The Ndebele cattle raiders conquered the waning empire of Great Zimbabwe and established their hegemony over the area. They depended on the Shona for metalworking and agriculture and exacted tribute from the farming people. With the coming of the British, the Ndebele were in the forefront of political activism against colonial policies which provided inadequate reserve land for Africans. Shona is one of the three official languages of the country, along with English and Ndebele. Always an agricultural people, many of today's Shona still till the land.
Some farmers work subsistence farms as their fathers did.
Ndebele cattle herders have adapted to a sedentary lifestyle in rural Zimbabwe. Commercial tobacco, cotton, maize, and cattle farms also employ a large segment of the population. But millions of Zimbabweans of all ethnic groups live in the cities. Industrial centers like Bulawayo and Harare attract thousands of new residents from rural areas every year. Auto assembly plants, oil refineries, and factories producing pharmaceuticals, fertilizer, and textiles employ increasing numbers.