The attitude of the Portuguese (arrived at the XVI E century), initially peaceful, quickly will harden; Europeans supplant the Swahili Moslems who held the reins commercial of the ores and gold. In 1855, the David Livingstone English discovers the Victoria falls. Four years later, Robert and John Moffat found the first European establishment.

The massive installation of White goes back to 1890, with the arrival of Pioneer Column - control by Leander Starr Jameson -, connects of British South Africa Company de Cecil Rhodos. Coming from South Africa, the British were in search of gold and of grounds, which they will sometimes acquire by treaties, most of the time by waves of conquest.  

“African reserves” are legalized in 1908. In 1911, Rhodesia of North (future Zambia) is detached of what will become Southern Rhodesia in 1923 (current Zimbabwe). However, for all the constitutional deals and the problems relating to the African population, the decisions were made in last spring by the British.

In 1953, Southern Rhodesia was joined together in Rhodesia of North and Nyassaland, forming the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyassaland with Salisbury (which will become Harare in 1982) for capital. In 1961, the nationalist leader Joshua Nkomo creates Zimbabwe African People' S Union (ZAPU); the following year is made up Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) of Robert Mugabe. In 1963, after the introduction of black governments in Rhodesia of North and in Nyassaland (future Malawi), the Federation was dissolved.

In front of impossibility of managing an agreement with the British on the problem of the participation of the Blacks in the government in the event of accession to independence, Ian Smith, Prime Minister rhodésien, proclaimed unilaterally independence (November 11th, 1965). A Constitution guaranteeing to the White the control of the government was then adopted.  

South Africa was the only country to recognize the colony secessionist, which could also count on the indirect support of Portugal de Salazar, present at Mozambique and in Angola. In 1969, after a new failure of the negotiations with the British, a Constitution excluding any idea from accession of the Blacks to the power was adopted, and a Republic of Rhodesia, on the model of South Africa, was proclaimed in March 1970.

Republic of Rhodesia in Zimbabwe

Throughout the years 1960 and 1970, in spite of the exile or imprisonment of their principal leaders, the nationalist groups continued to fight so that a greater place their is made in the business of the country. In the middle of the years 1970, especially after independence and the accession with the power of a mode progressist in Mozambique, the guerilla, directed against the white farms and the nodes of communication, intensified.

In 1978, Ian Smith, wishing to put an end to the civil war, started negotiations. With three nationalist representatives - the bishop Abel Muzorewa, the reverend Ndabaninge Sithole and the chief Jeremiah Chirau -, it formed a transitory government of coalition. The principle of the poll by the vote for all was retained for the first time at the time of the elections of April 1979, and Mgr Muzorewa became the first black head of government of the country.

The nationalist chiefs Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe, which had linked themselves to form the patriotic Face, refused to take part in the internal agreement of payment, which involved a continuation of the guerilla. To the autumn 1979, the leaders of the various factions, at this meeting in London, manage an agreement on the principle of a new Constitution, envisaging the reduction amongst seats reserved for the White. The government Muzorewa abrogea the unilateral declaration of independence of 1965.

The territory was then found under provisional British administration of December 12th, 1979 on April 18th, 1980, date on which Zimbabwe reached total and final independence.

The turning of the years 1980

With independence, the new government was to solve many problems, starting with that of the populations moved by the war (nearly a million people). Robert Mugabe engaged a policy of bringing together with the white population and took measures aiming at improving education and health; it raised the wages low. But the success of its policy was made dubious by increasing tensions between its partisans and those of Joshua Nkomo. The ZANU-PF and the ZAPU amalgamated in 1988, reducing the tensions in Matabélé, the stronghold of Ndébélés.

In 1990, the state of emergency, into force since twenty-five years, was raised. Vis-a-vis the nepotism of president Robert Mugabe (re-elected in March 1996), with generalized corruption, the stagnation of the growth (4.5 %) <1994> and with the increase of inflation (22 %) <1994>, social dissatisfaction growing was translated since 1996, by violent one protest movements. Gaining all the social layers gradually, he knew his summit in July - August 1997 with the “revolt” of the war veterans who claimed the payment of their pensions. In order to alleviate general discomfort, R. Mugabe decided, initially, to increase the financial advantages of the war veterans. However, the incidence which this measurement could have had on the total budget deficit, had as a consequence the carryforward of the loan granted by the IMF. President R. Mugabe then had to face an increasingly critical situation.  

In 1999, Zimbabwe, implied in the exploitation of the mining richnesses of Katanga, remained, after the withdrawal of Chad and Sudan, and the weak engagement of Angola and Namibia, the only ally of the Congolese president, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, in the conflict which opposed it to the rebels supported by Rwanda and Uganda. However, the stagnation of the peace process, since the signature of the agreements of Lusaka, and the maintenance on the Congolese territory of more than 11 ' 000 men, threatened to precipitate the country in a new economic crisis. Indeed, the revelation of the real costs of the war as a Democratic republic of Congo, estimated at a dollar million (six franc million) per day, is nearly 5,5% of the GDP, dissuaded once again the IMF to grant the financial aid (193 million dollars) which it had decided to grant to the country a few months before, position also adopted by the World Bank, which froze the payment of 140 million dollars (840 franc million).

Lastly, an cholera epidemic, the constant progression of unemployment, new corruption affairs concerning the climatic condition, highest levels of power bad responsible for bad harvests and a late land reform, revived already latent social dissatisfaction. Thus, for the first time in twenty years of being able and at a few weeks of the general elections, president Mugabe wiped an electoral failure at the time of the referendum on the new Constitution, organized in February 2000.

In spite of the promise of a redistribution of the grounds, of which most fertile remained with the hands of the white farmers, 54,6% of the voters rejected the new text intended to consolidate the presidential powers. At two years of the next presidential ballot (April 2002), the National Assembly Constitution, supported by a better structured opposition, the Churches and the trade unions, whose Movement of democratic change (MDC), founded and directed by the principal rival of president Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai, seemed a possible political alternative.

In April, the adoption of a law allowing to expropriation without compensation for the white farmers always owners of 70% of the grounds of ex-Rhodesia encouraged the war veterans of the war of independence to adapt these grounds by occupying them by violence. Eleven white people, two farmers and eleven Blacks lost the life there. At a few months of the next elections, the hardening of the mode with regard to the opponents and more particularly the attitude of president Mugabe, who encouraged these expropriations, were denounced by the international community.