101-625: The Rhodesia-Australia Association was an organisation in Australia that advocated in support of the white minority regime in Rhodesia . It was active during the 1960s and 1970s, up to the end of white minority rule in Rhodesia and the transition to Zimbabwe . It had branches in all states of Australia. The association's activities mainly comprised letter writing campaigns directed at newspapers, film nights and regular meetings. Some members of
202-401: A SADC tribunal ruled that the government had racially discriminated against Campbell, denied him legal redress, and prevented him from defending his farm. In 2017, new President Emmerson Mnangagwa 's inaugural speech promised to pay compensation to the white farmers whose land was seized during the land reform programme. Rob Smart became the first white farmer whose land was returned within
303-408: A Southern African people of European descent. In linguistic , cultural, and historical terms, these people of European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking descendants of British settlers. A small minority are either Afrikaans -speaking descendants of Afrikaners from South Africa or those descended from Greek , Portuguese , Italian , and Jewish immigrants. In a 1922 referendum ,
404-638: A colonial invention, unknown in African tradition." John Bredenkamp started his trading business during the UDI era, when he developed expertise in "sanctions busting". He is reported to have arranged the export of Rhodesian tobacco and the import of components (including parts and munitions for the Rhodesian government's force of Hunter jets) in the face of UN trade sanctions. Bredenkamp was able to continue and expand his business after independence, making himself
505-501: A degrading campaign by the Zimbabwean State media in the 2000s. Several state newspapers referred to white Zimbabweans as "Britain's Children" and "settlers and colonialists". In 2006, several white Zimbabweans living in the affluent Harare suburb of Borrowdale were evicted from their homes because of their proximity to Mugabe's new home in the area. In 2007, it was reported that 100 mostly white youths were arrested during
606-474: A dramatic decline in Zimbabwe's agricultural production. Indeed, in an effort to boost their own agricultural output, neighbouring countries, including Mozambique and Zambia, offered land and other incentives to entice Zimbabwe's white farmers to emigrate. By 2008, an estimated one in ten out of 5,000 white farmers remained on their land. Many of these continued to face intimidation, however. By June 2008, it
707-670: A fear that union would bring a wave of Afrikaner "poor whites" to the country. Some Afrikaners came to the country to escape the National Party politics, and they looked to Southern Rhodesia, not to become closer to Britain, but to forge a White African identity with English-speaking whites that was free of the Afrikaner supremacy in South Africa. The earlier wave of Jewish immigration consisted of Ashkenazi Jews from Russia and Lithuania . An active Jewish community with
808-405: A large effect in the context of an agricultural economy. Public spending on education, healthcare and other social services was heavily weighted towards white people. Most of the better paid jobs in public service were also reserved for white people. White people in skilled manual occupations enjoyed employment protection against black competition. In 1975, the average annual income for a Rhodesian
909-578: A large transient element, and many white people might better be considered foreign migrants than settlers. Between 1960 and 1979, white emigration to Rhodesia was around 180,000, while white emigration overseas was 202,000 (with an average white population of around 240,000). White emigration accelerated as independence approached. In October 1978 the net white emigration of 1,582 was the highest recorded number of departures since Rhodesia declared its UDI in 1965. According to official government statistics, 1,834 whites emigrated and 252 white immigrants arrived. In
1010-471: A mellowing of government restrictions on white Zimbabweans owning land, with many of the returning white farmers forming joint ventures with black farm owners. The first wave of Afrikaners arrived in ox wagons in 1893, brought to the country at the time by the pioneer Duncan Moodie. The Afrikaners that followed mostly settled on farms in the subtropical lowlands of the southeast, and on the high central and northwestern plains known for its cattle ranching . It
1111-585: A month after President Mnangagwa was sworn in to office; he returned to his farm in Manicaland province by military escort. During the World Economic Forum 2018 in Davos , Mnangagwa also stated that his new government believes thinking about racial lines in farming and land ownership is "outdated", and should be a "philosophy of the past." As of 2023 , there are 900 white-run commercial farms in
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#17327810222981212-405: A period of at least 10 years. The pattern of land ownership established during the Rhodesian state therefore survived for some time after independence. Those white people who were prepared to adapt to the situation they found themselves in were therefore able to continue enjoying a very comfortable existence. In fact, the independence settlement, combined with favourable economic conditions (including
1313-709: A personal fortune estimated at US$ 1 billion. Several white Zimbabwean businessmen, such as Billy Rautenbach , have returned to their native country after working abroad for some years. Rautenbach has succeeded in extending Zimbabwean minerals sector activity into neighbouring countries such as the DRC. Charles Davy is one of the largest private landowners in Zimbabwe. Davy is reported to own 1,200 km (460 mi ) of land, including farms at Ripple Creek, Driehoek, Dyer's Ranch and Mlelesi. His property has been almost unaffected by any form of land redistribution, and he denies that this fact has any link to his business relationship with
1414-465: A powerful economic unit, counterbalancing the economic power of South Africa. The economic power of these three areas was a major factor in the establishment of the Federation through a British Act of Parliament. It was also apparent as early as the 1950s that white rule would continue for longer in Rhodesia than it would in other British colonies such as Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) and Kenya. Many of
1515-482: A provincial governor appointed by the President. The provincial governor is assisted by the provincial administrator and representatives of several service ministries. The provinces are further divided into 63 districts.Provinces are constituent political entities of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe currently has ten provinces, two of which are cities with provincial status. Zimbabwe is a unitary state, and its provinces exercise only
1616-412: A raid at Borrowdale's Glow nightclub, before being transported in two police buses and detained in the downtown central police station. According to eyewitnesses, several of the youths were attacked by Zimbabwean police. The Lancaster house agreement took place from 10 September – 15 December 1979 with 47 plenary sessions formally held in which Lord Carrington , Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary of
1717-505: A stand. The land grabs formally followed after, in cause of the crumbling relations with the UK government. The Fast track land reform came to assume a very high profile in Zimbabwe's political life. ZANU politicians sought to revise Rhodesian land apportionment, which they saw as an injustice and pressed for land to be properly dispersed among white and black ownership. White farmers argued that this served little purpose. Therefore, to their eyes,
1818-646: A synagogue has existed in Salisbury (now Harare) since 1894. In the 1930s, a wave of Sephardi Jews arrived from Rhodes , the Greek island. German Jews fleeing persecution in the Third Reich also settled in the country. A number of Jews arrived from the Belgian Congo , escaping the civil war engulfing the newly-independent country. The Jewish community reached a peak of 7,060 to 7, 500 between 1961 and
1919-530: A time when their number was just about to fall below 100,000. About 49% of emigrants left to settle in South Africa, many of whom were Afrikaans speakers, with 29% going to the British Isles ; most of the remainder went to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Many of these emigrants continue to identify themselves as Rhodesian . A white Rhodesian/Zimbabwean who is nostalgic for
2020-622: A total 899,187 inhabitants, according to the 1921 census, some of whom were accepted as being white. A proposal by Garfield Todd (Prime Minister in 1953–1958) to liberalise the laws regarding interracial sex was viewed as dangerously radical. The proposal was rejected and was one factor that led to the political demise of Todd. Rhodesians enjoyed a very high standard of living. The Land Tenure Act had reserved 30% of agricultural land for white ownership. Black labour costs were low (around US$ 40 per month in 1975) and included free housing, food and clothing. Nurses earned US$ 120 per month. The low wages had
2121-501: A total population of 899,187, of whom 33,620 were Europeans; 1,998 were Coloured ( mixed race ); 1,250 Asiatics; 761,790 Bantu natives of Southern Rhodesia; and 100,529 Bantu aliens. The following year, Southern Rhodesians rejected, in a referendum , the option of becoming a province of the Union of South Africa . Instead, the country became a self-governing British colony. It never gained full dominion status, but unlike other colonies, it
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#17327810222982222-646: Is appointed by the president and responsible to the House of Assembly. The Minister of State for Presidential Affairs is a non-cabinet ministerial position in the government of Zimbabwe. The incumbent is Didymus Mutasa . The duties of the position have yet to be publicly defined. Parliament consists of the House of Assembly and, since 2005, the Senate , which had previously been abolished in 1990. The House of Assembly has 210 members elected by universal suffrage, including
2323-485: Is estimated that the community peaked in the late 1960s, numbering some 25,000. P. K. van der Byl , an Afrikaner, served as Rhodesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs (1974-1979). Thousands returned to South Africa after independence in Zimbabwe in 1980; however, as many as 15,000 remained four years later in 1984. They were sometimes disparaged by their Anglo-Saxon counterparts in the country, who referred to them as "japies", "hairy-backs", "rock spiders" and "ropes". Until
2424-572: Is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament . The status of Zimbabwean politics has been thrown into question by a 2017 coup . Zimbabwe has been undergoing an economic crisis since the late 1990s. The Zimbabwean Constitution, initially from the Lancaster House Agreement a few months before the 1980 elections , chaired by Lord Carrington , institutionalises majority rule and protection of minority rights. Since independence,
2525-609: Is headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe who, like their contemporaries, is appointed by the President on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The Constitution has a Bill of Rights containing extensive protection of human rights. The Bill of Rights could not be amended for the first 10 years of independence except by unanimous vote of Parliament. The Supreme Court
2626-474: Is slightly larger, with 1,200 Cypriots continuing to live in the country. The Greeks and Cypriots were mostly known for running restaurants and small businesses in the country. There are some significant Greek and Cypriot business owners and landowners, with the majority of the Hellenic community employed in trade professions or involved in bakery operations. Hellenic Academy , an independent Greek high school
2727-587: Is the best government for commercial farmers that this country has ever seen". The lifting of UN-imposed economic sanctions and the end of the Bush War at the time of independence produced an immediate 'peace dividend'. Renewed access to world capital markets made it possible to finance major new infrastructure developments in transport and schools. One area of economic growth was tourism, catering in particular to visitors from Europe and North America. Many white people found work in this sector. Another area of growth
2828-570: Is the highest court of order and the final court of appeal. The Chief Justice is the senior judge. Others who sit on the bench of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe are Justice Paddington Garwe , former Judge-President of the High Court, Wilson Sandura and Vernanda Ziyambi. Luke Malaba , a former justice of the Supreme Court, was appointed acting chief justice on 1 March 2017 following the retirement of Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku . Malaba
2929-607: The esprit de corps of the white dominant class in the former Rhodesia prevented the poor white people from becoming a recognisable social group, because of the social assistance provided by the dominant social class on racial grounds. This system broke down after the founding of Zimbabwe, causing the number of poor white people to increase, especially after 2000, when the confiscation of white-owned farms took its toll. As rich white land owners emigrated or fended for themselves financially, their white employees, who mainly worked as supervisors of black labour, found themselves destitute on
3030-527: The Indian Ocean and world commerce. Rhodesia was excluded from major sporting events, meaning that its white athletes were unable to participate in the 1968 , 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games . A small number of British migrants had reached the British colony of Southern Rhodesia , later Zimbabwe, as settlers during the late-nineteenth century. A steady migration of European peoples continued for
3131-626: The Shona and Ndebele has played a large part in Zimbabwe's politics, a consequence of the country's borders defined by its British colonial rulers. This continued after independence in 1980, during the Gukurahundi ethnic cleansing liberation wars in Matabeleland in the 1980s. This led to the political merger of Joshua Nkomo 's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) with the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) to form ZANU-PF and
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3232-785: The Ashkenazi synagogue and the Sephardi synagogue. As congregation numbers have depleted, both communities combine minyanim on Shabbat . Two Jewish primary schools continue to operate, with Sharon School in Harare, and Carmel in Bulawayo . With the local Jewish community decreasing in size, most of the students at the schools are not Jewish, however. The Greek Community in Zimbabwe peaked at between 13,000-15,000 people in 1972, but has decreased significantly to around 1,000 Greeks or people of Greek origin. The Greek Cypriot community in Zimbabwe
3333-600: The British landowning class . By contrast, settlers in Rhodesia after the Second World War were perceived as being drawn from lower social strata and were treated accordingly by the British authorities. As Peter Godwin wrote in The Guardian , "Foreign Office mandarins dismissed Rhodesians as lower middle class, no more than provincial clerks and artisans, the lowly NCOs of empire." Various factors encouraged
3434-566: The CCC 73, with ZANU–PF retaining its rural base and the CCC capturing the urban vote. Voting in the Gutu West constituency was postponed to 11 November after one of the candidates died shortly before the elections. Following the parliamentary election in Gutu West, 65.24% of the constituency seats went to ZANU-PF and 34.76% of the constituency seats went to the CCC. Zimbabwe participates in
3535-604: The Constitution has been amended by the government to provide for: The elected government controls senior appointments in the public service, including the military and police , and ensures that appointments at lower levels are made on an equitable basis by the independent Public Service Commission . ZANU-PF leader Robert Mugabe , elected prime minister in 1980, revised the constitution in 1987 to make himself president. President Mugabe's affiliated party won every election from independence on April 18, 1980, until it lost
3636-522: The DRC from 1998, the government was able to call on sanctions-busting expertise and personnel from the UDI era to provide parts and munitions for its force of Hawk jets. After 25 years of ZANU-PF government, Zimbabwe had become a congenial place for white millionaires of a certain kind to live and do business in. The Independence constitution contained a provision requiring the Zimbabwean government to honour pension obligations due to former servants of
3737-609: The Economic Structural Adjustment Programme), produced a 20-year period of unprecedented prosperity for white Zimbabwean people, and for the white farming community in particular; a new class of "young white millionaires" appeared in the farming sector. These were typically young Zimbabweans who had applied skills learned in agricultural colleges and business schools in Europe. In 1989, Commercial Farmers' Union president John Brown commented, "This
3838-431: The High Court are regional magistrate's courts with civil jurisdiction and magistrate's courts with both civil and criminal jurisdiction over cases involving traditional law and custom. Beginning in 1981, these courts were integrated into the national system. List of chief justices of Zimbabwe: Main articles: Provinces of Zimbabwe , Districts of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is divided into eight provinces, each administered by
3939-414: The Rhodesian government expanded the number of provinces to seven: Manicaland, Matabeleland North and South, Mashonaland North and South, Midlands, and Victoria (today Masvingo).[3] In the 1980s, Mashonaland North and South became three provincesThe youngest provinces, Bulawayo and Harare, were created in 1997. Mnangagwa was re-elected president. The National Assembly has 210 single-member constituencies,
4040-466: The Rhodesian state. This obligation included payment in foreign currency to pensioners living outside Zimbabwe (almost all white). Pension payments were made until the 1990s, but they then became erratic and stopped altogether in 2003. Since the land invasions and chaotic political situation in the country, a number of expatriate white farmers and hoteliers from Zimbabwe have resettled in neighbouring Zambia , where they are reviving agriculture and develop
4141-609: The Senate consists of 2 seats for each non-metropolitan district of Zimbabwe elected by each provincial assembly of chiefs using SNTV , 1 seat each for the president and deputy president of the National Council of Chiefs and 1 male and 1 female seat for people with disabilities elected on separate ballots using FPTP by an electoral college designated by the National Disability Board. The judiciary
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4242-669: The Smith government sought to maintain white minority rule . White men were conscripted into the Rhodesian Security Forces and the British South Africa Police . White civilians were targeted in some attacks such as Air Rhodesia Flight 825 and Air Rhodesia Flight 827 . The community faced fresh economic challenges during the UDI period as Britain imposed economic sanctions and Mozambique closed its border in 1976, blocking Rhodesia's access to
4343-532: The Speaker, and the Attorney General , and may serve for a maximum of five years. Under the 2013 constitution , the Senate consists of 80 members, of whom 60 are elected for five-year terms in 6-member constituencies representing one of the 10 provinces, elected based on the votes in the lower house election, using party-list proportional representation , distributed using the hare quota . Additionally
4444-506: The UDI era is known colloquially as a " Rhodie ". These nostalgic "Rhodesians" are also sometimes referred to by the pejorative " Whenwes ", because of the nostalgia expressed by them in the phrase "when we were in Rhodesia". The 1979 Lancaster House Agreement , which was the basis for independence from the United Kingdom, had precluded compulsory land redistribution in favour of subsidised voluntary sale of land by white owners for
4545-471: The United Kingdom, chaired the Conference. The content of Lancaster House Agreement covered the new constitution , pre-independence arrangements, and the terms of ceasefire along with an agreement of a bilateral payment from the UK to the republic of Zimbabwe in aid to the land reforms. The agreement signed under Margaret Thatcher, sought out to aid the oncoming land redistribution as powers shifted from
4646-544: The appointment of Nkomo as vice president . During 2005, with Mugabe's future in question, factionalism within the Shona has increased. In October 2005 it was alleged that members of the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition MDC had held secret meetings in London and Washington to discuss plans for a new Zimbabwe after Robert Mugabe. On February 6, 2007, Mugabe orchestrated a Cabinet reshuffle, ousting ministers including 5-year veteran Minister of Finance Herbert Murerwa . Since
4747-627: The area a moderate climate which was conducive to European settlement and commercial agriculture. White settlers who assisted in the BSAC takeover of the country were given land grants of 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres); the black people who had long lived on the land were classified legally as tenants. In 1930, Land Apportionment and Tenure Acts displaced Africans from the country's best farmland, restricting them to unproductive and low-rainfall tribal-trust lands. It reserved areas of high rainfall for White ownership. White settlers were attracted to Rhodesia by
4848-416: The artisan, skilled worker and supervisory classes began to experience job competition from black people. Indigenisation in the public services displaced many white people. The result was that white emigration gathered pace. In the ten-year period from 1980 to 1990, approximately two-thirds of the white community left Zimbabwe. However, many white people resolved to stay in the new Zimbabwe; only one-third of
4949-606: The association probably had fewer than one thousand members. The association had contact with the Rhodesia Information Centre , the unofficial Rhodesian Government diplomatic mission in Australia. Each edition of The Rhodesian Commentary periodical that the centre distributed included a page on the activities of Rhodesia-Australia Association branches; most of the other content was produced in Rhodesia. White Zimbabweans White Zimbabweans, also known as White Rhodesians or simply Rhodesians, are
5050-429: The availability of tracts of prime farmland that could be purchased from the state at low cost. This resulted in the growth of commercial agriculture in the young colony. The White farm was typically a large (>100 km (>38.6 mi )) mechanized estate, owned by a White family and employing hundreds of Black people. Many White farms provided housing, schools and clinics for Black employees and their families. At
5151-477: The community rejected joining the Union of South Africa , electing instead to establish responsible government . In the 1964 Rhodesian independence referendum , the community voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence from Britain, leading to Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence under Prime Minister, Ian Smith . The community was embroiled in the Rhodesian Bush War (1964-1979), as
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#17327810222985252-602: The constitutional outreach programme in Harare during a weekend, in which violence and confusion marred the process, with similar incidents having occurred in Graniteside. In Mount Pleasant , white families were subjected to a torrent of abuse by suspected Zanu-PF supporters, who later drove them away and shouted racial slurs. There were also many illegal seizures of white-owned farmland by the government and its supporters. By March 2000, little land had been redistributed as per
5353-503: The country became the de facto independent – albeit unrecognised — state of Rhodesia . As was the case in most European colonies, white immigrants took a privileged position in all areas of society. Extensive areas of prime farmland were owned by whites. Senior positions in the public services were reserved for whites, and whites working in manual occupations enjoyed legal protection against job competition from black Africans. As time passed, this situation became increasingly unwelcome to
5454-473: The country became the British Dependency of Southern Rhodesia. In April 1980, it was granted independence as Zimbabwe . The Rhodesian community kept itself largely separate from the black and Asian communities in the country. Urban Rhodesians lived in separate areas of town, and had their own segregated education, healthcare and recreational facilities. Marriage between Zimbabweans and Rhodesians
5555-699: The country. The country settled and the white population stabilised. Chris McGreal, writing in The Observer in April 2008, claimed that Zimbabwe's white people "... kept their houses and their pools and their servants. The white farmers had it even better. With crop prices soaring they bought boats on Lake Kariba and built air strips on their farms for newly acquired planes. Zimbabwe's whites reached an implicit understanding with Zanu-PF; they could go on as before, so long as they kept out of politics". White Zimbabweans with professional skills were readily accepted in
5656-423: The country. The farmers are not usually working their own land, but are renting in joint ventures from black farmers given confiscated white-owned land. Since the 2000s, there has been a surge in violence against Zimbabwe's dwindling white community, with the main targets of this violence being Zimbabwe's white farmers. On 18 September 2010, droves of white people were chased away and prevented from participating in
5757-471: The defeat of the constitutional referendum in 2000, politics in Zimbabwe has been marked by a move from the norms of democratic governance , such as democratic elections, the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, freedom from racial discrimination, the existence of independent media, civil society and academia. Recent years have seen widespread violations of human rights . Elections have been marked by political violence and intimidation, along with
5858-436: The devolution of governmental powers and responsibilities where appropriate, though Zimbabwean opposition parties argue that the central government has yet to comply.[2] With the establishment of Company rule in Rhodesia in the 1890s, the country was divided into two provinces: Matabeleland in the west and Mashonaland in the east. Under British colonial rule as Southern Rhodesia, the colony was divided into five provinces. Later,
5959-544: The early 1970s. There were three active synagogues in Salisbury (now Harare), one in Bulawayo and a plethora of Jewish community centers, sports clubs, primary schools, youth movements and other organizations, such as the Chevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society). Smaller Jewish communities also existed in Gatooma , Gwelo and Que Que . There are currently two active synagogues in the country, both are in Harare :
6060-631: The early-1980s, both in fear for their lives and an uncertain future. Political unrest and the seizure of many white-owned commercial farms resulted in a further exodus of Rhodesians commencing in 1999. The 2002 census recorded 46,743 Rhodesians living in Zimbabwe. More than 10,000 were elderly and fewer than 9,000 were under the age of 15. At the time of Zimbabwean independence in 1980, it was estimated that around 38% of Rhodesians were UK-born, with slightly fewer born in Rhodesia, and around 20% from elsewhere in Africa. The white population of that era contained
6161-482: The end of the Second World War, "the race problem" in Southern Rhodesia referred exclusively to Afrikaner and English-speaking rivalries. However, Afrikaners in the country did not push for the most radical demands of Afrikaner nationalism, including the absolute rejection of empire. "Anti-Dutch" sentiment contributed to white Rhodesia's rejection of union with South Africa in the 1922 referendum, as well as
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#17327810222986262-450: The euphoria of independence subsided, and as a variety of economic and social problems became evident in the late-1990s, the land issue became a focus for trouble. This was intention was to equally allocate the 4,000 white farms, covering 110,000 km (42,470 mi ) of mostly prime farmland, among the majority. The means used to implement the programme were ad-hoc, and involved forcible seizure in many cases. By mid-2006, only 500 of
6363-540: The eviction of his black neighbour Solomon Ndawa from a 200-hectare (500-acre) irrigated wheat farm. Meade represented Ndawa at hearings of the Land Commission and attempted to protect Ndawa from abusive questioning. Large-scale migration to Rhodesia did not begin until after the Second World War . At the colony's first comprehensive census in 1962, Rhodesia had 221,000 white residents. At its peak in
6464-474: The executive, the legislative and the judicial branches, with the President as the head of the executive branch, the Prime Minister the head of the legislative branch and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe the head of the judicial branch. Under the present Zimbabwean Constitution, the President's powers can be grouped roughly into the following categories: Under Zimbabwe's Constitution,
6565-583: The far-right Australian League of Rights and National Socialist Party of Australia were involved with the Rhodesia-Australia Association. Other members were emigre Rhodesians , South Africans and older Australians who were nostalgic for the British Empire . There were tensions between the older Australians and the far right activists. In 1972 commentator and Australian Labor Party staffer Richard V. Hall estimated that
6666-569: The first nine months of 1978, 11,241 whites emigrated. In an attempt to stem emigration, the Rhodesian government allowed each departing family to only take up to $ 1,400 out of the country. The country gained its independence as Zimbabwe in April 1980, under a ZANU-PF government led by Robert Mugabe . Following independence, the country's white citizens lost most of their former privileges. A generous social welfare net (including both education and healthcare) that had supported white people in Rhodesia disappeared almost in an instant. White people in
6767-631: The first white mayor since 1981. Present-day Zimbabwe (known as Southern Rhodesia from 1895) was occupied by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) from the 1890s onward, following its subjugation of the Matabele (Ndebele) and Shona nations. Early White settlers came in search of mineral resources, hoping to find a second gold-rich Witwatersrand . Zimbabwe lies on a plateau that varies in altitude between 900 and 1,500 m (2,950 and 4,900 ft) above sea level. This gives
6868-573: The former Kenya Colony , the Belgian Congo , Zambia, Algeria, and Mozambique. For a time, Rhodesia provided something of a haven for white people who were retreating from decolonisation elsewhere in Africa and Asia. In 1974 the Smith government launched a massive campaign to attract one million Europeans to settle in the country. Post-World War II Rhodesian white settlers were considered different in character from earlier Rhodesian settlers and those from other British colonies. In Kenya , settlers were perceived to be drawn from "the officer class" and from
6969-578: The growth of the white population of Rhodesia. These included the industrialisation and prosperity of the economy in the post-war period. The National Party victory in South Africa was one of the factors that led to the formation of the Central African Federation (1953-1963), so as to provide a bulwark against Afrikaner nationalism . British settlement and investment boomed during the Federation years, as Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), and Nyasaland (now Malawi) formed
7070-518: The known Rhodesia to the now known Zimbabwe. By the mid-1990s, it is thought that around 120,000 white people remained in Zimbabwe. In spite of this small number, the white Zimbabwean minority maintained control of much of the economy through its investment in commercial farms, industry, and tourism. However, an ongoing programme of land reforms (intended to alter the ethnic balance of land ownership) dislodged many white farmers. The level of violence associated with these reforms in some rural areas made
7171-465: The land reform laws that were passed in 1979, when the Lancaster House Agreement between Britain and Zimbabwe pledged to initiate a fairer distribution of land between the white minority, which governed Zimbabwe from 1890 to 1979, and the black population. However, at this stage, land acquisition could only occur on a voluntary basis. Little land had been redistributed, and frustrated groups of government supporters began seizing white-owned farms. Most of
7272-407: The local tourism industry. Since 2009 the British government has put into action a repatriation plan assisting elderly British citizens living in Zimbabwe to resettle in the United Kingdom. Challenges for some of Zimbabwe's remaining white community include being reliant on remittances sent by relatives overseas, the cost of private healthcare and cost of living. The community was the target of
7373-501: The majority ethnic groups within the country and also to wide sections of international opinion, leading to the Rhodesian Bush War and eventually the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979. After the country's reconstitution as the Republic of Zimbabwe in 1980, Rhodesians had to adjust to being an ethnic minority in a country with a black majority government. Although a significant number of Rhodesians remained, many of them emigrated in
7474-525: The mid-1970s, Rhodesia's white population consisted of as many as 277,000. There were influxes of white immigrants from the 1940s through to the early 1970s. The country saw a net gain of 9,400 white immigrants in 1971, the highest number since 1957 and the third highest on record. In the immediate postwar period, the most conspicuous group were former British servicemen. However, many of the new immigrants were refugees from Communism in Europe; others were former service personnel from British India , or came from
7575-600: The new immigrants had a "not here" attitude to majority rule and independence. Rhodesia was run by a white minority government. In 1965, that government declared itself independent through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence ('UDI') under Prime Minister Ian Smith . The UDI project eventually failed, after a period of United Nations economic sanctions and a civil war known as the Chimurenga (Shona) or Bush War . British colonial rule returned in December 1979, when
7676-435: The new order. For example, Chris Andersen had been the hardline Rhodesian justice minister, but made a new career for himself as an independent MP and leading attorney in Zimbabwe. In 1998, he defended former President Canaan Banana in the infamous "sodomy trial". At the time of this trial, Andersen spoke out against the attitude of President Mugabe who had described homosexuals as being "worse than dogs and pigs since they are
7777-414: The next 75 years. The white population of Southern Rhodesia, or Rhodesia as it was known from 1965, reached a peak of about 300,000 in 1975–76, representing around 8% of the population. Emigration after the country gained internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe in 1980 resulted in a declining white population: estimated at 220,000 in 1980; 70,000 in 2000; and 30,000 in 2012. However, by 2023,
7878-451: The opposition are routinely arrested and harassed, with some subjected to torture or sentenced to jail. The legal system has come under increasing threat. The MDC has repeatedly attempted to use the legal system to challenge the ruling ZANU-PF, but the rulings, often in favour of the MDC, have not been taken into account by the police. Political power in Zimbabwe is split between three branches,
7979-582: The original 5,000 white farms were still fully operational. The majority of the white farms that avoided expropriation were in Manicaland and Midlands, where it proved possible to do local deals and form strategic partnerships. However, by early-2007, a number of the seized farms were being leased back to their former white owners (although in reduced size or on a contract basis); it has been claimed to be possible that as many as 1,000 of them could be operational again, in some form. A University of Zimbabwe sociologist told IWPR journalist Benedict Unendoro that
8080-666: The parliamentary elections in March 2008 to the Movement for Democratic Change . In some quarters corruption and rigging elections have been alleged. In particular the elections of 1990 were nationally and internationally condemned as being rigged, with the second-placed party, Edgar Tekere 's Zimbabwe Unity Movement, winning only 20% of the vote. Presidential elections were held in 2002 amid allegations of vote-rigging, intimidation, and fraud , and again in March 2008. Ethnic rivalry between
8181-418: The politician Webster Shamu . Davy has said about Shamu, "I am in partnership with a person who I personally like and get along with". Other views on Shamu are less kind. The political environment in Zimbabwe has allowed the development of an exploitative business culture, in which some white businessmen have played a prominent role. When Zimbabwe was subject to EU sanctions, arising from its involvement in
8282-580: The politicisation of the judiciary, military , police force and public services. Statements by the President and government politicians have referred to a state of war, or Chimurenga , against the opposition political parties, in particular the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T). Newspapers not aligned with the government have been closed down and members of the judiciary have been threatened and/or arrested. Repressive laws aimed at preventing freedoms of speech, assembly and association have been implemented and subjectively enforced. Members of
8383-525: The position of the wider white community uncomfortable. Twenty years after independence, there were 21,000 commercial farmers in the country. In 1997, the British prime minister Tony Blair and his government pulled out of talks to fund the Lancaster House agreements causing a traction. This would lead to the land grabs that were seen soon after. The war veterans felt as if the inability of the UK government to continue its agreement meant they must take
8484-554: The powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Provinces are divided into districts, which are divided into wards. The Constitution of Zimbabwe delineates provincial governance and powers. After constitutional amendments in 1988, provinces were administered by a governor directly appointed by the President of Zimbabwe.[1] Since the 2013 constitutional changes, there are technically no longer provincial governors, though in practice they remain in place as Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs. The 2013 Constitution also calls for
8585-436: The president is the head of state, government and commander-in-chief of the defense forces, elected by popular majority vote. Prior to 2013, the president was elected for a 6-year term with no term limits. The new constitution approved in the 2013 constitutional referendum limits the president to two 5-year terms, but this does not take effect retrospectively ( Robert Mugabe had held the office from 1987 to 2017). The Cabinet
8686-450: The problem was really a lack of development, rather than one of land tenure. White farmers would respond to claims that they owned "70% of the best arable land" by stating that what they actually owned was "70% of the best developed arable land", and therefore that the two are entirely different things. Whatever the merits of the arguments, in the post-independence period, the land issue assumed enormous symbolic importance to all concerned. As
8787-476: The results of which are shown below. The remaining 70 seats comprises 60 seats which are reserved for women, six seats in each province, and 10 seats for youth, one seat in each province, which are filled based on the votes in the single-member constituencies using party-list proportional representation, distributed using the largest remainder method and the Hare quota. On election day itself ZANU–PF won 136 seats and
8888-836: The seizures took place in Nyamandlovu and Inyati . After the beating to death of a prominent farmer in September 2011, the head of the Commercial Farmers' Union decried the attack, saying that its white members continue to be targeted for violence, without protection from the government. Genocide Watch declared that the violence against whites in Zimbabwe was a stage 5 (of 10 ) case of genocide . In September 2014, Mugabe publicly declared that all white Zimbabweans should "go back to England", and he urged black Zimbabweans not to lease agricultural land to white farmers. Hundreds of white farmers returned to Zimbabwe following
8989-427: The streets of cities like Harare, with many found begging around urban centres like Eastlea. The land confiscated from white owners has been redistributed to black peasant farmers and smallholders, acquired by commercial land companies, or persons connected to the government. Sympathisers of the expropriated white farmers have claimed that lack of professional management skills among the new landholders has resulted in
9090-527: The time of independence in 1980, more than 40% of the country's farmed land was made up of approximately 5,000 White farms. At the time, agriculture provided 40% of the country's GDP and up to 60% of its foreign earnings. Major export products included tobacco, beef, sugar, cotton and maize. The minerals sector was also important. Gold, asbestos, nickel and chromium were mined by foreign-owned concerns such as Lonrho (Lonmin since 1999) and Anglo American . The Census of 3 May 1921 found that Southern Rhodesia had
9191-481: The white farming community left. An even smaller proportion of white urban business owners and members of the professional classes left. This pattern of migration meant that although small in absolute numbers, Zimbabwe's white people formed a high proportion of the upper strata of society. A 1984 article in The Sunday Times Magazine described and pictured the life of Zimbabwean white people at
9292-444: The white population doubled to 150,000, and during that decade 100,000 black people were forcibly resettled from farmland designated for white ownership. However, some members of the white farming community opposed the forced removal of black people from land designated for white ownership. Some favoured the transfer of underutilised "white land" to black farmers. For example, in 1947, Wedza white farmer Harry Meade unsuccessfully opposed
9393-500: The white population had increased following the government easing restrictions regarding white ownership of farmland. Many formerly dispossessed white farmers have formed joint ventures with black landowners. There are currently three ministers in the Zimbabwean Government who are white, Kirsty Coventry , Joshua Sacco and Vangelis Haritatos , while in 2023, David Coltart was elected as Mayor of Bulawayo , becoming
9494-630: Was around US$ 8,000 (equivalent to $ 45,000 in 2023) with income tax at a marginal rate of 5% — making them one of the richest communities in the world. In November 1965, in order to avoid the introduction of black majority rule (commonly referred to at the time as the Wind of Change ), the Government of what was then the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia issued the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), upon which
9595-481: Was established in Harare in 2008 and continues to operate. The Holy Archdiocese of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. Zimbabwean Government The politics of Zimbabwe occurs in a society deeply divided along lines of race, ethnicity, gender and geography. The ZANU–PF party has historically been dominant in Zimbabwe politics. The party, which
9696-419: Was horticulture, involving the cultivation of flowers, fruits and vegetables, which were air-freighted to market in Europe. Many white farmers were involved in this, and in 2002 it was claimed that 8% of horticultural imports into Europe were sourced in Zimbabwe. The economic migrant element among the white population had departed quickly after independence, leaving behind those white people with deeper roots in
9797-455: Was led by Robert Mugabe from 1980 to 2017, has used the powers of the state to intimidate, imprison and otherwise hobble political opposition in Zimbabwe, as well as use state funds and state media to advance the interests of the party. Per the 2013 Constitution , Zimbabwe is a full presidential republic , whereby the President is the head of state and government . Executive power
9898-433: Was possible, but remains to the present day very rare. The 1903 Immorality Suppression Ordinance made "illicit" (i.e. unmarried) sex between black men and white women illegal – with a penalty of two years imprisonment for any offending white woman. The majority of the early white immigrants were men, and some white men entered into relationships with black women. The result was a small number of mixed-race persons: 1,998 out of
9999-470: Was promoted to chief justice on 28 March. The legal system is based on Roman-Dutch law with South African influences. A five-member Supreme Court, headed by the Chief-Justice has original jurisdiction over alleged violations of fundamental rights guaranteed in the constitution and appellate jurisdiction over other matters. There is a High Court consisting of general and appellate divisions. Below
10100-619: Was reported that only 280 white farmers remained, and all of their farms were invaded. On the day of Mugabe's inauguration as president on 28 June 2008, several white farmers who had protested the seizure of their land were beaten and burned by his supporters. In June 2008, a British-born farmer, Ben Freeth (who has had several articles and letters published in the British press regarding the hostile situation), and his in-laws, Mike and Angela Campbell, were abducted and found badly beaten. Campbell, speaking from hospital in Harare, vowed to continue with his legal fight for his farm. In November 2008,
10201-496: Was treated as a de facto dominion , with its Prime Minister attending the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences . Portuguese explorer António Fernandes was the first European to visit the region. In 1891, before Southern Rhodesia was established as a territory, it was estimated that about 1,500 Europeans resided there. This number grew slowly to around 75,000 in 1945. In the period 1945 to 1955,
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