Matabeleland
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Matabeleland | |
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Ndebele people | |
Population (2,633,247) | |
• Total | 130,899 square kilometres (50,540 sq mi) |
Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern
.The capital and largest city is Bulawayo, other notable towns are Plumtree, Victoria Falls, Beitbridge, Lupane, Esigodini, Hwange and Gwanda. The land is fertile but semi arid. This area has coal and gold deposits. Industries include gold and other mineral mines, and engineering. There has been a decline in the industries in this region as water is in short supply due to scarce rainfall. Promises by the government to draw water for the region through the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project have not been carried out, continuing water shortages.[1]
History
History of Zimbabwe | ||||||||||
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Ancient history
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Zimbabwe-Rhodesia | June–December 1979 | |||||||||
December 1979 | ||||||||||
British Dependency | 1979–1980 | |||||||||
Zimbabwe | 1980–present | |||||||||
Gukurahundi | 1982–1987 | |||||||||
Second Congo War | 1998–2003 | |||||||||
Coup d'état | 2017 |
Rozvi Empire
Around the 10th and 11th centuries, the
Ndebele Kingdom
In the late 1830s, Mzilikazi Khumalo, led a group of
In 1840, Matabeleland was founded.[2]
In 1852, the
British South Africa Company
In 1890, Rhodes sent a group of settlers, known as the
First Matabele War
The first decisive battle was fought on 1 November 1893, when a
Although Lobengula's forces totaled 8,000 spearmen and 2,000 riflemen, versus fewer than 700 soldiers of the British South Africa Police, the Ndebele warriors were not equipped to match the British machine guns. Leander Starr Jameson sent his troops to Bulawayo to try to capture Lobengula, but the king escaped and left Bulawayo in ruins behind him.
An attempt to bring the king and his forces to submit led to the disaster of the
Lobengula died in January 1894, under mysterious circumstances; within a few short months the British South Africa Company controlled Matabeleland, and white settlers continued to arrive.
Second Matebele War
In March 1896, the Ndebele revolted against the authority of the British South Africa Company in what is now celebrated in Zimbabwe as the First Chimurenga, i.e., First War of Independence. Mlimo, the Ndebele spiritual/religious leader, is credited with fomenting much of the anger that led to this confrontation. He convinced the Ndebele that the white settlers (almost 4,000 strong by then) were responsible for the drought, locust plagues and the cattle disease rinderpest ravaging the country at the time.
Birthplace of Scouting
It was in Matabeleland during the
British Rule
British settlement of Rhodesia continued, and by October 1923, the territory of Southern Rhodesia was annexed to the Crown. The Ndebele thereby became British subjects and the colony received its first basic constitution and first parliamentary election. Ten years later, the British South Africa Company ceded its mineral rights to the territory's government for £2 million. The deep recession of the 1930s gave way to a post-war boom of British immigration.
After the onset of self-government, a major issue in Southern Rhodesia was the relationship between the white settlers and the Ndebele and Shona populations. One major consequence was the white settlers were able to enact discriminatory legislation concerning land tenure. The Land Apportionment and Tenure Acts reserved 45% of the land area for exclusively white ownership. 25% was designated "Tribal Trust Land", which was available to be worked on a collective basis by the already settled farmers and where individual title was not offered.
In 1965, the white government of Rhodesia, led by Prime Minister Ian Smith, unilaterally declared independence from Britain – only the second state to do so, the other being the United States in 1776. Initially, the state proclaimed its loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II as "Queen of Rhodesia" (a title to which she never consented), but by 1970 even that link was severed, and Rhodesia claimed to be an independent republic. This was not recognised by any other state in the world; legally, Rhodesia remained a British colony.
Sovereign Rhodesia
The ruling white Rhodesian government did not gain international recognition and faced serious economic problems as a result of sanctions. Some states, such as South Africa and
The Rhodesian government agreed to a ceasefire in 1979. For a brief period, Rhodesia reverted to the status of British colony, until early 1980 when elections were held. The ZANU party, led by the Shona independence leader Robert Mugabe, defeated the popular Ndebele candidate Joshua Nkomo, solidified their rule over independent Zimbabwe. The former state of Matabeleland and Mashonaland now exist as provinces of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe
Following independence in 1980, Zimbabwe initially made significant economic and social progress,
Gukurahundi Massacre 1983-87
Gukurahundi was a series of alleged massacres of people inhabiting areas largely populated by Northern Ndebele people (formerly known as Matabele). They are said to have been carried out by some military elements mainly alleged to be a now disbanded fifth brigade, a paramilitary force that was trained in North Korea, from early 1983 to late 1987. The International Association of Genocide Scholars estimates that more than 20,000 people were killed and have classified the massacres as a genocide.[10] The government has repeatedly destroyed local plaques commemorating the massacres.[11]
By early 1984, these military elements are alleged to have disrupted food supplies in the Matabeleland regions where some inhabitants in the affected areas suffered food shortages. Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo finally reconciled their political differences by late 1987. The roots of discord remained, however, and in some ways increased as Mugabe's rule became increasingly autocratic into the 21st century.[citation needed]
In the early 1990s, a Land Acquisition Act was passed, calling for the Mugabe government to purchase mostly white-owned commercial farming land for redistribution to native Africans.[citation needed] Greater Matabeleland has rich central plains, watered by tributaries of the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, allowing it to sustain cattle and consistently produce large amounts of cotton and maize.[citation needed] But land grabbing, squatting, and repossessions of large commercial farms under Mugabe's program resulted in a 90% loss in productivity in large-scale farming, ever higher unemployment, and hyperinflation.[citation needed]
See also
- ZAPU
- Kalanga
- Gwanda
- Matopos
- Hwange
- Victoria Falls
- Bulawayo
- Joshua Nkomo
- Ntumbane
- Matabeleland football team
References
- S2CID 145067131.
- ISBN 9780862729530.
- ISBN 0-393-04770-9.
- OCLC 407686.
- Boys' Life. Boy Scouts of America: 6–7. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ISBN 0-09-170670-X.
- ISBN 0-486-45719-2.
- S2CID 146706169.
- ^ Forster, Reverend Dr. Michael. "The Origins of the Scouting Movement" (DOC). Netpages. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
- ^ Doran, Stuart (19 May 2015). "Zimbabwe: new documents claim to prove Mugabe ordered Gukurahundi killings". The Guardian.
- ^ York, Geoffrey (12 January 2022). "Why Zimbabwe's simple plaque with a not-so-simple history keeps getting destroyed and rebuilt". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
External links
- Beneath the Zanu PF, MDC feud – notes for Mbeki Newzimbabwe.com(George Mkhwananzi)
- The History of the Ndebele people {Zimbabwe}
- "Free State of Matabeleland"