Why Zimbabwe Is A Sub Saharan African Country

The Great Zimbabwe was a kingdom that was established in 1250. This kingdom was a culmination of various southern African kingdoms. While most settlements within the kingdom were dedicated to

Imperialism caused more problems than progress due to the destabilization of existing African tribes through unnecessary conflict caused by Europeans. In 1877, Sir Henry Frere decided that the only way to gain total control over the South African area was to defeat the Zulus, who were bordering several independent Boer and tribal states (Herbert). While warfare between African tribes did exist, it was usually fought over matters such as land. The British however, entered Africa and attempted to destabilize a tribe to make seizing power over the area easier for them. The Anglo-Zulu War wouldn’t have been fought had the British not invaded Africa and instigated the Zulu tribe. Commandment S Bourquin wrote several journal entries detailing the

The county of South Africa is an economically flourishing country and probably the most advanced country on the continent of Africa. However the entire continent of Africa is probably the most undeveloped part of the world. Why is South Africa so different from the rest of its continent? Karen Politis Virk explains that it is because of South Africa’s developed economy and diverse population (Virk 40). South Africa has three main ethnic groups: African, Afrikaners, and the mixed race. The Afrikaners and mixed races have many roots to Europe and Asia giving the nation even more diversity and a culture melting pot. This set the nation apart from the rest of the African nation in which the majority of the residents are of native African

“Britain was also interested in areas known to be rich in minerals like the country of Transvaal,” (David, 2011). They also aimed at keeping other countries out of their territories so as to not lose the upper hand in the search for gold and priceless gems. Because of this plan to keep other countries out, by the late 1800’s Britain was in control of about 30% of Africa’s population.

The physical-environmental geography of Sub-Saharan Africa relates to the distribution of human and economic activities in several ways. First, Sub-Saharan Africa is a peripheral that supplies raw materials, food, and cheap labor to the main industrial countries. The physical geography makes survival had for those not working in agriculture. It is the most productive way for people to make a living and feed their large families. In recent years, there has been major movement from rural-to-urban environments. Migration to major cities has caused extreme overcrowding and poor living conditions.

Did you ever want to travel out of the states, maybe to Australia, Europe, Asia, or maybe even Africa? Maybe even to a specific country in any of those locations. Well if you have ever wanted to take a 22 hour and 25-minute flight Zimbabwe here’s what you need to know.

During the period of imperialism, whites began dominating over the natives that were already in the Rhodesias. The British began entering into the Matabele home. For centuries the natives had been living in this area, raising their families and living off the land. With the idea of imperialism spreading throughout the globe, the time had come for the natives to be driven off their land as well, by the British. By 1892, more than 1,500 Europeans were in the Rhodesias, and more were to come. They came to the area as not only a part of Cecil Rhodes goal to control from Cape to Cairo, but to be in control of the natural resources of the area. The territory of the Matabele was rich materials in copper, gold, and diamonds. The whites were dominating

The lack of enforcement and legislation caused chaos with in these naive nations. Barbara Simpson, a journalist at WND, has studied the effect of Zimbabwe after the British had decolonized the area. Simpson claims that in the 1960s “More than 4,000 (whites) have been attacked, tortured and killed for no reason other than that they’re white and own land. Zuma even sang a song in public about killing whites.” (Page 1)

Sub Saharan Africa ,over 800 million people and 40 countries is a very large land mass surrounded by flat, elevated landforms, basins, the Sahel, Savannas, Rift Valleys, Deserts, Plateaus, Rain Forests. The highest area of Sub- Saharah is the Great Rift Valley which forms deep valleys, volcanos and lakes. The Great Rift Valley is most prominent physical feature in East Africa. The landscape of Sub Sahara Africa is mostly red soil, food crops and bright blue skies, animal herds, rivers that run thru the rain forest and deserts. Plateaus and basins make up for much of Africas physical geography. Sub saharan Africa is considered an elevated land mass, but it does not have high mountain ranges or deep valleys. The four major rivers of Sub-Saharan

Around the start of 1922, The British South African Company ended. The white European settlers were presented with the choice of the Union of South Africa or a separate colony included in the British empire. Rhodesia rejected the offer of the Union of South Africa, and the colony joined the United Kingdom. Although Rhodesia made its own decisions, the United Kingdom had the right to veto any action. In an effort to bring beneficial resources to the country, Southern Rhodesia joined a Federation between Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Along with Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia left the federation as well as Nyasaland. After much crisis, the Central African Federation ended. As black disagreement to colonial rule grew, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu) and the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu), nationalist groups, emerged. The aggravation in African populations increased when the United Kingdom acknowledged Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland as independent countries. Even though the Europeans in Rhodesia did not listen, the African population still demanded increased participation in political matters.

Zimbabwe, originally named Rhodesia “… the most prominent settler colony in British Africa… developed policies… under the radar of state control” (Andersson and Green, 128). The settlers mainly chose to control what they wanted even if it meant destroying the society. In Yvonne Vera’s short story, “Why Don’t You Carve Other Animals”, she subtly illustrates Zimbabwean cultural segregation and past settler colonization. In the article, “Development Under the Surface: The Rise of Indigenous Agriculture as an Unintended

Around 1652, the Dutch East India Company created a settlement on the cape, leading to several other indigenous peoples settling in the area as well . This tactic nearly parallels with the colonization beginning throughout the rest of the world. White supremacy gradually took over South Africa as more and more of them colonized the country, and worked their way into government positions. The English pushed the natives out and eventually did not care about race, merely about the money that came from labor . The Land Act of 1913, was believed to be the initial beginning of the apartheid laws. This act initiated by white supremacists marked the first major downfall of segregation for the colored and Indian peoples of South Africa. The Afrikans were essentially “divided into nine nations” and approximately 93% of the land was reserved for the white people. 2/3 of the population of South Africa at the time was considered African, or native people, and these people were all banned from “freely buying land”, making conditions very harsh, and malnutrition was extremely common . Urbanization occurred with white people in power simply increasing the segregation between races. Africans continued to live and work in absolutely terrible conditions. They often resided in the outskirts of cities in derisory housing, with poor sanitation, were lucky to have a bit of electricity, and had awful people to manage their workplace. The

Afternoon once again some more on Zimbabwe...DISCUSS THE RISE AND EXPANSION OF THE MUTAPA STATE. (NOV 2008)

With China, Zimbabwe would “never walk alone” claimed Emerson Mnangagwa, speaker of the Zimbabwe parliament (qtd in Obiorah 39). Nonetheless, several experts have condemned the Chinese government for fueling the ongoing conflicts in Zimbabwe and for helping the authoritarian government in its repression of any opposition. China has been heavily criticized for shipping armament to Zimbabwe that would ultimately distributed to the military and the militia that would help keep the opposition down during the 2008 elections. Although China adopts its non-interference stance, such types of trades are ultimately affecting the country. The delivery of those arms coincided with a time of extreme hostilities in the country and many pointed fingers at the Chinese government for blatant human rights violations (Spiegel and Le Billon 324, 330).

From the 17th century until the early 1900’s, European countries were fighting to get tracks of land across Africa. Although South Africa was unified by Great Britain in 1910, the African National Congress was formed two years later. It was only on Dec 11, 1931 after World War II when Britain gave South Africa its’ independence as a country. For the first sixty years after South Africa was claimed independent, white minority rulers dominated the country. South Africa is now an independent Nation but is still a member of the British Commonwealth.