"Dzimba dza mabwe"

I thought it fitting to welcome you to learn a little bit about Zimbabwe before I tell you about its anticolonial struggle. The title of this blog is actually what the name Zimbabwe means which is "great house of stone" in the Shona language.

Located in the Southern part of the African continent, Zimbabwe is home to many different species of animals including elephants, lions, giraffes and zebras, and is also the where the famous Victoria Falls are located.

A quick history of Zimbabwe is necessary before I tell you about the anticolonial struggle in Zimbabwe. Originally named Zambesia, the name changed in 1895 to Rhodesia because of Cecil Rhodes' colonizing efforts there. The name then changed to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland when the British combined the two colonies in 1953. Shortly after this due to strong African nationalism, the British dissolved the Union and it was divided into 3 separate colonies.

In 1963, the anticolonial struggle began. The Prime Minister of Rhodesia, Ian Smith, declared Rhodesia independent from Britain in a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). The United Kingdom (Britain) saw this declaration as an act of rebellion but didn't try to take back control.

All of this quickly led to a civil war in Rhodesia. In 1970, the white minority government led by Smith declared Rhodesia a republic while the black majority through guerilla warfare against the UDI.

In 1978, Smith finally signed an accord with three black leaders and elections followed in 1979. The United African National Council won the election and Abel Muzorewa became Prime Minister. Muzorewa changed the name from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe Rhodesia. In this new government system, whites were still in control in a power-sharing arrangement which did not reflect the majority. In 1979 the civil war finally ended with the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement.

In 1980 another election was held and the Zimbabwe African National Union won. Mugabe became the ruler and a peace accord was signed in 1987.

Since then, Zimbabwe has dealt with land issues and, most recently, an economic and food crisis.

Effect of Colonization to Education in Africa

As I read through the article, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" by Walter Rodney, this caught my eye:

"Among the Bemba of what was then Northern Rhodesia, children by the age of six could name fifty to sixty species of tree plants without hesitation, but they knew very little about ornamental flowers. The explanation is simply that knowledge of the trees was a necessity in an environment of ‘cut and burn’ agriculture and in a situation where numerous household needs were met by tree products. Flowers, however, were irrelevant to survival."

It was shocking to me to find out that this was reality for children in Africa. Yet at the same time, I could understand this to be true. How many of us would learn about things that we didn't need to know in a time of desperation where survival was the only aim? I know I wouldn't. However, this is also interesting because this took place before the colonization of Africa because it says that the education of the African people grew out of the environment.

It would be interesting to find out more about the effects of colonization on Africa. I need to keep reading to do that. Yet, as I did more research on the effects of colonization in Africa to education, I found three really intereesting articles that talk about the effect of colonialization even today. One is from Ghana, another from Zimbabwe, and finally, the last is from Namibia. From reading these three articles, I was shocked to find out that the effects of colonization are still affecting the countries mentioned above.