Period+2+HIstory+of+Zimbabwe

1897 - Great Britain recognized southern and northern Rhodesia as separate territories 1923 Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing British Colony 1953 Great Britain set up the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which included the territories of Southern and Northern Rhodesia 1963 - The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved 1964 - Northern Rhodesia became Zambia 1964 - Southern Rhodesia became known as Rhodesia 11 November 1965 Prime Minister, Ian Smith, declared Rhodesia independent. Great Britain declared this action illegal and banned trade with Rhodesia 1966 The United Nations imposed sanctions on Rhodesia 1969 A new constitution was introduced to prevent black Africans from ever gaining control of the government 2 March 1970 Rhodesia declared itself a republic 1970-1974 Civil War between government troops and black guerrillas 1977-1979 Prime Minister Smith began to make plans to establish a new government with a majority of black leaders April 1979 - Election resulted in a majority of black leaders April 1979 - Abel T. Muzorewa became the first black Prime Minister 31 May 1979 - Zimbabwe proclaimed independence 1 June 1979 - The nation of Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, was formed 18 April 1980 - Great Britain recognized the country's independence and Rhodesia's name was officially changed to Zimbabwe February 2000 - In a referendum held Zimbabwe voters rejected a new constitution which included provisions that called for redistribution of white-owned farmland to blacks **
 * 1893 - The British South African Company occupied the region and called the territory Rhodesia

Rhodesian Bush War- civil war in what was then the country of Rhodesia, which lasted from July 1964[|[3]] to 1979. Ended the white-ruled Rhodesia Prime Minister Robert Mugabe created the Republic of Zimbabwe. Ian Smith-racist leader of the Rhodesian government, and Abel Muzorewa of the Zimbabwe-Rhodesia government were his opponents.


 * His Excellency Mr Robert Gabriel MUGABE ||

married a woman 41 years his junior- 1 daughter and 2 sons Robert Mugabe once was hailed as a symbol of the new Africa, but under his rule the health and well-being of his people have dropped dramatically, which is as much an abuse of human rights as arbitrary arrest and torture. According to the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe has the world’s shortest life expectancy—37 years for men and 34 for women. It also has the greatest percentage of orphans (about 25%, says UNICEF) and the worst annual inflation rate (1,281% as of last month). He last allowed an election in 2002 but “won” only after having his leading opponent arrested for treason.

* In 1930 a land act was passed which excluded Africans from ownership of the best farming land further enhancing white supremacy. The labour law, carried in 1934, prohibited the Africans from entering skilled trades and professions.

Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), mostly Ndebele, led by Joshua Nkomo.
 * As a consequence of these actions, Africans were forced to work for subsistence wages on white farms, mines and factories.
 * The gradual radicalisation of the African labour force occurred due to terribly poor wages and conditions.
 * It was shortly joined by the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), mostly Shona, a break-away group under Ndabaningi Sithole.
 * After the collapse of the federation in 1963, both ZAPU and ZANU were banned and the majority of their leaders imprisoned.
 * At the same time, as a response to Britain's refusal to grant independence to Southern Rhodesia, Ian Smith the prime minister, called for a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI).
 * In the May 1965 elections, Smith's party picked up every one of the 50 government seats, in December, UDI was declared.
 * Britain declared Smith's action illegal and imposed economic sanctions. In 1968 the UN voted to make the sanctions mandatory but they were largely ineffective.
 * The measures taken by the British government to force Smith to revoke UDI and accept Black majority rule were useless, as the economic sanctions imposed actually saw Rhodesia's economy grow.


 * Full names || His Excellency Mr Robert Gabriel MUGABE ||
 * Date of Birth || 21/02/1924 ||
 * Children || 2 son(s) 1 daughter(s) ||
 * School || Kutama Mission School ||

Random facts

Robert Mugabe once was hailed as a symbol of the new Africa, but under his rule the health and well-being of his people have dropped dramatically, which is as much an abuse of human rights as arbitrary arrest and torture. According to the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe has the world’s shortest life expectancy—37 years for men and 34 for women. It also has the greatest percentage of orphans (about 25%, says UNICEF) and the worst annual inflation rate (1,281% as of last month). He last allowed an election in 2002 but “won” only after having his leading opponent arrested for treason. Ian Smith became the Prime Minister of Rhodesia from November 11, 1965, to June 1, 1979, when Rhodesia was ruled by a small minority. Needless to say that Rhodesia failed to gain international recognition and sanctions were applied. Ian Smith’s party, like Zanu PF, won all the general elections until the end of white minority rule. After fourteen years, Ian Smith succumbed to international pressure, liberation war, and economic sanctions by negotiating an internal settlement which resulted in Bishop Muzorewa’s UANC being given a role in government and which also resulted in Bishop Muzorewa becoming the first black Prime Minister of the country. Majority rule was achieved in 1980 after the Lancaster House Agreement and the election of Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. Ian Smith remained a member of the Zimbabwe Parliament until 1987. The political system of Rhodesia made its whites one of the wealthiest communities in the world and blacks were systematically alienated from wealth. A race-based capitalist system characterised colonial and Rhodesia Front rule. Whites dominated the economy of the country notwithstanding their numbers and used this domination to their own advantage. Although accounting for less than 5% of the total population, 50% of the land was reserved for white ownership (through the Land Apportionment Act) and most senior positions were reserved for whites. A modern and efficient public sector was created to serve principally the interests of the minority in as much as the public services were targeted at meeting the needs of this population. Education was provided along racially segregated lines and as much as eleven times more was spent per head on white pupils than was spent on blacks. Ian Smith, therefore, was a leader of a group that saw its mission as maintaining and defending the injustice and inequity. Ian Smith became active in politics in 1948 when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as a liberal for Selukwe district. Like Mugabe, he was initially a reluctant politician. In 1953, he joined the Federal Party set up by Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins and in the federal general election; he was elected as a member of the federal legislature. From 1958, Smith served as Chief Whip for the party in the Federal Assembly. In 1962, he resigned from the party and formed the Rhodesia Reform Party and after a few months, this was merged with the Dominion Party to form the Rhodesia Front. Smith was elected to Parliament as RF in 1962 and formed a government with a slim majority. He was appointed Minister of the Treasury under Prime Minister Field. Field’s failure to secure independence from Britain when the federation was dissolved led to Smith deposing him as a leader. Smith was opposed to majority rule and is on record stating that there would be no plans to bring Rhodesia under black majority rule in his lifetime or his children’s. The rest is history and in 1980 UDI ended and elections were held under international supervision. Smith initially demanded that the election be declared null void because of alleged intimidation of voters and candidates during the election campaign. Robert Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924. Mugabe’s personal and professional history is well known to many but what is significant is that there is a similarity in Ian Smith’s journey to power and how he subsequently monopolised the political space to the exclusion of the majority. Zanu PF is structured as a patriotic front in as much as the Rhodesia Front was formed as a patriotic front. Mugabe started as a Prime Minister accountable to parliament and in 1987; he became an Executive President accountable to no-one. History of Rhodesia will confirm that Ian Smith was accountable to no-one. The residential address of sovereignty in Rhodesia was Ian Smith and in Zimbabwe there is no doubt that Mugabe is the address. The use of state of emergency powers under Ian Smith is no different from Mugabe’s regime. Any critique of Ian Smith was easily labelled as a subversive and terrorist and the consequences were as predictable as they have been in Zimbabwe since 1980. The RF was an exclusive party that was immune from sanctions while the majority of the population was condemned to poverty or exile. Zimbabwe at 27 finds itself isolated from the international community in as much as Ian Smith’s Rhodesia was isolated. The response to Ian Smith’s tyranny was the liberation struggle and the response to Zanu PF has largely been confused resistance. The injury caused by Ian Smith may not be any different from the injury of the last twenty seven years and yet the response has not been equal to the task.
 * IAN SMITH **
 * ROBERT MUGABE & IAN SMITH **

[] **Ian Douglas Smith**, destined to become the first Rhodesian Prime Minister of Rhodesia, was born in the town of Selukwe on the 8th April 1919. He completed his early education in Gwelo before moving on to the Rhodes University in South Africa to study for a degree in commerce. When war broke out in Europe, putting aside his studies, he immediately volunteered for service against the evils of Nazism, and joined the British RAF, serving with No. 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron. Little did he suspect that twenty five years later he would be fighting the equally odious evils of Marxism and dictatorship at home in Rhodesia. During the war he served with courage and distinction, being badly injured in a Hurricane crash in 1943 from which he fully recovered, only to be shot down whilst over the Po river in Italy during June 1944. He survived the experience and fought with the Italian partisans, before being able to escape across the border to liberated France. He soon rejoined his squadron and saw active service over Germany up to the close of the war in Europe. After the war, he returned to Rhodes University in South Africa to continue his studies and complete his commerce degree, which he passed with flying colours. He married in 1948 and acquired a farm in Selukwe, he also became a member of parliament, first for the Liberal Party, then as a member of Sir Roy Welensky’s United Federal Party. In 1962 he formed the Rhodesian Front Party with Winston Field, to thwart the plans which the British government had for Rhodesia, plans that were to the detriment of all the people of Rhodesia. At the 1962 elections, the Rhodesian Front won a majority of 5 seats and were able to form a government, headed by Winston Field. In April 1964, Ian Smith succeeded the indecisive and wavering Field as Prime Minister, and led the ultimately fruitless negotiations with a petulent British government over the future of Rhodesia. The British government were determined to dump Rhodesia at any cost to show their liberal credentials, and appease the sordid "dictators club" of the OAU. By November 11th 1965, the situation had become so critical that there was no alternative but to make a Unilateral Declaration of Independence. UN Sanctions were soon imposed but to little effect. After repeated attempts to reach a settlement to the crisis, an internal agreement was reached with the moderate black nationalist leaders. An internationally observed free and fair election took place in early 1979, which brought to power the Government of National Unity under the leadership of Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Rhodesia’s first black Prime Minister. Ian Smith continued as a Minister without portfolio in the Muzorewa government in the newly named, Zimbabwe – Rhodesia, and remained in parliament until he was expelled by the Marxist dictator Robert Mugabe in 1986. Mugabe had come to power by threat and intimidation in the scandalously corrupt election of 1980, held in response to an agreement for international recognition brokered by the British government. The weak willed and gullible Muzorewa had allowed himself to be brow beaten by the British into a new election involving the terrorist leaders, Mugabe and Nkomo, a decision which was to have devastating consequences for the nation. Ian Douglas Smith, still lives in his beloved country, which has been called Zimbabwe since 1980. He has refused to be forced into exile by the threats, harassment and racist policies of Mugabe. Policies which have seen the once thriving and advanced Rhodesia fall into an abyss of dictatorship and corruption, which is the hallmark of Mugabe´s despotic state of Zimbabwe.

[] //Dr. Chika A. Onyeani is Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of The African Sun Times, based in East Orange, NJ.// In Zimbabwe, white farmers are still being defiant to the order issued by the government of President Robert Mugabe that they should vacate farm lands that government has targeted for take over. Others have decided to obey the order. Unfortunately, the issue of land re-distribution, or "seizure" as the foreign media would have us believe, has been the most misunderstood, to the extent that it has been lumped together with the politics of President Mugabe. But the issue of politics in Zimbabwe, and ultimately that of Mugabe, should not be allowed to becloud the attempt by the country to the equitable re-distribution of land stolen by whites in the first instance without compensation to its rightful African owners.  While white farmers continue to shed crocodile tears, it is a matter of record that in a land of more than 11 million people, the whites who make up less than 2% of the population, control more than 60% of the arable land. It is also a matter of record that although 95% of the white farmers have received notice to quit the land, those whose land has been taken over have all received compensation, and of the 500 who have agreed to leave peacefully some have also already been paid. It seems the height of hypocrisy that the world should be -focused on the plight and non-payment of compensation to white farmers, without as much as a mention of the savagery with which the Black African owners were massacred and their lands seized without compensation. The word Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe, is an Ndebele word for "slaughter," and it refers to the savagery of the British settlers, including the infamous Cecil Rhodes who had crushed the attempt by the indigenes to fight back, leading King Lobengula to swallow poison rather than be captured. Or should we forget the savagery of the bestial Sir Frederick Carrington, who had publicly advocated that the entire Ndebele race should be forcefully removed or be exterminated.   Or that of profligate Ian Smith, who seized the government in 1965 and unilaterally declared the then Southern Rhodesia independent, when he refused to apologize for the atrocities he committed while he held office. In fact, he even boasted that he had no regrets about the estimated 30,000 Zimbabweans killed during his rule. Said Smith, "the more we killed, the happier we were."

[] - rhodesia political cartoon http://rhodesian.server101.com/shooting.jpg - Ian Smith []- racism riot []- refugees []- zimbabwe [] - zimbabwe animated flag [] - northern rhodesia [], [], [] - Mugabe [] - elephant [] - natives [] - landscape [] - welcome to zimbabwe [] - groovy african montage [cannot be accessed at school] [] - british south africa company [] - rhodes overlord [] - split rhodesia [] - guerillas []- harold wilson [] - smith headline [] - civil war [] - muzorewa [] - rhodesia stamp [], [], [] - mugabe political cartoon [] - zimbabwe african people's union [] - Lobengula [] - zimbabwe [] - poverty [] - currency [], [] - blood diamond [] - 08 election [] - Tsvangirai [] - impoverished children [] - zimbabwe women [] - temple [] - future

RHODESIA!!!! [] Such wealth was the means to a glorious end for Rhodes. In 1881 he became a member of the Cape Parliament. Rhodes had stated, "Africa is still lying ready for us. It is our duty to take it." By 1890 he was Prime Minister of Cape Colony and his ambitions for the Anglo Saxon rule of southern Africa had moved towards Zambesia. Rhodes' British South Africa Company obtained mining ad farming rights in Mashonaland, having successfully duped the Matabele King, Lobengula. By 1896 Rhodes' company forces had put down all resistance to his advances and a new addition to the British Empire was aptly named Rhodesia after its founder. The only stumbling block to Rhodes' dream of British supremacy in South Africa was the protectionist Boer Republic of Transvaal. Following the discovery of a vast gold reef on the Witwatersrand Transvaal was becoming increasingly wealthy and powerful. Rhodes answer to this problem was a coup de main in which Rhodesian and Bechuanaland gendarmerie would enter Transvaal in support of an uitlander uprising in Johannesburg. What became known as the Jameson Raid was botched from the start and the raiders were easily intercepted and captured by the Boers. Rhodes' shady part in the fiasco led to his retirement from public life. The ramifications of the raid were far reaching as it was seen as the first round of a contest between Britain and Transvaal, which ultimately culminated in the Boer War between 1899 and 1902. Rhodes death led to prolonged mourning. He was ruthless, amoral and instinctively acquisitive yet he had single-mindedly followed his plan "to make the world English." He had added Northern and Southern Rhodesia to the Empire and he was a truly useful instrument for the preservation and extension of Britain's influence in southern Africa at a time when it was in jeopardy. "So little done. So much to do," were the words falsely attributed as Rhodes last. However, the sentiments were entirely appropriate to this most resourceful and visionary icon of Empire.

CECIL RHODES IN A PROVACATIVE POSE?!?!?!?!?! [XDDD] []

FUNNY BRITISH CARTOON []

AnTHEM [] King lobendula []

FLAG [] black stripe - for the black majority. red stripe - blood spilled during the armed struggle. yellow stripe - the country's mineral wealth. green stripe - the vegetation and agriculture. white triangle - peace. red star - the nation's aspirations. yellow bird - the national emblem.

CECIL RHODES FACTS []

[] the entertainer XDD