Imperialism

In the 1830s there was a large exudus of people fleeing from present day South Africa into Zimbabwe. These people were fleeing to escape the Zulu violence and the ongoing Boer wars. They fled north into what was then considered Metabeleland. The Europeans began to enter the country between 1830-1890 primarily seeking to trade and hunt. The first colony was established in 1889 by the British South Africa Company (BSA) which was owned by Cecil John Rhodes. Rhodes gained British mandate to colonize the country naming the land Southern Rhodesia. In the colony of Rhodesia, the African natives were ruled over by a all White government and had no say what when on within the government. Only the white people living in the colony were allowed to vote and elect leaders. In 1893, an uprising was attemped and crushed shortly after it was started. However, the BSA administration ends and the white minority takes over the government. In 1930, Land Appointment Acts were declared which segregated blacks into seperate areas forcing many blacks to take up wage labor. Land was unevenly and unfairly distributed leaving the best land for the some 6,000 British farmers and the worst and smaller part of the land to around 600,000 African farmers. The blacks began to oppose colonial rule between 1930-1960 causing the emergence of two primary nationalist groups to emerge. The first of these is the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and the other is the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). In response to this move, Great Britian creates the Central African Federation which was made up of the countries of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), North Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi). However, this organization was shortlived and broke up in 1963 when Zambia an Makawi gained independece. In 1964, Ian Smith of the Rhodesian Front (RF) becomes prime minister of Southern Rhodesia and tries to persuade Britian to grant the country independence under white minority rule. This move caused international outrage and massive international ecomomic sanctions against the region. Guerilla warfare was raged against the white rule led by the leaders of the ZANU and ZAPU groups. This uprising combined with the international sanctions caused Ian Smith to yield to pressure to hold elections made up of the ZANU and ZAPU groups. However, this new govenment, led by Abel Muzorewa, failed to gain international recognition and the brutal civil war continued. Finally, in 1979, there were peace agreements leading to a constitution that guaranteed rights for all minorities which was initiated by the British. These peace agreements led to independent elections in 1980. Robert Mugabe (the leader of the ZANU party) was elected prime minister. Joshua Nikomo (the leader of the ZAPU party) was elected to the cabinet. Zimbabwe officially declared it's independence on 18 April 1980. This officially ended colonial rule in the country.