Main

Zimbabwe Historical Timeline

By Laurianne Claase

1565:

The King of Portugal sets his sights on all territory south of the Zambezi. Throughout the remainder of this century, the Portuguese manage to get a foothold in Zimbabwe, through a succession of diplomatic embassies, trade treaties, military aid and missionary forays to the Mutapa kings.

1693:

Rampant corruption eventually destroys the Portuguese stranglehold. The Changamire kingdom helps the Mutapa to expel the Europeans and they are gone for good by the turn of the century.

1780:

Events south of the Limpopo see Dingiswayo, chief of the Mtetwa clan, unite the loosely-knit South African tribes, by force.

1800:

Dingiswayo falls at the hand of a young captain from the obscure Zulu clan. Shaka christens the entire tribe Zulu and hones the young men into a formidable fighting force which cut bloody swathes through southern Africa.

1838:

Mzilikazi, the son of a rebel captain executed by Shaka, flees north with his followers, crossing the Limpopo river and settling around present day Bulawayo. The Ndebele (or Matabele) bring with them the rule of war and within a generation, the name of Mzilikazi's son Lobengula fuels legends of fabulous wealth.

1855:

The English missionary, David Livingstone, names Victoria Falls after his queen on his epic cross-country journey along the river highway of the Zambezi. It has taken him from Luanda on the west coast of present day Angola to Quelimane on the Mozambiquan east coast. His subsequent reports to the London Missionary Society fuel a new wave of missionary zeal.

1873:

Great Zimbabwe 'discovered' by a European ivory-trader and geologist. Speculation runs rampant that this is the legendary Ophir, site of the fabled mines of King Solomon. The rush is on.

1889:

The English imperialist Rhodes, soon to be Prime Minister of the Cape, obtains a trumped up mining concession from Lobengulu who is caught between the expansionist Boers in South Africa and the British Empire represented by Rhodes and his dreams of a railway running from Cape to Cairo. He signs on an English dotted line and fails to read the fine print.

1890:

A Pioneer Column of over 100 wagons arrives from the South to exercise their mineral rights.

1894:

Rhodes' British South Africa Company has effective control of the territory and his name is given to the new country - Rhodesia.

1896:

The Matabele and Shona tribes unite in rebellion. The first Chimurenga (war of liberation) is extinguished by the end of the year and the settlers entrench themselves.

1923:

Company rule comes to an end. Rhodesia becomes a self-governing British colony.

[ next page ]

Page: 1 4 million years ago:
Estimated dates of hominid communities established in southern and east Africa. These man-apes would have been no bigger than a ten-year-old child. ...

[more information]

Page: 3 1953:
Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi) are joined in a commonwealth federation of southern African British territories. ...

[more information]

Rates/Prices

Reservations/ Bookings

Enquiries/ Questions

Site Search

Travel Essentials

Safari Essentials

Travel Tips

Zimbabwe Travel Articles

Africa Travel Links

Luxury Rail Safari
Zambia Lodges
Zambia Safaris
Zimbabwe Safaris

© Siyabona Africa Travel (Pty) Ltd Zimbawe lodge accommodation and safari tour guide

Lodge reservations and bookings | Phone: +27 (21) 424 1037 Fax: +27 (21) 424 1036