Mashonaland is a region in northern

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, *

Mashonaland West Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.5 million (2012). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province. Districts Mashonaland West is divided into 7 districts: * Chegutu * ...

Mashonaland Central Mashonaland Central is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 28,347 km² and a population of 1,152,520 (2012 census), representing about 8.5% of the total Zimbabwe population. Geography Background Bindura is the capital of the ...

Mashonaland East Mashonaland East, informally Mash East, is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 32,230 km2 and a population of approximately 1.35 million (2012). Marondera is the capital of the province. Geography Districts Mashonaland East i ...

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

The Zimbabwean capital of

, a province unto itself, lies entirely in Mashonaland.

Provincial history

It was originally one of the regions that the country was divided into following occupation by the

Pioneer Column The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia). Background Rhodes was anxious t ...

in 1890 and designated the extent of territory under administration of the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

as distinct from the remainder of the territory that was directly under the control of the Matabele king,

Lobengula Lobengula Khumalo (c. 1845 – presumed January 1894) was the second and last official king of the Northern Ndebele people (historically called Matabele in English). Both names in the Ndebele language mean "the men of the long shields", a refere ...

, which was named

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi r ...

when it was occupied in 1893. The two had separate administrations for part of the BSA Company colonial period. Revolt broke out against the British South Africa Company in 1896, led by priests of the Mwari religion. The British prevailed, executed some leaders, and tried to reform the system. In 1923, the territory became part of the self-governing colony of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

and Mashonaland became one of the five provinces. In 1970, an administrative reform led to Mashonaland being divided into a northern and a southern half. Most recently, in 1983, it was divided into the current three sectors and the capital city of Harare was given its own provincial status as well. Since the constitutional amendments that took effect in 1988, each is run by a governor appointed by the president.

Geographical features

The territory is composed of a broad plateau that slopes gradually to the north and north-west. The lowest land is on its northern border, which is formed by the Zambezi River, with

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

beyond. A small part straddles the plateau at its south-eastern edge and here the land drains into the Save River but the rest of Mashonaland is part of the Zambezi drainage basin. To the south, the

Munyati River The Munyati River (also known as the Umniati River, and as the Sanyati River for part of its length) is a river in Zimbabwe. Under the Rhodesian administration, it was officially named the Umniati, but its spelling was changed in 1983 to more clos ...

forms the border with the current and former province of

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

. The Nyangadzi river forms the border with

Manicaland Manicaland is a Provinces of Zimbabwe, province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2012 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawa ...

to the east. Much of the landform is rolling low hills divided by river valleys. About half the land is over altitude and the central watershed in the south and centre is at . Only a few isolated mountains and the spine of the Umvukwes Range in the west rise higher. The highest point is in the Wedza Mountains in the south east at .

Economy

The region's economy consists of the mining, agriculture and the service industry. Its facilities for tourism, fertile lands and mineral filled regions such as Bindura could improve the economy, but due to poor leadership and policies, the economy is lagging behind. Many Mashonaland citizens are farmers, and gain their source of income from agriculture.

References

* * * * *

External links

''James Anta: African Missionary to Mashonaland''

{{coord , 17, 36, S, 30, 36, E, display=title category:Regions of Africa British South Africa Company Former British colonies and protectorates in Africa Geography of Zimbabwe Subdivisions of Zimbabwe