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The Shire Highlands are a
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
in southern
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, located east of the
Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...
. It is a major agricultural area and the most densely populated part of the country.


Geography

The highlands cover an area of roughly 7250 square kilometers. the plateau varies in elevation from 600 to 1100 meters, with various hills and mountains rising higher. The highest peak is Zomba Mountain at 2087 meters. The highlands are bounded on the west and south by the valley of the
Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...
, an extension of the
African Rift Valley The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of ...
. The Phalombe Plain slopes gently towards
Lake Chilwa Lake Chilwa is the second-largest lake in Malawi after Lake Malawi. It is in eastern Zomba District, near the border with Mozambique. Approximately 60 km long and 40 km wide, the lake is surrounded by extensive wetlands. There is an islan ...
to the northeast, and separates the highlands from the taller
Mulanje Massif The Mulanje Massif, also known as Mount Mulanje, is a large inselberg in southern Malawi. Sapitwa Peak, the highest point on the massif at 3,002 m, is the highest point in Malawi. It lies 65 km east of Blantyre, rising sharply from the su ...
to the east. Streams originating in the highlands drain west, south, and southeast towards the Shire River, or northeast into the closed basin of Lake Chilwa. The highlands have a cooler climate and more rainfall than the surrounding lowlands, and are home to distinct forests, woodlands, and grasslands that make up the
South Malawi montane forest-grassland mosaic South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
. The northernmost portion of the plateau includes a line of hills – Chinduzi, Mongolowe, Chaone, and Chikala – that extend 40 km east and west. The taller
Zomba Plateau The Zomba Plateau, also called the Zomba Massif, is a mountain of the Shire Highlands in southern Malawi. Its total area is about , with a highest point of . The plateau is roughly pear-shaped. The southern portion is known as Zomba Mountain, a ...
south of them. The northern hills are made up of syenite and nepheline syenite, and the Zomba plateau is made up of syenite and quartz syenite, which intruded into the much older Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks that compose much of the highlands. The central portion includes numerous hills and mountains, including
Chiradzulu Chiradzulu is a town in Malawi, and the administrative capital of the Chiradzulu District. It is famous because it is where the home and church of John Chilembwe is located. It was the site of European farming settlement. Notable people *John Chi ...
(1774 m), Ndirande (1613 m), Soche (1533 m), and Michiru (1474 m). Thyolo Mountain lies at the southern end of the highlands.


People

Yao are the predominant people of the northern highlands, and
Chewa people The Chewa (or AChewa) are a Bantu ethnic group native to central and southern Africa and the largest ethnic group in Malawi. The Chewa are closely related to people in surrounding regions such as the Tumbuka and Nsenga. They are historically ...
in the center and south. The
Lomwe people The Lomwe people are one of the largest tribes residing in Mozambique and Malawi. In Mozambique their language is spoken by many in central Mozambique. In Malawi they are second largest tribe after the Chewa Tribe They speak the Malawi Lomwe lang ...
also live in the highlands.
Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
is the largest city in the highlands. Zomba is the second-largest, and served as the capital of
Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...
and independent
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
until 1975.
Thyolo Thyolo is a town located in the Southern Region of Malawi. It is the administrative capital of Thyolo District. Traditional Authority Mphuka in Thyolo District is one of the 10 Traditional Authorities in Thyolo District in Malawi. There are a n ...
is a center of tea production.


History

Archeological evidence shows the highlands have been populated for thousands of years. In the middle of the 19th century,
Yao people The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in ...
migrated eastwards from the northern Mozambican coast, and established chiefdoms in the highlands – Malemia (
Domasi Domasi is a community in Malawi to the northeast of Zomba. It is the location of the Domasi College of Education. The Shallow Well Project funded by the First Presbyterian Church of Urbana in Urbana, Illinois, United States The United Sta ...
), Mlumbe (Zomba), Kawinga (Chikala), Mpama (
Chiradzulu Chiradzulu is a town in Malawi, and the administrative capital of the Chiradzulu District. It is famous because it is where the home and church of John Chilembwe is located. It was the site of European farming settlement. Notable people *John Chi ...
), and Kapeni and Somba (in Blantyre District). The Yao chiefs were involved in the trade of ivory and slaves, centered on the Mozambican port of
Quelimane Quelimane () is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais (or "River of the Good Signs"). The river was named when V ...
. With encouragement and assistance from
David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
during his
second Zambesi expedition The Second Zambezi expedition, from 1858 to 1864, was launched by the Royal Geographical Society of Britain to explore Southeast Africa for mineral deposits and other natural resources. The expedition led to the establishment of the Central Afr ...
, in 1861 Bishop Charles Mackenzie of the
Universities' Mission to Central Africa The Universities' Mission to Central Africa (c.1857 - 1965) was a missionary society established by members of the Anglican Church within the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and Dublin. It was firmly in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of t ...
set up a missionary station at
Magomero Magomero is an estate and a village in Malawi. It is situated south of Zomba. History Although Alexander Low Bruce never visited Nyasaland, he obtained title to some 170,000 acres of land there through his association with the African Lakes Compa ...
, near Zomba in the highlands. After Mackenzie died in 1863, the mission was withdrawn. Later in the 19th century more British missions and plantations were established, expanding British influence in the highlands. In 1891
Harry Johnston Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston (12 June 1858 – 31 July 1927), known as Harry Johnston, was a British explorer, botanist, artist, colonial administrator, and linguist who travelled widely in Africa and spoke many African languages. He publishe ...
was appointed Commissioner and Consul General to the
British Central Africa Protectorate The British Central Africa Protectorate (BCA) was a British protectorate proclaimed in 1889 and ratified in 1891 that occupied the same area as present-day Malawi: it was renamed Nyasaland in 1907. British interest in the area arose from visits ...
, the territories in the British
sphere of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal al ...
north of the Zambezi River. Johnston set up a headquarters at Zomba, and between 1891 and 1895 subordinated the Yao chiefs to British rule, often by force. Johnston abolished the slave trade, and allowed British missionaries and settlers to lay claim to large tracts of the highlands. By 1894, Johnston had granted 'certificates of claim' to a handful of British settlers, missionaries, and private companies, granting them
freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...
property rights to 3776 km2, or over half the total area of the highlands. In addition to private lands, Johnston established public or crown lands that included forest reserves, and African trust lands, held by the colonial state for customary use by the native people. Public lands and trust lands were later opened up to leaseholds of up to 99 years, effectively privatizing some of them. The
Shire Highlands Railway Company The Shire Highlands Railway Company Ltd was a private railway company in colonial Nyasaland, incorporated in 1895 with the intention of constructing a railway from Blantyre (in modern-day Malawi) to the effective head of navigation of the Shire Ri ...
built a railway across the highlands between 1903 and 1907, from
Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
in the highlands to the river port of
Chiromo Chiromo is a town in southern Malawi by the Shire River. The Nairobi suburb of Chiromo near Westlands, as well as University of Nairobi Chiromo Campus and Nairobi's Chiromo Road got their name from this town. Ewart Grogan saw the two rivers that ...
, on the Shire River where it meets the Ruo. The railway was later extended north from Blantyre to Salima in central Malawi, south from Chiromo to Port Herald (present day
Nsanje Nsanje (formerly Port Herald) is the main city in Nsanje District within the Southern Region of Malawi. The intense urbanization in the fertile Shire River valley has formed an extensive urbanized zone that runs from the city of Bangula, furth ...
) in 1908, and from Port Herald to the Mozambican river port of
Chindio Chindio is a village on the north bank of the Zambezi River in Mozambique, downstream of its junction with the Shire River. Chindio is not the same place as Chinde, although they are both on the Zambezi and in Mozambique. Between 1908 and 1914, r ...
on the
Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...
in 1914. From the late 19th century, tobacco, cotton, and coffee were grown for export. Coffee growing declined in importance by 1900, displaced by drought and competition with Brazilian coffee growers.
Tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
plantations were established in the highlands in the 1930s, first around
Thyolo Thyolo is a town located in the Southern Region of Malawi. It is the administrative capital of Thyolo District. Traditional Authority Mphuka in Thyolo District is one of the 10 Traditional Authorities in Thyolo District in Malawi. There are a n ...
where the climate and soils were most favorable. Tea is still economically important in the highlands. Other important crops include
tung oil Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree (''Vernicia fordii''). The oil and its use are believed to have originated in ancient China and appear in the writings of Confucius from abou ...
, tobacco,
peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
s (groundnuts), and
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
(corn).


References

{{Use dmy dates, date=September 2018 Plateaus of Malawi Highlands South Malawi montane forest–grassland mosaic