I INTRODUCTION  
Zimbabwe, country in southern Africa, formerly known as Southern Rhodesia and then as Rhodesia. Zimbabwe was named after the famous 14th-century stone-built city of Great Zimbabwe, located in the southeast. The country is renowned for the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River and for its bountiful wildlife. Zimbabwe’s population is divided into two main ethnic and linguistic groups, the Ndebele and the Shona, the former mostly inhabiting the southwest. The capital is Harare, formerly known as Salisbury, which is the center of a rich commercial farming district. Zimbabwe’s economy is diversified, with services, industry, and agriculture providing a balanced share of the country’s earnings.

Inhabited for at least 2,000 years, the region of present-day Zimbabwe was the site of several large African states, notably Great Zimbabwe, Mwene Mutapa, and the Rozwi Empire. Zimbabwe was the British colony of Southern Rhodesia from the late 1800s until 1965, when its white settlers proclaimed it the state of Rhodesia, which Britain refused to recognize. In 1980 the majority black population won independence for the country as Zimbabwe. Since independence, Zimbabwe has played a significant role in regional political struggles while maintaining domestic stability.

II LAND AND RESOURCES  
Zimbabwe has a land area of 390,759 sq km (150,873 sq mi). From north to south its greatest distance is 760 km (470 mi), and from east to west it is 820 km (510 mi). The country borders Mozambique to the east and Botswana to the west. South Africa is located to the south, and the Limpopo River forms the boundary between the two countries. In the north the border is formed by the Zambezi River, beyond which is Zambia.

A Natural Regions  
The dominant topographical feature of Zimbabwe is its central granite plateau, which runs diagonally from the southwest to the northeast and is covered with rich farmland. The plateau is marked by granite outcrops and hills known as kopjes and is cut by a narrow outcropping of volcanic rock that runs roughly north to south for about 520 km (about 320 mi). This feature is known as the Great Dyke and is rich in gems and minerals. South of the plateau, the land slopes gently down to the valley of the Limpopo River. North of the central plateau, the land drops to the valley of the Zambezi River through the Zambezi Escarpment, an 80-km (50-mi) wide belt of hilly country that runs from east to west. In the northwest the land slopes more gently towards the Zambezi. Along the country’s eastern border are the Inyanga, Vumba, and Chimanimani mountain ranges. The highest point in Zimbabwe is Mount Inyangani at 2,592 m (8,504 ft), in the Inyanga Mountains. The lowest point is 150 m (480 ft) at the junction of the Lundi and the Sabi (Save) rivers in the southeast. The hot and humid valleys of the Zambezi and the Limpopo are infested with tsetse flies, which inhibit livestock raising, although the far southwest is dry grassland suitable for ranching and cattle breeding.

B Rivers and Lakes  The Zambezi River, along the northern border, is Zimbabwe’s most important river. On the river, in the country’s far west, is Victoria Falls, a spectacular waterfall where the Zambezi flows over a cliff into a narrow gorge. The Zambezi is navigable between Victoria Falls and the Cabora Bassa Dam in Mozambique. A number of smaller rivers, chief among them the Mazoe and the Sanyati (known in its upper course as the Umniati), join the Zambezi in the north. The Sabi River rises in the center of the country and flows into Mozambique (where it is known as the Save River). The Limpopo River forms the country’s southern boundary with South Africa.

C Plant and Animal Life  
Most of Zimbabwe is covered with savanna grassland and dotted with low masasa trees. Aloe plants are common in the drier areas, and the low-lying river valleys have baobab, acacia, and teak trees. The higher elevations have grassland and shrubs, interspersed with dense forests and patches of rain forest. Wildlife includes elephants, hippopotamuses, lions, hyenas, crocodiles, antelope, impalas, giraffes, and baboons. For the most part, wildlife is confined in Zimbabwe’s game parks, the largest of which is Hwange National Park in the west. All the major mammal species are protected, with rhinoceros, cheetah, and hartebeest (a species of African antelope) being among the endangered species.

D Natural Resources  
Zimbabwe possesses rich agricultural resources that allow for the production of sugar, fruit, maize (corn), tobacco, and cattle. In 1996 an estimated 8 percent of the country was cultivated. Forests cover 23 percent of the country, although the logging industry is small and wood cut in Zimbabwe is used mostly for fuel. Zimbabwe is also rich in minerals. Gold has been mined since ancient times, and the country has deposits of chrome, asbestos, and copper, which are found along the Great Dyke.

E Climate  Zimbabwe’s climate is dependent on the rains brought by the Indian Ocean monsoons (seasonal winds). Up to 1,000 mm (40 in) of rain falls each year in the eastern part of the country between the months of October and March; rain levels reduce to about half that amount in the dry southwest. Little if any rain falls from March to October, when the weather gets cold with frosts common in the mountains and central plateau areas. Since the late 1970s rainfall has been very irregular and there have been serious droughts, which have led to soil erosion in some areas and other environmental problems. On the central plateau, average daily temperatures range from 7º to 21º C (44º to 70º F) in July and 16º to 26º C (61º to 79º F) in January. In the Zambezi valley they range from 13º to 28º C (55º to 83º F) in July and 22º to 32º C (71º to 90º F) in January.

III PEOPLE AND SOCIETY  
In 1998 Zimbabwe’s population was estimated to be 11,044,147, giving the country a population density of 28 persons per sq km (73 per sq mi). With a birth rate of 31 per 1,000 and a death rate of 20 per 1,000, Zimbabwe’s population growth rate is 1.1 percent. Life expectancy at birth was estimated at 39 years in 1997, down from 59 years in 1985. This drastic decline is largely attributable to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in Zimbabwe that began in the late 1980s. Zimbabwe’s people have steadily drifted away from rural areas to the towns and cities since the 1980s. Still, by 1997 just 33 percent of the populated lived in urban areas.

Harare, the capital, is the center of government and a manufacturing and distribution hub for the surrounding agricultural area. Harare is located in north central Zimbabwe. The second most important city is Bulawayo, which was the capital of the Ndebele kingdom in the 19th century and is now the principal city of the southwest. The only other towns of significant size are Chitangwiza, Gweru, and Mutare.

A Ethnic Groups and Languages  
Zimbabwe’s population is divided into two major linguistic and ethnic groups: the Shona and the Ndebele. Numerous Shona subgroups, such as the Tavara, Korekore, and Manyika, are traditionally distinguished by region and dialect of Shona. Altogether, the Shona constitute 71 percent of the population. The Ndebele minority, representing 16 percent of the population, speak a language related to Zulu and are concentrated in the southwest. There are small but politically and economically significant minorities of people of Asian and European descent, as well as immigrants from nearby African countries, principally Mozambique. English is the official language of Zimbabwe and is used in government and education. Some of the white population are of Afrikaner origin and speak Afrikaans.

B Religion  Protestant and Catholic missionaries attempted to spread Christianity into what is now Zimbabwe starting in the early 17th century. However, they made few converts until the establishment of British colonial control in the late 19th century. An estimated 55 percent of the population are Christian and most of the rest adhere to traditional religions. The largest Christian churches are Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Methodist. Each church draws its following from black and white segments of the population and from across social ranks. There are also a large number of African independent churches. The country also has small groups of Greek Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

C Education  Christian missionaries conducted the first formal education in Zimbabwe, and many schools still retain a strong religious affiliation. With the growth of white settlement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, schools for the white population were established in all the major towns. Public day schools were initially single sex and were complemented by private boarding schools modeled on those in Britain. As late as 1965 there were only two government-run secondary schools for blacks.

D Social Structure  Zimbabwe still bears signs of its colonial past. The white population, which represents only 1 percent of the country’s total population, forms a distinct group enjoying a high standard of living; whites control larger amounts of land than blacks and most of the country’s private businesses. However, black middle and upper classes are developing. In rural communities, traditional chiefs were accorded considerable power by the colonial authorities but now retain little more than social prestige.

E Way of Life  Zimbabwe has inherited many traits from its colonial past. The white population reproduced the sport-based culture of colonial Britain and has produced world-class sports figures, competing at the highest level in rugby, cricket, and golf. Africans tend to be more interested in football (soccer). Zimbabwe’s tourist attractions, such as Victoria Falls and the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, help to make it a leisure-oriented society. The African middle and upper classes tend to imitate the lifestyle of the old colonial ruling class, while younger Africans are drawn to the popular urban styles of South Africa. European-style clothing and housing are fashionable, although traditional rondavels (round thatched huts made of wood) are preferred in rural areas.

F Social Issues and Social Services  
Zimbabwe’s white population still lives very much aloof from the African majority, and there is relatively little social mixing. The government has promised since independence to redistribute white farmland to landless African peasants but has yet to do so. The issue of land reform therefore is a source of tension between the races. Zimbabwe’s biggest social problems are youth unemployment and the spread of AIDS, which became an epidemic in the 1990s. In 1997 it was estimated that 1.5 million people in Zimbabwe, or 25 percent of people over the age of 15, were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. The growing number of people who contract AIDS causes increased costs to medical and social services as well as to education and training programs. In response to the epidemic, the government launched a campaign to educate people about the causes of AIDS and to encourage them to take steps to prevent its spread. Fees are charged for health care, which absorbs 5 percent of government expenditure. A national social security program, including pensions, was introduced in 1994.

IV ARTS  
Zimbabwe has important cultural traditions that distinguish it from other African states, notably its history of architecture. The central granite plateau was traditionally home to various Shona peoples who built elaborate and precisely constructed stone structures. There are hundreds of stone ruins throughout the country ranging from large town sites like Great Zimbabwe (after which the country is named), Dhlodhlo, and Khami, to small isolated villages; some of the ruins date as far back as the 11th century AD. The stone building tradition was unique to this area and reached high levels of skill and sophistication. The Shona also have a tradition of carving the green and brown soapstone found in the region, and the carved soapstone birds of Great Zimbabwe have inspired a thriving modern industry of stone carving. Shona sculptors have achieved international fame.

Traditional dance and music, which makes use of the mbira (a hand-held board with mounted metal strips that are plucked with the thumbs) and the marimba (a type of xylophone), were neglected during the colonial period. Since independence, however, there has been a revival of traditional styles, with performers finding new audiences among tourists. Important also in the traditional culture were the stories of the Shona spirit mediums, who provided contact with the ancestors and became guardians of the oral histories of both the Shona and the Ndebele. Illiteracy and censorship by the white-controlled government limited the development of a written literature by black Zimbabweans until the 1980s. Noted postindependence authors include Charles Mungoshi and Tsitsi Dangarembga.

V ECONOMY  
Zimbabwe’s economy is well balanced between market agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and tourism, with a considerable subsistence-farming sector. Before the arrival of European settlers in the late 19th century, the peoples of the region practiced mixed farming (raising both crops and livestock), with cattle ranching predominating in the drier south and west. Gold mining and trade supplemented agriculture. The arrival of Europeans led to the growth of the commercial farming sector. Much of the best land was taken over by white settlers, who grew maize (corn) or fruit or practiced mixed farming. By the 1930s, however, the mainstay of settler agriculture was tobacco. Large numbers of low-paid Africans worked settler farms, many recruited from Mozambique. Gold mining continued, but the development of a large mining and industrial sector only took off after World War II (1939-1945), when Southern Rhodesia (as Zimbabwe was then called) benefited from large-scale investment that flowed into the colony. A wide range of mining enterprises were begun, exploiting the colony’s chrome, asbestos, and copper deposits, and an industrial sector developed producing consumer goods and even heavy steel manufactures such as railway locomotives.

The international community imposed economic sanctions on Rhodesia when its white government declared independence in 1965. This resulted in further diversification of industrial production, particularly in the sector of consumer goods, as local producers sought to beat the sanctions by servicing the demands of domestic and regional markets. However, the civil wars in Mozambique and Angola in the 1970s and 1980s limited those markets and cut off direct routes to the sea. After independence in 1980, Zimbabwe joined the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (now the Southern African Development Community), a regional economic bloc. However, the country faced strong competition from South African industries and agriculture suffered from severe drought for much of the 1980s. In the early and mid-1990s the end of the civil war in Mozambique and the transition to majority rule in South Africa coincided with improved climatic conditions and led to a rapid development of tourism as another arm of the Zimbabwean economy.

A Government Role in the Economy  Much of the economy of Rhodesia after 1965 was state-run, with state ownership of power and railways being the central features. Immediately after independence in 1980, the new government declared itself to be socialist. State ownership was extended to the financial sector, and public subsidies for food and housing were adopted. However, the government protected the private commercial farming sector and private industry. Since the IMF imposed a structural adjustment package on Zimbabwe in 1991, the government’s role in the economy has been reduced, with food subsidies being removed and government control over the currency’s exchange rate lifted.

B Labor  In 1997 Zimbabwe’s labor force was 5.3 million people. Most of the workers-68 percent-were employed in agriculture, primarily as peasant farmers. Of the rest, 24 percent were employed in the service sector, and 8 percent were in industry, including mining, manufacturing, and construction.

C Services  
The service sector accounts for 56 percent of GDP. Tourism, education, and public services are the most important sectors. Zimbabwe has some of the most important tourist attractions in southern Africa and is now a major destination for tourists from all over the world. The biggest attraction is Victoria Falls, followed by Hwange National Park, Lake Kariba, and the ruins of Great Zimbabwe. The mountains of eastern Zimbabwe also receive many visitors. Numbers of tourists and income from tourism more than tripled from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. In 1997 1.9 million tourists visited the country. Most of these visitors came from the surrounding southern African countries.

D Industry  The industrial sector diversified during the years that sanctions were imposed on Rhodesia (1965 to 1980), and today Zimbabwe produces a wide range of consumer goods. The most important products are iron and steel, textiles, processed food, and chemicals. Industry, primarily manufacturing and mining, accounted for 25 percent of GDP in 1997.

E Agriculture  
With a well-developed commercial sector, agriculture remains one of the keys to Zimbabwe’s economic prosperity. In 1997 agriculture (including forestry and fishing) accounted for 19 percent of GDP. The country’s main commercial products are tobacco, sugar, grain, cotton, and coffee. Citrus fruit, cut flowers, and wine are smaller but still important products. Cattle ranching is important in the southwest. Subsistence farmers grow maize, cassava, and beans, and raise goats, sheep, and cattle.

F Mining  Zimbabwe has a long tradition of mining, going back before European colonization. The country contains a wide range of minerals, including antimony, asbestos, chromium, coal, cobalt, copper, gold, graphite, iron ore, magnesite, nickel, silver, and tin. Coal is an important power source. Gold, chrome, and asbestos are the major mineral exports; gold is consistently Zimbabwe’s second-most important export product after tobacco.

G Energy  Zimbabwe is rich in energy resources. The coal reserves at Hwange are estimated at 30,000 million metric tons, of which 5 million are mined each year to supply two thermal power stations. Such plants produced 72 percent of the country’s electricity in 1997, while the remaining 28 percent came from hydroelectric facilities at the Kariba Dam, which was completed in 1959.

H Transportation  
Zimbabwe’s major rail line runs along the country’s central plateau between Harare and Bulawayo. Bulawayo is linked by rail to the major cities of South Africa by way of Botswana, and to the copper-mining towns of Zambia via Victoria Falls. Spurs lead to the Mozambican ports of Beira and Maputo. Altogether, Zimbabwe has 2,759 km (1,714 mi) of railroad. As late as the 1960s there were few tarred roads in Zimbabwe, dirt roads being common. In 1996 there were 18,338 km (11,395 mi) of roads, of which 47 percent were paved highways connecting the main towns and the principal tourist attractions. The remainder of the country’s roads were single-track or gravel. Harare has an international airport, and smaller airfields serve other cities and the main tourist areas, including Victoria Falls. Air Zimbabwe is the national airline.

I Communications  The state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation operates numerous national radio stations broadcasting in English, Shona, Ndebele, and other African languages. There is also a national television station broadcasting on two channels. Zimbabwe has two national daily newspapers—The Chronicle, published in Bulawayo, and The Herald, published in Harare. Both dailies, which are government-owned, are written in English and are monitored by the government-owned Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust. Dozens of nondaily registered periodicals and newspapers, most in English, are published as well. Zimbabwe Inter-Africa News Agency is the national news agency; several foreign news agencies also operate in the country.

J Foreign Trade  Zimbabwe’s foreign trade position is structurally healthy, in that it typically exports more than it imports and usually only spends a small amount more than it takes in. The country’s main customers for exports are South Africa, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Botswana. South Africa is by far the primary source for imports; other large suppliers are the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and the United States. Zimbabwe’s most important imports include petroleum products, machinery, motor vehicles, and foodstuffs. Chief exports include tobacco and other agricultural products as well as gold and other minerals.

K Currency and Banking  Zimbabwe’s basic unit of currency is the Zimbabwe dollar, consisting of 100 cents (12.11 Zimbabwe dollars equal US$1; 1997 average). The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, founded in 1964, is the bank of issue, and several commercial banks operate throughout the country. The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange is located in Harare.

VI GOVERNMENT  
Until independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was effectively ruled by the white population, through a parliament elected by a voting population limited to whites and only a small number of blacks. After independence a new constitution was drawn up that declared Zimbabwe a majority-rule republic. The 1980 constitution guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, regardless of race, ethnic group, place of origin, creed, or gender. Constitutional amendments approved in 1987 and 1990 provide for direct election of the president, abolish reserved seats in the legislature for whites, and establish a unicameral legislature. There is universal suffrage, and the voting age is 18.

A Executive  
The head of state and government is an executive president, who is elected by direct popular vote. The president is Robert Gabriel Mugabe, who has led the country since independence. The president appoints the cabinet and two of the cabinet members are vice-presidents. Cabinet members must answer to the parliament for their actions.

B Legislature  Zimbabwe’s unicameral (single chamber) parliament is called the House of Assembly, made up of 150 members. Of these, 120 are directly elected to represent local constituencies, 10 are elected by traditional chiefs (5 from among the Shona and 5 from the Ndebele), 12 are appointed by the president, and 8 are provincial governors. All representatives serve six-year terms, and there is no limit to the number of terms they may serve. The House of Assembly is independent of the president and has the power to enact and modify laws and to levy taxes.

C Judiciary  Zimbabwe’s legal system is based on English common law (the body of law that developed in England beginning in the 12th century) and traditional Zimbabwean law. There is a Supreme Court, consisting of a chief justice and four judges of appeal. Below the Supreme Court is the High Court, consisting of 13 judges, which has original jurisdiction in major civil and criminal cases. Below the High Court are regional courts, magistrates courts, customary law courts, and local courts. These last two tiers are traditional Zimbabwean courts presided over by chiefs and headmen, which hear small claims cases and cases concerned with marriage and children. The executive branch appoints all judges.

D Local Government  Zimbabwe is divided into eight provinces and the cities of Harare and Bulawayo, which have provincial status. Each of these units are governed by a provincial council. The powers of the provincial administrations are closely circumscribed by the central government. Beneath the provincial councils are dozens of district councils, rural councils, town councils, and municipal councils. At the lowest level of administration are village development councils and ward development councils.

E Political Parties  Zimbabwe’s dominant political party is the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). ZANU-PF began as the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which was founded in 1963 as a Marxist party seeking majority rule in Zimbabwe. The military wings of both ZANU and the rival nationalist party Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) merged after 1976 as the Popular Front (PF), and after independence in 1980, ZANU was known as ZANU-PF. ZANU-PF and ZAPU merged in 1988. In the 1990s ZANU-PF moved away from Marxism, and is now primarily concerned with staying in power. The conservative Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga (ZANU-Ndonga), the only other party besides ZANU-PF to have members in parliament, was founded by ZANU cofounder Ndabaningi Sithole after he was forced out of ZANU in 1976. The Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM) is a breakaway party from ZANU-PF. The colonial Rhodesian Front Party, which ruled Rhodesia from 1963 until the creation of Zimbabwe, survives under the title of the Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe, but it has little political influence.

F Defense  Zimbabwe’s armed forces, consisting of an army and an air force, had 39,000 personnel in 1997. Military service is not compulsory. With the end in the mid-1990s of the Mozambican civil war—in which Zimbabwe’s armed forces played an active role—the government began to reduce the size of the armed forces. Zimbabwe also has a police force totaling about 20,000.

G International Organizations  Zimbabwe is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The country also helped found the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (now the Southern African Development Community), an organization for economic cooperation between southern African countries.

VII HISTORY  
Zimbabwe’s central plateau historically has formed a distinct cultural area. Bounded on the north and south by the Zambezi and Limpopo river valleys, on the east by mountains, and on the west by the Kalahari Desert, the area was well watered, fertile, and rich in minerals, and therefore was favorable for human habitation. San (Bushmen) hunters lived on the plateau for many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years during prehistoric times and created remarkable rock paintings that are found throughout Zimbabwe in high-elevation granite shelters.

A Early Civilizations  About 2,000 years ago Iron Age peoples established themselves on the plateau, developing a series of distinctive pottery styles, herding cattle, and mining gold and copper that they traded with peoples of the coast. These people were the ancestors of the modern Shona population. About the 11th century AD the first stone building began, and this rapidly developed into a distinctive and impressive architectural style. Stone building reached its first peak in the city of Great Zimbabwe, which was built between the 11th and 15th centuries.

B Portuguese Influence  In 1498, in the same period that the Karanga chiefs were extending their power over the lowland areas of Mozambique, the Portuguese arrived on the Indian Ocean coast. The Portuguese traded gold at the fairs and in 1569 sent a large military expedition led by Francisco Barreto to establish Portuguese control over the chieftaincy of the Mwene Mutapa. This attempt failed, but Portuguese traders became influential in all the main fairs. Early in the 17th century locally recruited armies under Portuguese control conquered the Karanga chieftaincies of the north, including Mwene Mutapa, and invaded the central and southern areas. Small Portuguese trading towns were established, the most important being at Dambarare on the upper Mazoe.

C The Rozwi Empire and the Ndebele  In 1693 the Portuguese were defeated by the Rozwi chieftaincy of Changamire, whose power was based in Butua in the southwest. The Portuguese were driven off the central plateau and only retained a nominal presence at one of the fairs in the eastern highlands. The whole of present-day Zimbabwe was brought under the control of Changamire and became known as the Rozwi Empire. The Rozwi chiefs revived the tradition of building in stone and constructed impressive cities throughout the southwest. The economic power of the Rozwi Empire was based on cattle wealth, but gold mining continued, and gold was traded for luxury imports.

In the 1790s the whole southern African region began to experience a prolonged series of droughts. They weakened the Rozwi Empire, which allowed local chiefs and spirit mediums to begin seizing power. The gold fairs functioned only intermittently. Then in the early 19th century, the period of regional warfare and forced migrations known as the mfecane began. Following victories by the Zulu king Shaka in what is now eastern South Africa, the Ndwandwe, a Nguni-speaking people, were forcibly dispersed, and armed bands led by Ndwandwe chiefs migrated northward, invading the Rozwi Empire. The empire was devastated by the Ndwandwe armies of Nxaba and Zwangendaba. In the early 1830s the last Rozwi ruler was killed in his capital of Khami.

D Cecil Rhodes  Beginning in the 1860s increasing numbers of European ivory hunters entered the area from the south and from the coast. These hunters returned to Europe with reports of vast gold deposits, spurring European interest in Matabeleland (as Europeans called the territory of the Ndebele, in the south) and Mashonaland (as they called the land of the Shona, in the north). During the 1880s the coastline of Africa was partitioned between Germany, Portugal, and Britain, and competition between European and African powers for land in the interior became intense. The Portuguese sent missions to secure the submission of the northern Shona chiefs, the Gaza Empire of southern Mozambique brought the eastern borderlands under its rule, and Afrikaner settlers began to spread north from the Transvaal. However, it was the British rulers of Cape Colony (in what is now western South Africa) who in the end successfully won concessions of land from the Ndebele king. In 1888 Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, granted a mineral concession encompassing Mashonaland (which he nominally controlled) to Cape Colony politician and financier Cecil John Rhodes. The following year the British government granted Rhodes a charter to establish the British South Africa Company. The company was given sweeping powers, including the power not only to mine but also to settle and administer a huge, vaguely defined area north of the Transvaal, including both Mashonaland and Matabeleland.

Although Rhodes held nominal authority over this ill-defined region, in 1890 very little of it was actually under British control, so Rhodes organized expeditions to secure the region and as far north as possible. In 1890 Rhodes’ "pioneer column" crossed Matabeleland and established the city of Salisbury (present-day Harare) in northern Mashonaland. The white settlers proceeded to conquer and settle a vast territory, while Rhodes built railroads and telegraphs to link the region to the outside world. Faced with severe economic problems, as workable gold had not been discovered, Rhodes and Leander Starr Jameson, the administrator of the territory, organized an attack on the Ndebele king. In 1893 the British defeated the Ndebele and distributed vast herds of captured cattle and land to white settlers, temporarily rescuing Rhodes’ company from financial disaster. The chartered territory was officially named Rhodesia, after Rhodes, in 1895.

E Settler Colony  As Rhodes hoped, Southern Rhodesia grew as a settler-dominated colony under the rule of the British South Africa Company. Whites laid out farms along the railroad, which ran along the plateau between Salisbury and Bulawayo. In order to provide cheap labor for the colony’s farms and mines, colonial administrators imposed heavy monetary taxes on black inhabitants (who had no money, and therefore were forced to seek jobs) and encouraged immigration from Mozambique.

F White-Ruled Rhodesia  
In 1962 Nyasaland broke away from the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which was formally dissolved in 1963. Southern Rhodesia’s white settlers, now led by Ian Douglas Smith and his Rhodesian Front party, sought independence from Britain. However, Britain’s newly elected Labour government refused to agree to independence without significant constitutional reform that would provide for eventual black African rule. In November 1965 Smith announced the Unilateral Declaration of Independence for Rhodesia, severing ties to Britain. The United Nations (UN) quickly levied sanctions against the illegal nation. In 1969 Rhodesia formally declared itself a republic.

Britain failed to take any decisive action against Rhodesia’s white government and in 1970 and 1971 tried to negotiate a settlement with Smith. Smith refused to make significant concessions and defied the weak international sanctions that had been imposed. Covertly supported by South Africa, another white-ruled state, the white Rhodesians held power without much difficulty until the mid-1970s.

G Independent Zimbabwe  
The Lancaster House agreement had protected the position of Zimbabwe’s white inhabitants, who were allocated 20 seats in parliament. Land reform, specifically the redistribution of white-owned land to landless black peasants, was promised but was delayed in order to smooth the transition to majority rule. During the 1980s the new government increasingly moved away from its Marxist rhetoric and toward supporting a capitalistic economy. The civil war in Mozambique and unresolved political conflict in South Africa threatened the stability of the new state. Zimbabwe incurred the wrath of South Africa by supporting both the African National Congress (ANC), which opposed South Africa’s minority-rule government, and Mozambique’s government, which South Africa was attempting to overthrow by supporting a rebel group. South Africa threatened to attack ANC bases in Zimbabwe and blocked Zimbabwean exports through South African ports. Zimbabwe consequently suffered economic dislocation as it was forced to export its products through Mozambique. This required the Zimbabwean armed forces to protect the railroad corridor to the Mozambican port of Beira from South African-sponsored rebel attacks. Mugabe was one of the founders of the Southern African Development Cooperation Committee (SADCC), an organization formed to reduce regional economic dependence on South Africa, and he played a prominent role in trying to counter the influence of South Africa.

The 1980s also saw unrest within Zimbabwe. Insurrection threatened in Matabeleland in the southwest, as Ndebele dissidents who questioned the validity of the 1980 elections began to stockpile arms. The government severely repressed the Ndebele opposition, and Nkomo and other members of the Ndebele-supported ZAPU were expelled from the government. In 1985 legislative elections, ZANU won again by a landslide everywhere but in Matabeleland. However, corruption scandals rocked Mugabe’s government, and several splinter parties broke away from ZANU-PF. In an effort to consolidate his power, in 1987 Mugabe had the constitution revised, replacing the office of prime minister with that of president, which combines the posts of head of state and head of government. In 1988 Mugabe’s ZANU-PF and Nkomo’s ZAPU agreed to merge under the name of ZANU-PF, and Zimbabwe’s ethnic and political tension eased greatly. Mugabe appointed Nkomo one of two joint vice presidents in 1990.

H Recent Developments  In the early 1990s the transition to majority rule in South Africa coincided with peace negotiations in Mozambique, and the economic crisis in Zimbabwe began to lift. In exchange for economic aid and assistance from the World Bank and the IMF, Zimbabwe agreed to a structural adjustment package designed to move the country from a state-controlled economy to a free-market economy. ZANU-PF won 82 percent of the vote in 1995 legislative elections. Mugabe was reelected as president in 1996, running unopposed after the withdrawal of two opposition candidates who protested against allegedly unfair electoral regulations.

In 1997 Mugabe announced a controversial program of land redistribution. About 1,500 white-owned commercial farms, comprising nearly half of Zimbabwe’s total commercial farmland, were designated to be seized without compensation and divided among landless blacks and blacks with only small landholdings. Faced with strong protests by white farmers and the international economic community, the Zimbabwean government retreated from this position. In 1998 the government announced a new plan to buy the 1,500 white-owned farms with foreign aid money over a five-year period.

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