Named after Cecil Rhodes, Southern Rhodesia was to be formed as

part of the scramble for Africa and in particular the competition

between the Boers and British for domination in Southern Africa.
However the lands were under the control of the powerful Matabele
tribe and their chief Lobengula. They had also subjugated a smaller
tribe known as the Mashona. Rhodes encouraged the Capes High
Commissioner Sir Hercules Robinson, to proclaim that Matabeleland
and Mashonaland were within the British sphere of influence. In 1890,
an armed British South Africa Company Pioneer Column advanced
into the Matabele and Mashona lands. They set up a headquarters in
Salisbury on 12th Sept 1890 and started selling off claims to land. The
miners were to be frustrated in their search for gold. There was no
golden seam running north of the Witwatersrand. They discovered
that there had been gold mined by Africans from the ancient site of
'Great Zimbabwe' but the gold had been exhausted many years before.
King Solomon's Mines did not exist. The BSAC had armed themselves
with the latest military equipment including Maxim machine guns
and modern artillery. The brave Matabele warriors were no match
for the well armed forces of the BSAC although a small patrol under
Maj. Alan Wilson, which had been sent to find the Matabele King
Lobengula, was overwhelmed by the Matabele and was killed. But the
technological advantage was too great for the Matabele to withstand.
Lobengula died in mysterious circumstances in 1894 which effectively
ended central resistance to the British, although isolated skirmishes
would continue for another year at least. This is when Brtian took
control.

Life under the Empire in Rhodesia was terrible when the British was
in control. There was segregation the black and the white settlers. The
blacks got displaced into infertile land and the settlers took the fertile
land they then gained themselves mining rights so they could look for
gold. The settlers also created segregation rules such as no blacks are
allowed in pubs and blacks arent allowed in certain parts of
Rhodesia. It was very cruel and wrong and the blacks fought for their
rights but most of the time they were ignored only in a certain time
were their opinions put to ear.
His was after the British government had made majority rule a
condition for the independence of Rhodesia from Britain. Smith
followed the UDI by declaring Rhodesia a Republic, which however,
did not have international recognition. From June 1979, the Republic
of Southern Rhodesia was replaced by Zimbabwe-Rhodesia after Abel
Tendekayi Muzorewa won the first majority elections.

On this day in 1980, Southern-Rhodesia gained independence from the

British, taking the name Zimbabwe. The day marked the end of racial
segregation after a protracted war of liberation that claimed many
lives.

In the April 1980 elections, Robert Mugabe, head of the Zimbabwe

African National Union (ZANU) won the majority and became the
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean independence is celebrated
on 18 April each year and Robert Mugabe has been at the helm since
1980. Although initially, the ceremony used to attract large numbers
of people, gradually, the numbers have been decreasing as more and
more people are becoming disillusioned as the promises made during
the war for independence are yet to be realised.