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COUNTRY HOPPING: Zimbabwe
Official name: Republic of Zimbabwe
Area: 390,300 sq km
Population: 11,377,000
Capital: Harare
Currency: Zimbabwe dollar
Official Language: English
Major cities: Bulawayo, Gweru, Kwekwe, Mutare, Hwange, Chitungwiza
Independence day: April 18, 1980
Major exports: Tobacco, metals and metal alloys, textiles and clothing, cotton lint.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in south central Africa, bordered in the north by Zambia, east by Mozambique, south by South Africa, and west by Botswana.
Physical features
Zimbabwe occupies part of the great plateau in southern Africa. The most important physical feature is a broad ridge known as the Highveld that runs southwest to northeast. It has an average elevation of about 5,000 feet. On both sides of the ridge, the land slopes downwards, in the north towards the Zambezi and in the south towards the Limpopo River. These areas are known as the Middle Veld. A mountain range that rises to a maximum elevation of 8,517 feet extends along the eastern border.
Climate
Although Zimbabwe lies in the Tropics, its climate is moderated by its high elevation. The average temperature is 16°C in July (winter) and 21°C in January (summer). The average annual rainfall is about 890mm in the Highveld and less than 610mm in most parts of the Middle Veld.
Ethnicity
About 98 per cent of the people of Zimbabwe are black African. The largest African groups are the Shona, who account for 71 per cent of the population, and the Ndebele, who comprise 16 per cent of the population. About one per cent of the people are of European, mostly British descent, and one per cent are of mixed or Asian ancestry.
Language
English is the official language and is spoken by most educated people. In rural areas people use the language of their ethnic group, most commonly Shona or Ndebele. Many Zimbabweans speak more than one language and mix parts of several languages in daily speech.
Religion
About 25 per cent of Zimbabweans are Christian, 24 per cent follow traditional beliefs (which often emphasize ancestor veneration and belief in spirits), and 50 per cent practise a mixture of Christian values and traditional beliefs. There are small minorities of Muslims, Hindus, and Jews.
Government
The constitution provides for an executive president, who is head of state and government, and a single-chamber House of Assembly. The president, formerly elected by the parliament, is directly elected for a six-year term and appoints a vice president and cabinet. The House of Assembly has 150 members. It serves a six-year term and is subject to dissolution within that period.
Diet
Sadza, a stiff porridge made from maize, is the staple of most Zimbabweans and is served at almost every meal. Various local vegetables serve as garnishes, and meat is eaten when available. In the cities, people tend to have a more western diet. Locally grown fruit, such as mangoes, bananas, melons, guavas, and mapopo (papayas), are enjoyed at various times of the year.
Sports
Soccer is the favourite sport, but swimming, tennis, boxing, rugby, cricket, polo, bowling, hockey, squash, golf, and horse racing are also enthusiastically pursued.
Places to visit
Victoria Falls, Kariba Dam, mountain scenery including Mount Inyanganai, some of southern Africa’s best wildlife parks notably Hwange, Matapos, and Nyanga national parks, ruins of old Zimbabwe near Fort Victoria and World’s View in the Matapos Hills attract tourists to Zimbabwe.
History
13th century: Shona people settled in Mashonaland (eastern Zimbabwe), erecting stone buildings (hence the name Zimbabwe, ‘stone house’).
16th-17th centuries: Portuguese settlers developed trade with Shona states and achieved influence over kingdom of Mwanamutapa in northern Zimbabwe.
1837: Ndebele (or Matabele) people settled in southwest Zimbabwe after being driven north from Transvaal by Boers; Shona defeated by Ndebele led by King Mzilikazi who formed military empire based at Bulawayo.
1889: Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company (BSA Co) obtained exclusive rights to exploit mineral resources in Lobengula’s domains.
1890: Creation of white colony in Mashonaland and founding of Salisbury (Harare) by Leander Starr Jameson, associate of Rhodes.
1893: Matabele War: Jameson defeated Lobengula; white settlers took control of country.
1895: Matabeleland, Mashonaland, and Zambia named Rhodesia after Cecil Rhodes.
1898: Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) became British protectorate administered by BSA Co; farming, mining, and railways developed.
1922: Union with South Africa rejected by referendum among white settlers.
1923: Southern Rhodesia became self-governing colony; Africans progressively disenfranchised.
1933-53: Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins (later Lord Malvern) pursued ‘White Rhodesia’ policy of racial segregation.
1950s: Immigration doubled white population to around 250,000, while indigenous African population stood at around six million.
1961: Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) formed with Joshua Nkomo as leader; declared illegal a year later.
1962: Rhodesia Front party of Winston Field took power in Southern Rhodesia, pledging to preserve white rule.
1963: Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland dissolved as Zambia and Malawi moved towards independence; Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) formed, with Robert Mugabe as secretary; declared illegal a year later.
1964: Ian Smith became prime minister; he rejected British terms for independence that required moves towards black majority rule; Nkomo and Mugabe imprisoned.
1965: Smith made unilateral declaration of independence (UDI); Britain broke off all relations.
1966-68: United Nations imposed economic sanctions on Rhodesia, which still received help from South Africa and Portugal.
1969: Rhodesia declared itself a republic. 1972: Britain rejected draft independence agreement as unacceptable to African population.
1974: Nkomo and Mugabe released and jointly formed Patriotic Front to fight Smith regime in mounting civil war.
1975: Geneva Conference between British, Smith regime, and African nationalists failed to reach an agreement.
1978: At the height of civil war, whites were leaving Rhodesia at the rate of 1,000 per month.
1979: Rhodesia became Zimbabwe-Rhodesia with new ‘majority’ constitution that retained special rights for whites; Mugabe and Nkomo rejected the settlement; Lancaster House Agreement temporarily restored Rhodesia to British rule.
1980: Zimbabwe achieved independence from Britain with full transition to African majority rule; Mugabe became prime minister with Rev Canaan Banana as president.
1981: Rift between Mugabe (ZANU-PF) and Nkomo (ZAPU); Nkomo dismissed from cabinet.
1984: ZANU-PF party congress agreed to the principle of one-party state.
1987: Mugabe combined the posts of head of state and prime minister as executive president.
1989: ZANU-PF and ZAPU formally merged; Zimbabwe Unity Movement founded by Edgar Tekere to oppose one-party state.
1992: United Party formed to oppose ZANU-PF. Mugabe declared drought and famine a national disaster.
1998: Mugabe issued new rules banning strikes and restricting political and public gatherings. Government’s radical land distribution plans watered down after pressure from aid donors. Violent anti-government demonstrations took place.
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