’s president in July 2014, President Robert Mugabe (born February 21, 1924) assumed the mantle of the world’s oldest head of state.
On November 15, 2017, President Robert Mugabe was placed under house arrest as Zimbabwe's military took control in a coup. He resigned the Presidency a week later.
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| Robert Mugabe in 2011 |
Having served as the leader of Zimbabwe for 36 years Robert Mugabe was one of the oldest and longest serving leaders of a non-royal country, in the world.
Alphabetically speaking, Zimbabwe comes last in the list of UN member countries.
Zimbabwe's estimated population in 2016 was 16,150,362. More than half the people in Zimbabwe are below the age of 21.
Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, is a large and bustling city with a population of over 2 million people. It is the economic and cultural center of Zimbabwe, and is home to many government offices, businesses, and universities. home to over 1.6 million people. It was known as Fort Salisbury from its foundation until April 18, 1982.
Victoria Falls is on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border. The local name for the waterfall in Zimbabwe is “Mosi-oa-Tunya” (the smoke that thunders).
Zimbabwe has 16 official languages including English and Zimbabwean sign language. The other 14 are: Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, “Koisan” (presumably Tsoa), Nambya, Ndau, IsiNdebele, Shangani, Shona, SeSotho, Tonga, Tswana, TshiVenda, and IsiXhosa.
The coat of arms of Zimbabwe features a shield held by two zebras symbolising racial equality.
Parents in Zimbabwe who cannot afford school fees can offer livestock such as goats or sheep as payment for tuition fees.
In 2015, Zimbabwe was expelled from the preliminary competition for the 2018 Football World Cup for non-payment of a debt to FIFA.
Zimbabwe has entered every Summer Olympics since 1980 and won eight medals in total. Seven of those medals were won by swimmer Kirsty Coventry. The other one was gold for the women's hockey team in 1980.
In Zimbabwe, there is widespread belief in mermaids which are often blamed for work delays.
Sources Daily Expres, Thefactfile.org
FUN ZIMBABWE FACTS
Alphabetically speaking, Zimbabwe comes last in the list of UN member countries.
Zimbabwe's estimated population in 2016 was 16,150,362. More than half the people in Zimbabwe are below the age of 21.
Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, is a large and bustling city with a population of over 2 million people. It is the economic and cultural center of Zimbabwe, and is home to many government offices, businesses, and universities. home to over 1.6 million people. It was known as Fort Salisbury from its foundation until April 18, 1982.
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| Harare, Zimbabwe from the Kopje. By Andrew Balet |
Victoria Falls is on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border. The local name for the waterfall in Zimbabwe is “Mosi-oa-Tunya” (the smoke that thunders).
Zimbabwe has 16 official languages including English and Zimbabwean sign language. The other 14 are: Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, “Koisan” (presumably Tsoa), Nambya, Ndau, IsiNdebele, Shangani, Shona, SeSotho, Tonga, Tswana, TshiVenda, and IsiXhosa.
The coat of arms of Zimbabwe features a shield held by two zebras symbolising racial equality.
Parents in Zimbabwe who cannot afford school fees can offer livestock such as goats or sheep as payment for tuition fees.
In 2015, Zimbabwe was expelled from the preliminary competition for the 2018 Football World Cup for non-payment of a debt to FIFA.
Zimbabwe has entered every Summer Olympics since 1980 and won eight medals in total. Seven of those medals were won by swimmer Kirsty Coventry. The other one was gold for the women's hockey team in 1980.
In Zimbabwe, there is widespread belief in mermaids which are often blamed for work delays.
Sources Daily Expres, Thefactfile.org
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