149-485: Robert Gabriel Mugabe ( / m ʊ ˈ ɡ ɑː b i / ; Shona: [muɡaɓe] ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party,
298-812: A Marxist-Leninist , speaking warmly of Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries like Vladimir Lenin , Joseph Stalin , and Fidel Castro . Despite his Marxist views, Mugabe's meetings with Soviet representatives were unproductive, for they insisted on Nkomo's leadership of the revolutionary struggle. His relationship with the People's Republic of China was far warmer, as the Chinese Maoist government supplied ZANLA with armaments without any conditions. He also sought support from Western nations, visiting Western embassies in Mozambique, and travelled to both Western states like Italy and Switzerland and Marxist-governed states like
447-597: A socialist society —adhered largely to mainstream economic policies. Mugabe's calls for racial reconciliation failed to stem growing white emigration, while relations with Joshua Nkomo 's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) also deteriorated. In the Gukurahundi of 1982–1987, Mugabe's Fifth Brigade crushed ZAPU-linked opposition in Matabeleland in a campaign that killed at least 20,000 people, mostly Ndebele civilians. Internationally, he sent troops into
596-475: A 1978 radio address, Mugabe declared: "Let us hammer [the white man] to defeat. Let us blow up his citadel. Let us give him no time to rest. Let us chase him in every corner. Let us rid our home of this settler vermin". For Mugabe, armed struggle was an essential part of the establishment of a new state. In contrast to other black nationalist leaders like Nkomo, Mugabe opposed a negotiated settlement with Smith's government. In October 1976 ZANU nevertheless established
745-508: A Bachelor of Arts degree in history and English literature. In later years he described his time at Fort Hare as the "turning point" in his life. Mugabe returned to Southern Rhodesia in 1952, by which time—he later related— he was "completely hostile to the [colonialist] system". Here, his first job was as a teacher at the Driefontein Roman Catholic Mission School near Umvuma . In 1953 he relocated to
894-662: A Roman Catholic ceremony conducted in Salisbury; she had converted to Catholicism to make this possible. The British government held a Salisbury conference in 1961 to determine Southern Rhodesia's future. Nkomo led an NDP delegation, which hoped that the British would support the creation of an independent state governed by the black majority. Representatives of the country's white minority—who then controlled Southern Rhodesia's government—were opposed to this, promoting continued white minority rule. Following negotiations, Nkomo agreed to
1043-481: A budget deficit year-on-year that averaged at 10% of the country's gross domestic product. Under Mugabe's leadership, there was a massive expansion in education and health spending. In 1980, Zimbabwe had just 177 secondary schools, by 2000 this number had risen to 1,548. During that period, the adult literacy rate rose from 62% to 82%, one of the highest levels in Africa. Levels of child immunization were raised from 25% of
1192-414: A capitalist framework and emphasizing the need for foreign investment. In office, Mugabe sought a gradual transformation away from capitalism and tried to build upon existing state institutions. From 1980 to 1990, the country's economy grew by an average of 2.7% a year, but this was outstripped by population growth and real income declined. The unemployment rate rose, reaching 26% in 1990. The government ran
1341-431: A correct justification that just because the whites oppressed us yesterday when they had power, the blacks must oppress them today because they have power. An evil remains an evil whether practised by white against black or black against white. — Mugabe's speech after his 1980 victory Mugabe initially emphasized racial reconciliation and he was keen to build a good relationship with white Zimbabweans. He hoped to avoid
1490-486: A coup attempt. Tekere was acquitted of murder; however, Mugabe dropped him from his cabinet. Prime Minister of Zimbabwe The prime minister of Zimbabwe was a political office in the government of Zimbabwe that existed on two occasions. The first person to hold the position was Robert Mugabe from 1980 to 1987 following independence from the United Kingdom. He took office when Southern Rhodesia became
1639-590: A devout Catholic. Mugabe excelled at school, where he was a secretive and solitary child, preferring to read, rather than playing sports or socialising with other children. He was taunted by many of the other children, who regarded him as a coward and a mother's boy . In about 1930 Gabriel had an argument with one of the Jesuits, and as a result the Mugabe family was expelled from the mission village by its French leader, Father Jean-Baptiste Loubière. The family settled in
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#17327649718051788-434: A foreign group. Colonizers monopolize political power and hold conquered societies and their people to be inferior to their conquerors in legal, administrative, social, cultural, or biological terms. While frequently advanced as an imperialist regime, colonialism can also take the form of settler colonialism , whereby colonial settlers invade and occupy territory to permanently replace an existing society with that of
1937-446: A foreign ruling state... The ruling state monopolizes political power and keeps the subordinated society and its people in a legally inferior position." He also writes, "colonialism depends first and foremost upon the declaration of sovereignty and/or territorial seizure by a core state over another territory and its inhabitants who are classified as inferior subjects rather than equal citizens." According to David Strang, decolonization
2086-546: A good friend. Mugabe unsuccessfully urged Soames to remain in Zimbabwe for several more years, and also failed to convince the UK to assume a two-year "guiding role" for his government because most ZANU–PF members lacked experience in governing. ZANU–PF's absolute parliamentary majority allowed them to rule alone, but Mugabe created a government of national unity by inviting members of rival parties to join his cabinet. Mugabe moved into
2235-513: A guerrilla war against Smith's government. Among the revolutionaries, it was known as the "Second Chimurenga". Paramilitary groups based themselves in neighboring Tanzania and Zambia; many of their fighters were inadequately armed and trained. ZANU's military wing, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), consisted largely of Shona. It was based in neighboring Mozambique and gained funds from
2384-517: A house in Quelimane and kept him under partial house arrest , with Mugabe requiring permission to travel. It would be almost a year before Machel accepted Mugabe's leadership of ZANU. Mugabe travelled to various ZANLA camps in Mozambique to build support among its officers. By mid-1976, he had secured the allegiance of ZANLA's military commanders and established himself as the most prominent guerrilla leader battling Smith's regime. In August 1977, he
2533-619: A joint platform with ZAPU known as the Patriotic Front. In September 1978 Mugabe met with Nkomo in Lusaka. He was angry with the latter's secret attempts to negotiate with Smith. The beginning of the end for Smith came when South African Prime Minister B. J. Vorster concluded that white minority rule was unsustainable in a country where blacks outnumbered whites 22:1. Under pressure from Vorster, Smith accepted in principle that white minority rule could not be maintained forever. He oversaw
2682-574: A lot in military costs while private investors pocketed the benefits. In other cases the colonial powers managed to move the burden of administrative costs to the colonies themselves by imposing taxes. After World War I (1914–1918), the victorious Allies divided up the German colonial empire and much of the Ottoman Empire between themselves as League of Nations mandates , grouping these territories into three classes according to how quickly it
2831-470: A makeshift platform had been erected for speakers. Having become a much-respected figure through his profession, his possession of three degrees, and his travels abroad, Mugabe was among those invited to speak to the crowd. Following this event, Mugabe decided to devote himself full-time to activism, resigning his teaching post in Ghana (after having served two years of the four-year teaching contract). He chaired
2980-403: A nation seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories". The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers four definitions, including "something characteristic of a colony" and "control by one power over a dependent area or people". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy uses the term "to describe the process of European settlement and political control over the rest of
3129-502: A new party, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), in August; Ndabaningi Sithole became the group's president, while appointing Mugabe to be the group's secretary-general in absentia . Nkomo responded by forming his own group, the People's Caretaker Council, which was widely referred to as "ZAPU" after its predecessor. ZAPU and ZANU violently opposed one another and soon gang warfare broke out between their rival memberships. Mugabe
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#17327649718053278-399: A parliamentary system, with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. The presidency was mostly ceremonial; real power was vested with the prime minister. The 1980 election resulted in a ZANU–PF victory with Robert Mugabe becoming prime minister and Canaan Banana president. Mugabe and Banana were returned to office in the 1985 election . However, in 1987
3427-412: A particular large wave of decolonizations happening in the aftermath of World War II between 1945 and 1975. Colonialism has a persistent impact on a wide range of modern outcomes, as scholars have shown that variations in colonial institutions can account for variations in economic development , regime types , and state capacity . Some academics have used the term neocolonialism to describe
3576-481: A plan for a transition to formal independence as a sovereign republic under black-majority rule, also maintaining that Rhodesia would be renamed Zimbabwe, a name adopted from the Iron Age archaeological site of Great Zimbabwe . The agreement also ensured that the country's white minority retained many of its economic and political privileges, with 20 seats to be reserved for whites in the new Parliament. By insisting on
3725-523: A proposal which would allow the black population representation through 15 of the 65 seats in the country's parliament. Mugabe and others in the NDP were furious at Nkomo's compromise. Following the conference, Southern Rhodesia's African nationalist movement fell into disarray. Mugabe spoke at a number of NDP rallies before the party was banned by the government in December 1961. Many of its members re-grouped as
3874-510: A relationship with another woman, with whom he had three further offspring. Loubière died shortly after and was replaced by an Irishman, Father Jerome O'Hea, who welcomed the return of the Mugabe family to Kutama. In contrast to the racism that permeated Southern Rhodesian society, under O'Hea's leadership the Kutama Mission preached an ethos of racial equality. O'Hea nurtured the young Mugabe; shortly before his death in 1970 he described
4023-609: A schoolteacher in Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia , and Ghana. Angered by white minority rule of his homeland within the British Empire , Mugabe embraced Marxism and joined African nationalists calling for an independent state controlled by the black majority. After making antigovernmental comments, he was convicted of sedition and imprisoned between 1964 and 1974. On release, he fled to Mozambique, established his leadership of ZANU, and oversaw its role in
4172-887: A second degree by correspondence, this time a Bachelor of Administration from the University of London International Programmes through distance and learning. In Northern Rhodesia, he was taken in for a time by the family of Emmerson Mnangagwa , whom Mugabe inspired to join the liberation movement and who would later go on to be President of Zimbabwe . In 1958, Mugabe moved to Ghana to work at St Mary's Teacher Training College in Takoradi . He taught at Apowa Secondary School, also at Takoradi, after obtaining his local certification at Achimota College (1958–1960), where he met his first wife, Sally Hayfron . According to Mugabe, "I went [to Ghana] as an adventurist. I wanted to see what it would be like in an independent African state". Ghana had been
4321-672: A speech in which she declared that the British Queen Elizabeth II "can go to hell". Europeans must realise that unless the legitimate demands of African nationalism are recognised, then racial conflict is inevitable. — Mugabe, early 1960s The rise of African nationalism generated a white backlash in Southern Rhodesia, with the right-wing Rhodesian Front winning the December 1962 general election . The new government sought to preserve white minority rule by tightening security and establishing full independence from
4470-458: A system of indentured servitude. Indentured servants consented to a contract with the European colonisers. Under their contract, the servant would work for an employer for a term of at least a year, while the employer agreed to pay for the servant's voyage to the colony, possibly pay for the return to the country of origin, and pay the employee a wage as well. The employees became "indentured" to
4619-635: A teaching diploma, Mugabe left Kutama in 1945. During the following years, Mugabe taught at various schools around Southern Rhodesia, among them the Dadaya Mission school in Shabani . There is no evidence that Mugabe was involved in political activity at the time, and he did not participate in the country's 1948 general strike . In 1949 he won a scholarship to study at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa's Eastern Cape . There he joined
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4768-650: A village about 11 kilometres (7 miles) away; the children were permitted to remain at the mission primary school, living with relatives in Kutama during term-time and returning to their parental home on weekends. Around the same time, Robert's older brother Raphael died, likely of diarrhoea . In early 1934, Robert's other older brother, Michael, also died, after consuming poisoned maize. Later that year, Gabriel left his family in search of employment in Bulawayo . He subsequently abandoned Bona and their six children and established
4917-472: A white exodus and tried to allay fears that he would nationalize white-owned property. He appointed two white ministers— David Smith and Denis Norman —to his government, met with white leaders in agriculture, industry, mining, and commerce, and impressed senior figures in the outgoing administration like Smith and Ken Flower with his apparent sincerity. With the end of the war, petrol rationing, and economic sanctions, life for white Zimbabweans improved during
5066-563: A white-owned farm near Hartley , killing its inhabitants. The government responded by returning the members of the ZANU executive, including Mugabe, to Salisbury Prison in 1966. There, forty prisoners were divided among four communal cells, with many sleeping on the concrete floor due to overcrowding; Mugabe shared his cell with Sithole, Enos Nkala , and Edgar Tekere . He remained there for eight years, devoting his time to reading and studying. During this period, he gained several further degrees from
5215-879: Is achieved through the attainment of sovereign statehood with de jure recognition by the international community or through full incorporation into an existing sovereign state. The Times once quipped that there were three types of colonial empire: "The English, which consists in making colonies with colonists; the German, which collects colonists without colonies; the French, which sets up colonies without colonists." Modern studies of colonialism have often distinguished between various overlapping categories of colonialism, broadly classified into four types: settler colonialism , exploitation colonialism , surrogate colonialism , and internal colonialism . Some historians have identified other forms of colonialism, including national and trade forms. When colonists settled in pre-populated areas,
5364-481: Is allocated. To explain the different colonial cases, we thus need to look first into the political institutions that shaped the economic institutions. For example, one interesting observation is "the Reversal of Fortune" – the less developed civilisations in 1500, like North America, Australia, and New Zealand, are now much richer than those countries who used to be in the prosperous civilisations in 1500 before
5513-559: Is mild. People are being terrorized. It is terror ." Reacting to ZANU–PF's acts of voter intimidation, Mugabe was called before Soames at Government House. Mugabe regarded the meeting as a British attempt to thwart his electoral campaign. Under the terms of the negotiation, Soames had the power to disqualify any political party guilty of voter intimidation. Rhodesia's security services, Nkomo, Muzorewa, and some of his own advisers all called on Soames to disqualify ZANU–PF. After deliberation, Soames disagreed, believing that ZANU–PF were sure to win
5662-454: Is the existence of colonies, which are by definition governed differently from other territories such as protectorates or informal spheres of influence." In the book, Osterhammel asks, "How can 'colonialism' be defined independently from 'colony? ' " He settles on a three-sentence definition: Colonialism is a relationship between an indigenous (or forcibly imported) majority and a minority of foreign invaders. The fundamental decisions affecting
5811-653: The 1979 general election which resulted in Abel Muzorewa , a politically moderate black bishop, being elected Prime Minister of the reconstituted Zimbabwe Rhodesia . Both ZANU and ZAPU had boycotted the election, which did not receive international recognition. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1979 , held in Lusaka, the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher surprised delegates by announcing that
5960-485: The 2008 presidential election and later run-off . Mugabe remained president while Tsvangirai was sworn into the office of prime minister on 11 February 2009. Executive authority was shared between the president, the prime minister and the cabinet, with ZANU–PF and the MDC–T sharing portfolio ministries. It was the prime minister's role to chair the council of ministers and act as the deputy chairperson of Cabinet and also oversee
6109-532: The African National Congress youth league (ANCYL) and attended African nationalist meetings, where he met a number of Jewish South African communists who introduced him to Marxist ideas. He later related that despite this exposure to Marxism, his biggest influence at the time were the actions of Mahatma Gandhi during the Indian independence movement . In 1952, he left the university with
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6258-528: The Dutch East Indies (later Indonesia ) the vast majority of "Dutch" settlers were in fact Eurasians known as Indo-Europeans , formally belonging to the European legal class in the colony. Activity that could be called colonialism has a long history, starting at least as early as the ancient Egyptians . Phoenicians , Greeks , and Romans founded colonies in antiquity . Phoenicia had an enterprising maritime trading-culture that spread across
6407-478: The Mass Media Trust , through which they bought out a South African company that owned most of Zimbabwe's newspapers. The white editors of these newspapers were sacked and replaced by government appointees. These media outlets subsequently became a source of the party's propaganda. At independence, 39% of Zimbabwe's land was under the ownership of around 6000 white large-scale commercial farmers, while 4%
6556-645: The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a position that he retained until 1989. As the leader of one of the Front Line States , the countries bordering apartheid South Africa, he gained credibility within the anti-apartheid movement. The wrongs of the past must now stand forgiven and forgotten. If ever we look to the past, let us do so for the lesson the past has taught us, namely that oppression and racism are inequalities that must never find scope in our political and social system. It could never be
6705-480: The Premier's residence in Salisbury, which he left furnished in the same style as Smith had left it. Across the country, statues of Cecil Rhodes were removed and squares and roads named after prominent colonial figures were renamed after black nationalists. In 1982 Salisbury was renamed Harare. Mugabe employed North Korean architects to design Heroes' Acre , a monument and complex in western Harare to commemorate
6854-656: The Rhodesian Bush War , fighting Ian Smith 's predominantly white government. He reluctantly participated in peace talks in the United Kingdom that resulted in the Lancaster House Agreement , putting an end to the war. In the 1980 general election , Mugabe led ZANU-PF to victory, becoming Prime Minister when the country, now renamed Zimbabwe, gained internationally recognized independence later that year. Mugabe's administration expanded healthcare and education and—despite his professed desire for
7003-932: The Scramble for Africa . The world's colonial population at the outbreak of the First World War (1914) – a high point for colonialism – totalled about 560 million people, of whom 70% lived in British possessions, 10% in French possessions, 9% in Dutch possessions, 4% in Japanese possessions, 2% in German possessions, 2% in American possessions, 3% in Portuguese possessions, 1% in Belgian possessions and 0.5% in Italian possessions. The domestic domains of
7152-668: The Second Congo War and chaired the Non-Aligned Movement (1986–1989), the Organisation of African Unity (1997–1998), and the African Union (2015–2016). Pursuing decolonisation , Mugabe emphasized the redistribution of land controlled by white farmers to landless blacks, initially on a "willing seller–willing buyer" basis. Frustrated at the slow rate of redistribution, from 2000 he encouraged black Zimbabweans to violently seize white-owned farms. Food production
7301-512: The ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist , during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist , and as a socialist during the 1990s and the remainder of his career. Mugabe was born to a poor Shona family in Kutama , Southern Rhodesia . Educated at Kutama College and the University of Fort Hare in South Africa, he then worked as
7450-553: The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) several days later, with Mugabe appointed as ZAPU's publicity secretary and general secretary. Racial violence was growing in the country, with aggrieved black Africans targeting the white community. Mugabe deemed such conflict a necessary tactic in the overthrow of British colonial dominance and white minority rule. This contrasted with Nkomo's view that African nationalists should focus on international diplomacy to encourage
7599-722: The mestizos of the Americas, as well as racially divided populations such as those found in French Algeria or in Southern Rhodesia . In fact, everywhere where colonial powers established a consistent and continued presence, hybrid communities existed. Notable examples in Asia include the Anglo-Burmese , Anglo-Indian , Burgher , Eurasian Singaporean , Filipino mestizo , Kristang , and Macanese peoples . In
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#17327649718057748-523: The 16th century. The British, French and Dutch joined in the slave trade in subsequent centuries. The European colonial system took approximately 11 million Africans to the Caribbean and to North and South America as slaves. Abolitionists in Europe and Americas protested the inhumane treatment of African slaves, which led to the elimination of the slave trade (and later, of most forms of slavery) by
7897-656: The 9th century Vikings ( Norsemen ) such as Leif Erikson established colonies in Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, North America, present-day Russia and Ukraine, France (Normandy) and Sicily. In the 9th century a new wave of Mediterranean colonisation began, with competitors such as the Venetians , Genovese and Amalfians infiltrating the wealthy previously Byzantine or Eastern Roman islands and lands. European Crusaders set up colonial regimes in Outremer (in
8046-589: The African nationalist Leopold Takawira , urged them to stay. In July 1960, Takawira and two other NDP officials were arrested; in protest, Mugabe joined a demonstration of 7,000 people who planned to march from Highfield to the Prime Minister's office in Salisbury. The demonstration was stopped by riot police outside Stoddart Hall in Harare township. By midday the next day, the crowd had grown to 40,000 and
8195-617: The Americas with the Spanish American wars of independence (1808–1833). Empire-builders established several new colonies after this time, including in the German colonial empire and Belgian colonial empire . Starting with the end of the French Revolution European authors such as Johann Gottfried Herder , August von Kotzebue , and Heinrich von Kleist prolifically published so as to conjure up sympathy for
8344-738: The Bering Strait. From the 1860s onwards the Empire of Japan modelled itself on European colonial empires and expanded its territories in the Pacific and on the Asian mainland. The Empire of Brazil fought for hegemony in South America. The United States gained overseas territories after the 1898 Spanish–American War , hence, the coining of the term " American imperialism ". In the late 19th century, many European powers became involved in
8493-559: The British government to grant their demands. Nine months after it had been founded, ZAPU was also banned by the government, and in September 1962 Mugabe and other senior party officials were arrested and restricted to their home districts for three months. Both Mugabe and his wife were in trouble with the law; he had been charged with making subversive statements in a public speech and awarded bail before his trial. Hayfron had been sentenced to two years imprisonment—suspended for 15 months—for
8642-864: The Highfield Government School in Salisbury 's Harari township and in 1954 to the Mambo Township Government School in Gwelo . Meanwhile, he gained a Bachelor of Education degree by correspondence from the University of South Africa , and ordered a number of Marxist tracts—among them Karl Marx 's Capital and Friedrich Engels ' The Condition of the Working Class in England —from a London mail-order company. Despite his growing interest in politics, he
8791-465: The House of Assembly without needing to represent parliamentary constituencies, and the party of a constituency-based MP who concurrently served in any of the above offices held the right to nominate non-constituency members to such offices. The post of prime minister did not hold the full executive powers it held during the 1980s and the president remained head of the cabinet. In 2012 Tsvangirai claimed that
8940-803: The Levant , 1097–1291) and in the Baltic littoral (12th century onwards). Venice began to dominate Dalmatia and reached its greatest nominal colonial extent at the conclusion of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, with the declaration of the acquisition of three octaves of the Byzantine Empire. The European early modern period began with the Turkish colonization of Anatolia . After the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople in 1453,
9089-420: The Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC; later the Persian Empire and various Greek city-states continued on this line of setting up colonies. The Romans would soon follow, setting up coloniae throughout the Mediterranean, in North Africa, and in Western Asia. Beginning in the 7th century, Arabs colonized a substantial portion of the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia and Europe. From
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#17327649718059238-403: The People's Republic of China. ZAPU's military wing, the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), was instead funded by the Soviet Union , was based in Zambia, and consisted largely of Ndebele . Mugabe and other senior ZANU members had growing doubts about Sithole's leadership, deeming him increasingly irritable and irrational. In October 1968 Sithole had tried to smuggle a message out of
9387-473: The Republic of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980. This position was abolished when the constitution was amended in 1987 and Mugabe became president of Zimbabwe , replacing Canaan Banana as the head of state while also remaining the head of government . The office of prime minister was restored in 2009 and held by Morgan Tsvangirai until the position was again abolished by the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe . Zimbabwe's prime ministerial office owes its origins to
9536-505: The Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba. Mugabe called for the overthrow of Rhodesia's predominately white government, the execution of Smith and his "criminal gang", the expropriation of white-owned land, and the transformation of Rhodesia into a one-party Marxist state . He repeatedly called for violence against the country's white minority, referring to white Rhodesians as "blood-sucking exploiters", "sadistic killers", and "hard-core racists". In one typical example, taken from
9685-449: The UK would officially recognize the country's independence if it transitioned to democratic majority rule. The negotiations took place at Lancaster House in London and were led by the Conservative Party politician Peter Carington . Mugabe refused to attend these London peace talks, opposing the idea of a negotiated rather than military solution to the Rhodesian War. Machel insisted that he must, threatening to end Mozambican support for
9834-405: The United Kingdom, and the United States abstained). The word " neocolonialism " originated from Jean-Paul Sartre in 1956, to refer to a variety of contexts since the decolonisation that took place after World War II . Generally it does not refer to a type of direct colonisation – rather to colonialism or colonial-style exploitation by other means. Specifically, neocolonialism may refer to
9983-408: The United Kingdom. Mugabe met with colleagues at his house in Salisbury's Highbury district, where he argued that as political demonstrations were simply being banned, it was time to move towards armed resistance. Both he and others rejected Nkomo's proposal that they establish a government-in-exile in Dar es Salaam . He and Hayfron skipped bail to attend a ZAPU meeting in the Tanganyikan city. There,
10132-406: The University of London: a masters in economics, a bachelor of administration, and two law degrees. While imprisoned, Mugabe learned that his son had died of encephalitis at the age of three. Mugabe was grief-stricken and requested a leave of absence to visit his wife in Ghana. He never forgave the prison authorities for refusing this request. Claims have also circulated among those who knew him at
10281-472: The ZANU executive voted to suspend Sithole's membership of the organization. Fearing that the guerrilla war would spread south, the South African government pressured Rhodesia to advance the process of détente with the politically moderate black governments of Zambia and Tanzania. As part of these negotiations, Smith's government agreed to release a number of black revolutionaries who had been indefinitely detained. After almost eleven years of imprisonment, Mugabe
10430-417: The ZANU-PF if he did not. Mugabe arrived in London in September 1979. There, he and Nkomo presented themselves as part of the "Patriotic Front" but established separate headquarters in the city. At the conference the pair were divided in their attitude; Nkomo wanted to present himself as a moderate while Mugabe played up to his image as a Marxist revolutionary, with Carrington exploiting this division. Throughout
10579-489: The Zezuru clan, one of the smallest branches of the Shona tribe . Mugabe's paternal grandfather was Chief Constantine Karigamombe, alias "Matibiri", a powerful figure who served King Lobengula in the 19th century. Through his father, he claimed membership of the chieftaincy family that has provided the hereditary rulers of Zvimba for generations. The Jesuits were strict disciplinarians and under their influence Mugabe developed an intense self-discipline, while also becoming
10728-573: The Zimbabwe's wealthiest people. Growing corruption among the socio-economic elite generated resentment among the wider population, much of which was living in poverty. ZANU–PF also began establishing its own business empire, founding the M&;S Syndicate in 1980 and the Zidoo Holdings in 1981. By 1992, the party had fixed assets and businesses worth an estimated Z$ 500 million (US$ 75 million). In 1980, ZANU–PF used Nigerian funds to set up
10877-654: The armies of all three empires, Mocha coffee to Delhi and Belgrade , Persian silk to India and Istanbul . Aztec civilisation developed into an extensive empire that, much like the Roman Empire, had the goal of exacting tribute from the conquered colonial areas. For the Aztecs, a significant tribute was the acquisition of sacrificial victims for their religious rituals. On the other hand, European colonial empires sometimes attempted to channel, restrict and impede trade involving their colonies, funneling activity through
11026-418: The belief of a Christian mission . Because of this broad impact different instances of colonialism have been identified from around the world and in history, starting with when colonization was developed by developing colonies and metropoles , the base colonial separation and characteristic. Decolonization , which started in the 18th century, gradually led to the independence of colonies in waves, with
11175-685: The birth of the Dutch Empire and French colonial empire , as well as the English overseas possessions , which later became the British Empire . It also saw the establishment of Danish overseas colonies and Swedish overseas colonies . A first wave of separatism started with the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), initiating the Rise of the "Second" British Empire (1783–1815). The Spanish Empire largely collapsed in
11324-715: The college and shared his political interests. While Mugabe was teaching abroad, an anti-colonialist African nationalist movement was established in Southern Rhodesia. It was first led by Joshua Nkomo 's Southern Rhodesia African National Congress , founded in September 1957 and then banned by the colonial government in February 1959. SRANC was replaced by the more radically oriented National Democratic Party (NDP), founded in January 1960. In May 1960, Mugabe returned to Southern Rhodesia, bringing Hayfron with him. The pair had planned for their visit to be short, however Mugabe's friend,
11473-416: The colonial era. Indentured servants from India travelled to British colonies in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and also to French and Portuguese colonies, while Chinese servants travelled to British and Dutch colonies. Between 1830 and 1930, around 30 million indentured servants migrated from India, and 24 million returned to India. China sent more indentured servants to European colonies, and around
11622-522: The colonial powers had a total population of about 370 million people. Outside Europe, few areas had remained without coming under formal colonial tutorship – and even Siam , China , Japan , Nepal , Afghanistan , Persia , and Abyssinia had felt varying degrees of Western colonial-style influence – concessions , unequal treaties , extraterritoriality and the like. Asking whether colonies paid, economic historian Grover Clark (1891–1938) argues an emphatic "No!" He reports that in every case
11771-510: The colonised peoples can also have a powerful influence on the imperial country. With respect to international borders, Britain and France traced close to 40% of the entire length of the world's international boundaries. Economic expansion, sometimes described as the colonial surplus , has accompanied imperial expansion since ancient times. Greek trade networks spread throughout the Mediterranean region while Roman trade expanded with
11920-598: The colonists came, like the Mughals in India and the Incas in the Americas. One explanation offered by the paper focuses on the political institutions of the various colonies: it was less likely for European colonists to introduce economic institutions where they could benefit quickly from the extraction of resources in the area. Therefore, given a more developed civilisation and denser population, European colonists would rather keep
12069-407: The colonized socio-economically othered and subaltern through modern biopolitics of sexuality , gender , race , disability and class , among others, resulting in intersectional violence and discrimination . Colonialism has been justified with beliefs of having a civilizing mission to cultivate land and life, based on beliefs of entitlement and superiority, historically often rooted in
12218-449: The colonizers, possibly towards a genocide of native populations . Colonialism developed as a concept describing European colonial empires of the modern era , which spread globally from the 15th century to the mid-20th century, spanning 35% of Earth 's land by 1800 and peaking at 84% by the beginning of World War I . European colonialism employed mercantilism and chartered companies , and established coloniality , which keeps
12367-652: The continuation or imposition of elements of colonial rule through indirect means in the contemporary period. Colonialism is etymologically rooted in the Latin word " Colonus ", which was used to describe tenant farmers in the Roman Empire . The coloni sharecroppers started as tenants of landlords, but as the system evolved they became permanently indebted to the landowner and trapped in servitude. The earliest uses of colonialism referred to plantations that men emigrated to and settled. The term expanded its meaning in
12516-576: The country and supporting anti-Mugabe militants among the country's white minority. In December 1981, a bomb struck ZANU–PF headquarters, killing seven and injuring 124. Mugabe blamed South African-backed white militants. He criticised "reactionary and counter-revolutionary elements" in the white community, stating that despite the fact that they had faced no punishment for their past actions, they rejected racial reconciliation and "are acting in collusion with South Africa to harm our racial relations, to destroy our unity, to sabotage our economy, and to overthrow
12665-471: The country's predecessor states. The position began with George Mitchell who became prime minister of Southern Rhodesia in 1933. All subsequent predecessor-states continued with the post until Abel Muzorewa who became prime minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979 under the Internal Settlement . The Lancaster House Agreement brought an independence constitution which made provision for
12814-539: The day-to-day military operations of ZANLA, which he entrusted to Tongogara. In January 1976, ZANLA launched its first major infiltration from Mozambique, with nearly 1000 guerrillas crossing the border to attack white-owned farms and stores. In response, Smith's government enlisted all men under the age of 35, expanding the Rhodesian army by 50%. ZANLA's attacks forced large numbers of white landowners to abandon their farms; their now-unemployed black workers joined ZANLA by
12963-424: The difficulty of consistently distinguishing between the two terms, this entry will use colonialism broadly to refer to the project of European political domination from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries that ended with the national liberation movements of the 1960s". In his preface to Jürgen Osterhammel 's Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview , Roger Tignor says "For Osterhammel, the essence of colonialism
13112-731: The early 19th century played a part in ending slave-taking and slave-keeping among the indigenous Māori . On the other hand, British colonial administration in Southern Africa , when it officially abolished slavery in the 1830s, caused rifts in society which arguably perpetuated slavery in the Boer Republics and fed into the philosophy of apartheid . The labour shortages that resulted from abolition inspired European colonisers in Queensland, British Guaiana and Fiji (for example) to develop new sources of labour, re-adopting
13261-420: The early 20th century to primarily refer to European imperial expansion and the imperial subjection of Asian and African peoples. Collins English Dictionary defines colonialism as "the practice by which a powerful country directly controls less powerful countries and uses their resources to increase its own power and wealth". Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary defines colonialism as "the system or policy of
13410-477: The early years of Mugabe's rule. In the economic boom that followed, the white minority—which controlled considerable property and dominated commerce, industry, and banking—were the country's main beneficiaries. Nevertheless, many white Zimbabweans complained that they were the victims of racial discrimination . Many whites remained uneasy about living under the government of a black Marxist and they also feared that their children would be unable to secure jobs. There
13559-561: The election and that disqualifying them would wreck any chance of an orderly transition of power . In the February election , ZANU–PF secured 63% of the national vote, gaining 57 of the 80 parliamentary seats allocated for black parties and providing them with an absolute majority . ZAPU had gained 20 seats, and UANC had three. Mugabe was elected MP for the Salisbury constituency of Highfield . Attempting to calm panic and prevent white flight, Mugabe appeared on television and called for national unity, stability, and law and order, insisting that
13708-420: The election on the basis of the country's ethnic divisions; Mugabe was Shona, a community that made up around 70% of the country's population, while Nkomo was Ndebele, a tribal group who made up only around 20%. For many in the white community and in the British government, this outcome was a terrifying prospect due to Mugabe's avowed Marxist beliefs and the inflammatory comments that he had made about whites during
13857-454: The election would cause economic damage as it had in Mozambique. Accordingly, during his electoral campaign, Mugabe avoided the use of Marxist and revolutionary rhetoric. Mugabe insisted that in the election, ZANU would stand as a separate party to ZAPU, and refused Nkomo's request for a meeting. He formed ZANU into a political party, known as Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF). Predictions were made that ZANU–PF would win
14006-447: The employer because they owed a debt back to the employer for their travel expense to the colony, which they were expected to pay through their wages. In practice, indentured servants were exploited through terrible working conditions and burdensome debts imposed by the employers, with whom the servants had no means of negotiating the debt once they arrived in the colony. India and China were the largest source of indentured servants during
14155-438: The existing economic systems than introduce an entirely new system; while in places with little to extract, European colonists would rather establish new economic institutions to protect their interests. Political institutions thus gave rise to different types of economic systems, which determined the colonial economic performance. European colonisation and development also changed gendered systems of power already in place around
14304-588: The first African state to gain independence from European colonial powers and under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah underwent a range of African nationalist reforms; Mugabe reveled in this environment. In tandem with his teaching, Mugabe attended the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute in Winneba . Mugabe later claimed that it was in Ghana that he finally embraced Marxism. He also began a relationship there with Hayfron who worked at
14453-638: The first NDP congress, held in October 1960, assisted by Chitepo on the procedural aspects. Mugabe was elected the party's publicity secretary. Mugabe consciously injected emotionalism into the NDP's African nationalism, hoping to broaden its support among the wider population by appealing to traditional cultural values. He helped to form the NDP Youth Wing and encouraged the incorporation of ancestral prayers, traditional costume, and female ululation into its meetings. In February 1961 he married Hayfron in
14602-567: The formulation of government policies by the Cabinet. In addition, the prime minister was a member of the National Security Council , chaired by the president and sat alongside the heads of the armed forces, intelligence, prison services and police. According to section 20.1.8 of the 1980 Constitution of Zimbabwe (No. 19) Amendment, the prime minister, vice-presidents and deputy prime ministers became ex officio members of
14751-431: The government revised the constitution and made the presidency an executive post. The prime minister's post was abolished, and its functions were effectively merged with those of the president. Mugabe ascended to the presidency. The restoration of the office of prime minister in 2009 was a result of a power-sharing agreement made in September 2008 between Mugabe's ZANU–PF and rival candidate Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC–T after
14900-519: The guerrilla armies and old Rhodesian security forces into a new Zimbabwean military . Members of both ZANLA and ZIPRA were integrated into the army; though, there remained a strong rivalry between the two groups. As Prime Minister, Mugabe retained Walls as the head of the armed forces. Mugabe's government continued to make regular pronouncements about converting Zimbabwe into a socialist society. In contrast to Mugabe's talk of socialism, his government's budgetary policies were conservative, operating within
15049-469: The guerrilla war. During the campaign, Mugabe survived two assassination attempts. In the first, which took place on 6 February, a grenade was thrown at his Mount Pleasant home, where it exploded against a garden wall. In the second, on 10 February, a roadside bomb exploded near his motorcade as he left a Fort Victoria rally. Mugabe himself was unharmed. Mugabe accused the Rhodesian security forces of being responsible for these attacks. In an attempt to quell
15198-481: The huge discrepancies in previous European colonies, for example, between West African colonies like Sierra Leone and Hong Kong and Singapore . According to the paper, economic institutions are the determinant of the colonial success because they determine their financial performance and order for the distribution of resources. At the same time, these institutions are also consequences of political institutions – especially how de facto and de jure political power
15347-646: The late 19th century. One (disputed) school of thought points to the role of abolitionism in the American Revolution : while the British colonial metropole started to move towards outlawing slavery, slave-owning elites in the Thirteen Colonies saw this as one of the reasons to fight for their post-colonial independence and for the right to develop and continue a largely slave-based economy. British colonising activity in New Zealand from
15496-487: The latter as having "an exceptional mind and an exceptional heart". As well as helping provide Mugabe with a Christian education, O'Hea taught him about the Irish War of Independence , in which Irish revolutionaries had overthrown the British imperial regime. After completing six years of elementary education, in 1941 Mugabe was offered a place on a teacher training course at Kutama College . Mugabe's mother could not afford
15645-524: The latter, he organised study classes for the inmates, teaching them basic literacy, maths, and English. Sympathetic black warders smuggled messages from Mugabe and other members of the ZANU executive committee to activists outside the prison. At the executive's bidding, ZANU activist Herbert Chitepo had organised a small guerrilla force in Lusaka . In April 1966 the group carried out a failed attempt to destroy power pylons at Sinoia , and shortly after attacked
15794-480: The leadership of Ian Smith —banned ZANU and ZAPU and arrested all remaining leaders of the country's African nationalist movement. Smith's government made a unilateral declaration of independence from the United Kingdom in November 1965, renaming Southern Rhodesia as Rhodesia; the UK refused to recognize the legitimacy of this and imposed economic sanctions on the country. In 1972, the African nationalists launched
15943-415: The lives of the colonised people are made and implemented by the colonial rulers in pursuit of interests that are often defined in a distant metropolis. Rejecting cultural compromises with the colonised population, the colonisers are convinced of their own superiority and their ordained mandate to rule. According to Julian Go, "Colonialism refers to the direct political control of a society and its people by
16092-402: The metropole and taxing accordingly. Despite the general trend of economic expansion, the economic performance of former European colonies varies significantly. In "Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-run Growth", economists Daron Acemoglu , Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson compare the economic influences of the European colonists on different colonies and study what could explain
16241-488: The need for a democratic black majority government, Carington was able to convince Mugabe to compromise on the other main issue of the conference, that of land ownership. Mugabe agreed to the protection of the white community's privately owned property on the condition that the UK and U.S. governments provide financial assistance allowing the Zimbabwean government to purchase much land for redistribution among blacks. Mugabe
16390-537: The negotiations, Mugabe did not trust the British and believed that they were manipulating events to their own advantage. The ensuing Lancaster House Agreement called for all participants in the Rhodesian Bush War to agree to a ceasefire, with a British governor, Christopher Soames , arriving in Rhodesia to oversee an election in which the various factions could compete as political parties. It outlined
16539-462: The oppressed native peoples and the slaves of the new world, thereby starting the idealization of native humans. The Habsburg monarchy , the Russian Empire , and the Ottoman Empire existed at the same time but did not expand over oceans. Rather, these empires expanded through the conquest of neighbouring territories. There was, though, some Russian colonization of North America across
16688-488: The owner. This meant that Mugabe's government was largely restricted to purchasing land which was of poor quality. Its target was to resettle 18,000 black families on 2.5 million acres of white-owned land over three years. This would cost £30 million (US$ 60 million), half of which was to be provided by the UK government as per the Lancaster House Agreement. In 1986, Mugabe became chair of
16837-519: The party leadership met Tanganyika's president, Julius Nyerere , who also dismissed the idea of a government-in-exile and urged ZAPU to organise their resistance to white minority rule within Southern Rhodesia itself. In August, Hayfron gave birth to Mugabe's son, whom they named Nhamodzenyika, a Shona term meaning "suffering country". Mugabe insisted that she take their son back to Ghana, while he decided to return to Southern Rhodesia. There, African nationalists opposed to Nkomo's leadership had established
16986-560: The pensions of white civil servants would be guaranteed and that private property would be protected. Southern Rhodesia gained internationally recognized independence on 18 April 1980. Mugabe took the oath of office as the newly minted country's first Prime Minister shortly after midnight. He gave a speech at Salisbury's Rufaro Stadium announcing that Rhodesia would be renamed "Zimbabwe" and pledged racial reconciliation. Soames aided Mugabe in bringing about an orderly transition of power ; for this Mugabe remained grateful, describing Soames as
17135-466: The popularly elected government I lead". Increasingly he criticised not only the militants but the entire white community for holding a monopoly on "Zimbabwe's economic power". This was a view echoed by many government ministers and the government-controlled media. One of these ministers, Tekere, was involved in an incident in which he and seven armed men stormed a white-owned farmhouse, killing an elderly farmer; they alleged that in doing so they were foiling
17284-566: The population to 92%. A new leadership elite were formed, who often expressed their newfound status through purchasing large houses and expensive cars, sending their children to private schools, and obtaining farms and businesses. To contain their excesses, in 1984 Mugabe drew up a "leadership code" which prohibited any senior figures from obtaining more than one salary or owning over 50-acres of agricultural land. There were exceptions, with Mugabe giving permission to General Solomon Mujuru to expand his business empire, resulting in his becoming one of
17433-552: The possibility that Rhodesia's security forces would launch a coup to prevent the election, Mugabe met with Peter Walls , the commander of Rhodesia's armed forces, and asked him to remain in his position in the event of a ZANU–PF victory. At the time Walls refused. The electoral campaign was marred by widespread voter intimidation , perpetrated by Nkomo's ZAPU, Abel Muzorewa 's United African National Council (UANC), and Mugabe's ZANU–PF. Commenting on ZANU–PF's activities in eastern Rhodesia, Nkomo complained that "the word intimidation
17582-527: The post–World War II period. The term "neocolonialism" became popular in ex-colonies in the late 20th century. While colonies of contiguous empires have been historically excluded, they can be seen as colonies. Contemporary expansion of colonies is seen by some in case of Russian imperialism and Chinese imperialism . There is also ongoing debate in academia about Zionism as settler colonialism . The impacts of colonisation are immense and pervasive. Various effects, both immediate and protracted, include
17731-503: The power-sharing agreement was not being honoured and that he was not being consulted by the president over some appointments. The government held a referendum in March 2013 to approve a new constitution. As a result, the post of prime minister was abolished from 11 September 2013. Tsvangirai and Mugabe both contested the general election in July 2013 for the single post of president. Mugabe
17880-578: The primary goal of directing tribute from the colonised areas towards the Roman metropole. According to Strabo , by the time of emperor Augustus , up to 120 Roman ships would set sail every year from Myos Hormos in Roman Egypt to India. With the development of trade routes under the Ottoman Empire , Gujari Hindus, Syrian Muslims, Jews, Armenians, Christians from south and central Europe operated trading routes that supplied Persian and Arab horses to
18029-439: The prison commanding ZANU activists to assassinate Smith. His plan was discovered, and he was put on trial in January 1969; desperate to avoid a death sentence, he declared that he renounced violence and his previous ideological commitments. Mugabe denounced Sithole's "treachery" in rejecting ZANU's cause, and the executive removed him as ZANU President in a vote of no confidence , selecting Mugabe as his successor. In November 1974,
18178-411: The rise of European colonialism came a large push for development and industrialisation of most economic systems. When working to improve productivity, Europeans focused mostly on male workers. Foreign aid arrived in the form of loans, land, credit, and tools to speed up development, but were only allocated to men. In a more European fashion, women were expected to serve on a more domestic level. The result
18327-736: The sea routes discovered by Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator (1394–1460) became central to trade , and helped fuel the Age of Discovery . The Crown of Castile encountered the Americas in 1492 through sea travel and built trading posts or conquered large extents of land. The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the areas of these "new" lands between the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire in 1494. The 17th century saw
18476-507: The societies and cultures of the people in those areas permanently changed. Colonial practices directly and indirectly forced the colonized peoples to abandon their traditional cultures. For example, European colonizers in the United States implemented the residential schools program to force native children to assimilate into the hegemonic culture. Cultural colonialism gave rise to culturally and ethnically mixed populations such as
18625-423: The spread of virulent diseases , unequal social relations , detribalization , exploitation , enslavement , medical advances , the creation of new institutions, abolitionism , improved infrastructure, and technological progress. Colonial practices also spur the spread of conquerors' languages, literature and cultural institutions, while endangering or obliterating those of Indigenous peoples. The cultures of
18774-413: The struggle against minority rule. Zimbabwe also received much aid from Western countries, whose governments hoped that a stable and prosperous Zimbabwe would aid the transition of South Africa away from apartheid and minority rule. The United States provided Zimbabwe with a $ 25 million three-year aid package. The UK financed a land reform program, and provided military advisers to aid the integration of
18923-472: The support cost, especially the military system necessary to support and defend colonies, outran the total trade they produced. Apart from the British Empire, they did not provide favoured destinations for the immigration of surplus metropole populations. The question of whether colonies paid is a complicated one when recognizing the multiplicity of interests involved. In some cases colonial powers paid
19072-615: The theory that former or existing economic relationships, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Central American Free Trade Agreement , or the operations of companies (such as Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria and Brunei ) fostered by former colonial powers were or are used to maintain control of former colonies and dependencies after the colonial independence movements of
19221-425: The thousands. By 1979, ZANLA were in a position to attack a number of Rhodesian cities. Over the course of the war, at least 30,000 people were killed. As a proportion of their wider population, the whites had higher number of fatalities, and by the latter part of the decade the guerrillas were winning. Mugabe focused on the propaganda war, making regular speeches and radio broadcasts. In these, he presented himself as
19370-495: The time that Mugabe was subjected to both physical and mental torture during his imprisonment. According to Father Emmanuel Ribeiro, who was Mugabe's priest during his imprisonment, Mugabe got through the experience "partly through the strength of his spirituality" but also because his "real strength was study and helping others to learn". While Mugabe was imprisoned, in August 1964, the Rhodesian Front government—now under
19519-415: The tuition fees, which were paid in part by his grandfather and in part by O'Hea. As part of this education, Mugabe began teaching at his old school, earning £2 per month, which he used to support his family. In 1944, Gabriel returned to Kutama with his three new children, but died shortly after, leaving Robert to take financial responsibility for both his three siblings and three half-siblings. Having attained
19668-644: The war significantly weakened the major colonial powers, and they quickly lost control of colonies such as Singapore, India, and Libya. In addition, the United Nations shows support for decolonisation in its 1945 charter . In 1960, the UN issued the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples , which affirmed its stance (though notably, colonial empires such as France, Spain,
19817-438: The world, including the Americas, Australia, and parts of Africa and Asia". It discusses the distinction between colonialism, imperialism and conquest and states that "[t]he difficulty of defining colonialism stems from the fact that the term is often used as a synonym for imperialism. Both colonialism and imperialism were forms of conquest that were expected to benefit Europe economically and strategically," and continues "given
19966-509: The world. In many pre-colonialist areas, women maintained power, prestige, or authority through reproductive or agricultural control. For example, in certain parts of sub-Saharan Africa women maintained farmland in which they had usage rights. While men would make political and communal decisions for a community, the women would control the village's food supply or their individual family's land. This allowed women to achieve power and autonomy, even in patrilineal and patriarchal societies. Through
20115-429: Was a controversial figure. He was praised as a revolutionary hero of the African liberation struggle who helped free Zimbabwe from British colonialism , imperialism , and white minority rule. Critics accused Mugabe of being a dictator responsible for economic mismanagement and widespread corruption and human rights abuses , including anti-white racism , crimes against humanity , and genocide. Robert Gabriel Mugabe
20264-579: Was a growing exodus to South Africa, and in 1980, 17,000 whites—approximately a tenth of the white Zimbabwean population—emigrated. Mugabe's government had pledged support for the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid forces within South Africa but did not allow them to use Zimbabwe as a base for their military operations. To protest apartheid and white minority rule in South Africa, Mugabe's government banned Zimbabwe from engaging South Africa in any sporting competitions. In turn, South Africa tried to destabilise Zimbabwe by blocking trade routes into
20413-464: Was a technologic, economic, and class-based gender gap that widened over time. Within a colony, the presence of extractive colonial institutions in a given area has been found have effects on the modern day economic development, institutions and infrastructure of these areas. European nations entered their imperial projects with the goal of enriching the European metropoles. Exploitation of non-Europeans and of other Europeans to support imperial goals
20562-543: Was acceptable to the colonisers. Two outgrowths of this imperial agenda were the extension of slavery and indentured servitude. In the 17th century, nearly two-thirds of English settlers came to North America as indentured servants. European slave traders brought large numbers of African slaves to the Americas by sail. Spain and Portugal had brought African slaves to work in African colonies such as Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe , and then in Latin America, by
20711-598: Was arrested on his return to Southern Rhodesia in December 1963. His trial lasted from January to March 1964, during which he refused to retract the subversive statements that he had publicly made. In March 1964 he was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment. Mugabe was first imprisoned at Salisbury Maximum Security Prison, before being moved to the Wha Wha detention centre and then the Sikombela detention centre in Que Que . At
20860-418: Was arrested, he feared the same fate but was hidden from the authorities by Ribeiro. Ribeiro and a sympathetic nun then assisted him and Edgar Tekere in smuggling themselves into Mozambique. Mugabe remained in exile there for two years. Mozambique's Marxist President Samora Machel was sceptical of Mugabe's leadership abilities and was unsure whether to recognise him as ZANU's legitimate leader. Machel gave him
21009-669: Was born on 21 February 1924 at the Kutama Mission village in Southern Rhodesia's Zvimba District . His father, Gabriel Matibiri, was a carpenter while his mother Bona was a Christian catechist for the village children. They had been trained in their professions by the Jesuits , the Roman Catholic religious order which had established the mission. Bona and Gabriel had six children: Miteri (Michael), Raphael, Robert, Dhonandhe (Donald), Sabina , and Bridgette. They belonged to
21158-515: Was deemed that they could prepare for independence. The empires of Russia and Austria collapsed in 1917–1918, and the Soviet empire started. Nazi Germany set up short-lived colonial systems ( Reichskommissariate , Generalgouvernement ) in Eastern Europe in the early 1940s. In the aftermath of World War II (1939–1945), decolonisation progressed rapidly. The tumultuous upheaval of
21307-425: Was elected. Rhodesia Party United Party / United Rhodesia Party / United Federal Party Rhodesian Front United African National Council Following the death of Robert Mugabe on 6 September 2019, there are no living former prime ministers of Zimbabwe. Colonialism Colonialism is the exploitation of people and of resources by
21456-681: Was not active in any political movement. He joined a number of inter-racial groups, such as the Capricorn Africa Society , through which he mixed with both black and white Rhodesians. Guy Clutton-Brock , who knew Mugabe through this group, later noted that he was "an extraordinary young man" who could be "a bit of a cold fish at times" but "could talk about Elvis Presley or Bing Crosby as easily as politics". From 1955 to 1958, Mugabe lived in neighbouring Northern Rhodesia , where he worked at Chalimbana Teacher Training College in Lusaka . There he continued his education by working on
21605-572: Was officially declared ZANU President at a meeting of the party's central committee held in Chimoio . During the war, Mugabe remained suspicious of many of ZANLA's commanders and had a number of them imprisoned. In 1977 he imprisoned his former second-in-command, Wilfred Mhanda , for suspected disloyalty. After Josiah Tongogara was killed in a car accident in 1979, there were suggestions made that Mugabe may have had some involvement in it; these rumours were never substantiated. Mugabe remained aloof from
21754-568: Was opposed to the idea of a ceasefire, but under pressure from Machel he agreed to it. Mugabe signed the agreement, but felt cheated, remaining disappointed that he had never achieved a military victory over the Rhodesian forces. Returning to Salisbury in January 1980, Mugabe was greeted by a supportive crowd. He settled into a house in Mount Pleasant , a wealthy, white-dominated suburb. Machel had cautioned Mugabe not to alienate Rhodesia's white minority, warning him that any white flight after
21903-467: Was owned by black small-scale commercial farmers, and 41% was 'communal land' where 4 million people lived, often in overcrowded conditions. The Lancaster House agreement ensured that until 1990, the sale of land could only take place on a "willing seller-willing buyer" basis. The only permitted exceptions were if the land was "underutilized" or needed for a public purpose, in which case the government could compulsorily purchase it while fully compensating
22052-684: Was released in November 1974. He moved in with his sister Sabina at her home in Highfield township. He was intent on joining the ZANU forces and taking part in the guerrilla war, recognizing that to secure dominance of ZANU he would have to take command of ZANLA. This was complicated by internal violence within the paramilitary group, predominately between members of the Manyika and Karange groups of Shona. In March 1975, Mugabe resolved to leave Rhodesia for Mozambique, ambitious to take control of ZANU's guerrilla campaign. After his friend Maurice Nyagumbo
22201-466: Was severely impacted, leading to famine, economic decline, and foreign sanctions. Opposition to Mugabe grew, but he was re-elected in 2002 , 2008 , and 2013 through campaigns dominated by violence, electoral fraud , and nationalistic appeals to his rural Shona voter base. In 2017, members of his party ousted him in a coup , replacing him with former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa . Having dominated Zimbabwe's politics for nearly four decades, Mugabe
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