Mashonaland is a region in northeastern

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. It is home to nearly half of the population of Zimbabwe. The majority of the Mashonaland people are from the Shona tribe while the Zezuru and Korekore dialects are most common. Harare is the largest city followed by Chitungwiza. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East *

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

The Zimbabwean capital of

, a province unto itself, lies entirely in Mashonaland. It receives moderate amount of rainfall yearly.

Provincial history

It was originally one of the regions that the country was divided into following occupation by the Pioneer Column in 1890. It was designated the extent of territory under administration of the British South Africa Company, as distinct from the remainder of the territory that was directly under the control of the Matabele king, Lobengula, 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 ...

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 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 known as South ...

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.

Demographics

Around 7.4 million people live in Mashonaland, around 50% of the population of Zimbabwe. Population growth was higher than in southern Zimbabwe. The most common language used in Mashonaland is Zezuru dialect of Shona followed by Korekore groups.

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. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

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

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

. To the south, the Munyati River forms the border with the current and former province of Midlands. The Nyangadzi river forms the border with Manicaland 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. Mashonaland contributes more than 50% to the Zimbabwean Economy.The region has vast mineral resources including gold, platinum, nickel, chrome, copper and lithium. Main agricultural commodities include maize, potatoes, Tobacco, cotton, citrus, horticulture and beef. The region produces more that 75% of the country's tobacco exports and more that 60% of the country's food. Manufacturing is concentrated in and around Harare and Kadoma the region's third city. Electric power is generated from Kariba South power station with a Capacity of 1050MW and other smaller power plants. The region has huge potential for solar energy. The major airports are RGM international airport in Harare, Charles Prince airport and Kariba airport. Urban centres and growth points are connected by tar paved highways while major towns are also serviced by railway lines.

References

* * * * *

External links

''James Anta: African Missionary to Mashonaland''

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