Zimbabwe Through Time

Zimbabwe, then and now 🇿🇼 Putting faces to Zimbabwean history | No copyright ownership claimed. DM for takedowns. #ZimThenAndNow

[Zimbabwe Through Time @zimthenandnow]

@HistorySAZAR Was it held in Harare?

[Hakainde Hichilema @HHichilema]

Thank you Zambia 🇿🇲.

[Athishay Srinivas @pre_historic]

https://t.co/oL3UGHcHyo

[Athishay Srinivas @pre_historic]

Great Zimbabwe was not merely a city of extraordinary stone walls.

It was a powerful African center connected to distant trade networks. 🏺

Gold, cattle, craftsmanship, and imported goods reveal its prosperity, while archaeology exposes how colonial theories later tried to deny the civilization its true African origins.

The article goes live in 00:03:11:00 🧱

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[Hurumende News Hub @hurumendenews]

A LOOK BACK AT ZIMBABWE’S FIRST CABINET

Following the attainment of independence in 1980, Zimbabwe’s first Cabinet brought together representatives from three political parties: ZANU-PF, PF-ZAPU and the Rhodesian Front.

Formed under the leadership of then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, the inclusive Government reflected an early commitment to national reconciliation, unity and the peaceful transition from colonial rule to majority governance.

Who were the men and women entrusted with shaping the newly independent nation, and which portfolios did they hold?

Read the full story here:
https://t.co/Oaje8Bj7RR

#Zimbabwe #Independence #ZimbabweHistory #FirstCabinet #NationalUnity #Hurumende

[Historical Facts @HistoryFactou]

RACIAL SEGREGATION

The Central Business District (CBD) in colonial Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia, later Rhodesia) was effectively reserved for the white population due to systematic racial segregation enforced by law, urban planning, and the ideology of white supremacy. Note that this was a feature of the colonial era (roughly 1890–1980).

Colonial cities such as Salisbury (now Harare) and Bulawayo were designed primarily as settler spaces. White authorities viewed towns as European creations for the comfort, security, and economic dominance of the minority white population. Africans were treated mainly as temporary labourers rather than permanent urban residents or property owners.

Key legal foundations included:
The Land Apportionment Act of 1930 (and its successors, including the later Land Tenure Act of 1969). This divided the country into European areas, Native Reserves/Tribal Trust Lands, Native Purchase Areas, and other categories. All urban areas, including CBDs, fell under European land.

Africans were prohibited from owning property there. They could only live in designated “Native Urban Areas,” locations, or townships (often on the periphery) or as temporary residents on employers’ premises.

Earlier measures such as the Native Urban Locations Ordinance and related pass/influx-control laws reinforced this. Africans needed permission to enter or stay in towns and were restricted in where they could trade, live, or socialise.

Urban planning and local governance further entrenched the pattern. Municipal councils were controlled by white ratepayers. Residential, commercial, and social spaces were racially zoned.

The CBD featured modern multi-storey offices, banks, shops, and amenities geared toward white businesses and consumers. African commercial activity was heavily restricted or channelled into townships; white authorities often limited African retailers to protect the “white character” of the city rather than solely from fear of economic competition.

Underlying ideology treated race as the organising principle of the settler political economy. Policies of “parallel development” or the “two-pyramid policy” relegated Africans to rural reserves while reserving urban and commercial centres for whites. Whites, though a small minority, controlled political power, capital, and land; they designed cities to maintain social distance, health/security preferences of the settler community, and economic privilege.

In short, the CBD was a preserve of the white population because colonial law classified urban land as European, barred African property ownership and permanent residence there, enforced residential and commercial segregation through planning and pass systems, and rested on an explicit ideology of racial hierarchy that prioritised settler interests. These arrangements only ended with independence in 1980.

[AFRICA IS HOME GLOBAL @AfricaisHOME2]

Great Zimbabwe🇿🇼: A Monument to Africa’s Ancient Civilization.

In the heart of southeastern Zimbabwe stands Great Zimbabwe, one of Africa’s most extraordinary archaeological treasures and a powerful testament to the continent’s ancient civilizations.

Built between approximately the 11th and 15th centuries, Great Zimbabwe was the center of a powerful kingdom that became an important hub for trade, culture, craftsmanship, and political life in southern Africa. The settlement is best known for its impressive dry-stone architecture, constructed without mortar and featuring massive granite walls that have endured for centuries.
At the heart of the site is the Great Enclosure, whose enormous curved walls remain among the most remarkable examples of ancient stone construction in Africa. The precision and scale of the architecture demonstrate the engineering skills, organization, and creativity of the people who built and inhabited this great city.

Great Zimbabwe was also connected to extensive regional and international trade networks. Archaeological discoveries, including objects originating from distant parts of Africa and the Indian Ocean world, provide evidence of its participation in a thriving trading economy.

Beyond its physical beauty, Great Zimbabwe carries a deeper significance. It challenges outdated narratives that have often overlooked the achievements of Africa’s ancient societies. Its monumental architecture, sophisticated social organization, and role in long-distance trade demonstrate that complex and prosperous civilizations flourished in Africa long before the colonial era.

Today, Great Zimbabwe is not simply a collection of ancient ruins. It is a symbol of heritage, resilience, ingenuity, and African achievement. The site continues to attract visitors, historians, archaeologists, and travelers from around the world, offering an opportunity to connect with a remarkable chapter of Africa’s past.

Great Zimbabwe reminds us that Africa’s history is not merely a story of what happened to the continent. It is also a story of what Africans built, created, traded, governed, and left behind for generations to remember.

[AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY @AfricanArchives]

White Rhodesian Students Sharing their thoughts on Black Zimbabwean Students, Rhodesia Zimbabwe, 1971.

[Zoom Afrika @zoomafrika1]

In 1855, Zambians facilitated David Livingstone's expedition to discover Victoria Falls in the southern region of the country.

[Zimbabwe Through Time @zimthenandnow]

7/ He retired that year with record of 32 wins, 6 losses. He died in 1994 in his home village of Buhera, aged just 36. He is remembered as one of Zimbabwe's greatest, most underappreciated sporting figures a golden age of boxing few outside the country know about. #ZimThenAndNow

[Zimbabwe Through Time @zimthenandnow]

1/ He knocked a man out in 15 seconds and became a national champion. He was ranked top 10 by the WBC. He was set to fight @LennoxLewis then it all fell apart. This is the story of Proud "Kilimanjaro" Chinembiri. 🧵 🇿🇼 #ZimThenAndNow

[Zimbabwe Through Time @zimthenandnow]

6/
His biggest opportunity came in 1990 — a Commonwealth title eliminator against a rising Lennox Lewis. But Kilimanjaro was barred from the fight after refusing to disclose his HIV status to the British Boxing Board of Control, and stripped of his title.

[Zimbabwe Through Time @zimthenandnow]

5/5Today, Bank Street is a bustling commercial precinct in Harare. While the physical footprint has changed over decades, the Woolworths bombing remains a crucial historical marker in Zimbabwe’s journey toward 1980 independence.

[Zimbabwe Through Time @zimthenandnow]

1/5 On 6 August 1977, a 34 kg high-explosive bomb detonated inside the crowded Woolworths department store at the corner of Bank Street and Pioneer Street (now Kaguvi Street) in central Salisbury (Harare). #ZimThenAndNow

[Zimbabwe Through Time @zimthenandnow]

4/5 The attack triggered immediate condemnations across political divides and marked a dramatic shift in conflict tactics, bringing the realities of the rural Liberation War directly into Rhodesia’s heavily guarded urban commercial centers.