Zimbabwe History Facts and Timeline

(Zimbabwe, ZW, Southern Africa)

Over the past 1,500 years or so, the history of Zimbabwe has certainly seen a huge amount of change. Evidence dating back as far as the 5th century shows how a civilisation known as the Khoisans lived here for many years, being joined by other communities around the mid-section of the Limpopo Valley.

The Khoisans chose to relocate themselves in the 10th century, following the arrival of the Bantu peoples, heading south-eastwards to pastures new.

At this time, important trade links began to develop with Arab merchants located on the nearby shoreline of the Indian Ocean. This proved to be an important stepping stone in the creation of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe, as well as the affluent and important city named Great Zimbabwe.

The Forming of a City and Kingdom

Located close to the Chimanimani Mountains, Lake Mutirikwe and also Masvingo, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe certainly offer quite the insight into this city. In its heyday, towards the end of the Iron Age period of history (1st century AD), this important city actually functioned as the capital for the rapidly expanding Kingdom of Zimbabwe and its powerful Shona dynasty.

The city boasted a sumptuous royal palace, where the kingdom's monarch lived in luxury, surrounded by some towering city walls. Many of these giant walls exceeded 5 metres / 16 feet in height and were built without any mortar whatsoever.

A Time of Change

Successful Swahili merchants and traders operated here and during the 16th century, they were joined by competitive Portuguese traders. However, by this time in African history, the fortunes of Great Zimbabwe had rather reversed and this former capital was rapidly crumbling away, being superseded by the spreading Kingdom of Mutapa, which covered a vast area of Southern Africa, between the Limpopo River and the Zambezi River.

This kingdom was established in the middle of the 15th century and Mutapa ruled over a series of autonomous Shona states. Mutapa continued to thrive right up until its sudden demise in 1760, following the arrival of a civil war.

History of the 19th Century

During the fourth decade of the 1800s, the Ndebele warriors headed northwards into Zimbabwe and began to make their presence known. It was not long until they had formed a major settlement at Bulawayo and this soon became their capital city. When the British arrived in the 1880s, requesting mining rights, the Ndebele were able to display their force and put up an impressive and rather unexpected show of resistance.

Eventually, the king of the Ndebele peoples granted the British rights to mine within the regions of both Mashonaland and Matabeleland. The British soon founded Fort Salisbury (now today better known as Harare, the capital city) and went on to defeat the Ndebele during the lengthy First Matabele War (1893 and 1894). It was not long until the British controlled the whole of the territory falling in between Lake Tanganyika and the Limpopo River, which was named Zambesia.

Between 1896 and 1897, the Second Matabele War came along, when the Ndebele chose to rebel against their British rulers and everything that they had brought with them. The Rhodes administration stepped in and divided up the nation, allocating areas for the Ndebele, the remaining Shona communities and the new Europeans, who managed to get the majority of this land. History remembers how many indigenous tribes were sadly forced to leave their homeland during this time.

History of the 20th Century Onwards

Towards the end of 1923, Southern Rhodesia was formed as a self-governing British colony, being located on the northern side of the union of South Africa and the Limpopo River. During World War II (1939 to 1945), the Rhodesians fought on behalf of the British.

Later on, 1965 saw the signing of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence and the following year, sanctions were imposed by the British. In the year 1979, the country was renamed as Zimbabwe Rhodesia and independence from the United Kingdom was finally recognised in 1980.

The infamous politician Robert Mugabe was elected as the very first prime minister of Zimbabwe in 1980 and was soon accused of implementing a repressive regime through corruption and violence. A cholera outbreak caused devastation as recently as 2008, due to poor sanitation and poverty.

Today, this landlocked country continues to offer interest for tourists, with much of the tourism appeal being based around Harare, the modern-day capital, and the vast expanses of untouched wilderness. Outside of Harare, highlights include the Chinhoyi Caves, Lake Kariba, the rock formations of Matobo, the Mutoroshanga Ethel Mine and the breathtaking cascades of the Victoria Falls.