Abstract
Archaeological evidence shows human settlement dating back several thousand years. The Khoisan people were early inhabitants of the region, followed from around AD 500 by the Bantu-speaking Gokomere. Trading civilizations flourished from the 9th century, culminating in the Mwene Mutapa Empire (Empire of Great Zimbabwe) from the 15th century. Its stronghold was a fortified stone town known as Great Zimbabwe (‘houses of stone’), which was founded around 1000 and had a population of up to 18,000 at its peak. During the 16th and 17th centuries the area came under partial control by the Portuguese until the Shona people defeated them in 1693 and established the Rozwi Empire. This fell to the migrating Ndebele (Matabele) in 1834.
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Further Reading
Central Statistical Office. Monthly Digest of Statistics.
Hatchard, J., Individual Freedoms and State Security in the African Context: the Case of Zimbabwe. 1993
Hill, Geoff, What Happens After Mugabe? Can Zimbabwe Rise From the Ashes? 2005
Meredith, Martin, Mugabe: Power and Plunder in Zimbabwe. 2002
Skålnes, T., The Politics of Economic Reform in Zimbabwe: Continuity and Change in Development. 1995
Weiss, R., Zimbabwe and the New Elite. 1994
National Statistical Office: Central Statistical Office, POB 8063, Causeway, Harare.
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© 2011 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Turner, B. (2011). Zimbabwe. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-59051-3_350
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-59051-3_350
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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