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A Short History of Zimbabwe

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As early as 200 B.C. the San people are believed to have first inhabited the country. Come the Bantu domination and the Shona people came, followed by the Nguni and Zulu tribes. In the mid-19th century, the descendants of the Nguni and Zulu tribes called the Ndebele established their own kingdom in the country.

In 1850, the British came and conquered the country making it their colony. They named the country Rhodesia after Cecil Rhodes of the British South Africa Company. Soon it became Southern Rhodesia and in 1923, the European settlers of the country voted to become a self-governing colony of the British. In 1963 after the World War II, Northern Rhodesia (which is Zambia at present) and Nyasaland (now Malawi) voted for independence while Southern Rhodesia chose to still remain as a colony.

After 2 years, the white minority of Rhodesia declared the country’s independence from Britain and in 1970, Rhodesia formally became a republic. The white minority of Rhodesia lead by Ian Smith has continued to control the government and they have resisted the Black Africans’ demands which lead to chaos and war. In 1978, the White Minority agreed to transfer power to the Black Majority, though Smith will still act as the country’s Prime Minister.

After 2 years, in the year 1980, the White Minority decided to hold a multiracial election to settle national issues. As expected, the Black Majority won by the name of Robert Mugabe who won a landslide victory. In April 17, 1980, the country celebrated its independence and changed its name to Zimbabwe.