Zimbabwe

{{bronze}}[[File:Zimbabwe - Location Map (2013) - ZWE - UNOCHA.svg|thumb|right|195px|Map of Zimbabwe.]]
{{cquote|We were promised change – but corruption and brutality still rule in Zimbabwe... The violent police clampdown is just the latest action in a tale of unbroken state repression that continues from Robert Mugabe’s era.|||Fadzayi Mahere, Zimbabwean lawyer and politician, 2019.<ref name="zimbad">[https://www.thezimbabwean.co/2019/08/we-were-promised-change-but-corruption-and-brutality-still-rule-in-zimbabwe/ We were promised change – but corruption and brutality still rule in Zimbabwe]. ''The Zimbabwean.''</ref>}}
{{countrybox|Zimbabwe
|flag = Flag_of_Zimbabwe.svg
|pop =15,473,818	
|GDP =14,002
|GDPPC = 922
|life =61.2	
|dev =0.563	
|dem =3.16	
|cor =24
|edu =0.544	
|rel =88
}}

The '''Republic of Zimbabwe''', formerly known as '''[[Rhodesia]]''', is a landlocked country in southern [[Africa]] that is currently best known for being one of the most poorly managed countries in the world. The capital and largest city, Harare, is where Zimbabwe's leaders plot how best to further ruin the entire nation. The country's population is predominantly [[Protestant]] Christian, with [[Catholic]]s as the largest religious minority.<ref>{{wpa|Religion in Zimbabwe|}}</ref>

It wasn’t always this way. Zimbabwe was once home to several African civilizations, the most notable of which was the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. The Kingdom of Zimbabwe rose about 1000 CE and left behind some magnificent stone ruins in their capital city.<ref>{{wpa|Great Zimbabwe|}}</ref> Ultimately, the Zimbabweans came into conflict with expansionist [[Portugal]] during the Seventeenth Century; these wars left the region in shambles for centuries. Further disturbances shook the area, such as the rise of the Zulu Empire and the influx of Dutch colonists further south. 

Finally, Zimbabwe itself fell to colonialism, being conquered by Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company (BSAC) in the name of the [[British Empire]] and with the help of newly-invented machine guns. Like any good imperialist, Rhodes named the territory after himself, which is where we get the name Rhodesia. The British encouraged mass settlement from white Europeans, who naturally decided to enforce a racial hierarchy that benefited them. This white minority suffered increasingly strained relations with the British Crown due to its harsh racial policies and eventually decided to unilaterally declare independence in 1965. It was the first British colony to do so since the [[American Revolution]]. 

Things went downhill from there. Rhodesia suffered sanctions and international isolation, and then black Africans rose up to fight a protracted guerrilla campaign against the [[white supremacist]] regime. This culminated in a peace agreement in 1980 which theoretically turned Rhodesia into a multiracial democracy called Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, the country's first elected leader was [[Robert Mugabe]], who turned himself into a [[dictator]], massacred ethnic minorities, confiscated land from white people on behalf of his incompetent cronies, and did a truly amazing job of completely eradicating its remaining economic capacity. 

Mugabe suffered a coup in 2017, having singlehandedly ruined any chance Zimbabwe had of a prosperous and peaceful post-colonial era. Mugabe's political party appointed, as their new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who decided to continue Mugabe's oppressive style of rulership. Despite abundant natural resources and a resilient population, Zimbabwe's potential remains crippled by misrule.

==Historical overview==
[[File:San-Paintings Murewa ZW.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Stone Age rock paintings by the San people.]]
===Early history===
Archaeological evidence indicates that humans have inhabited the Zimbabwe area for at least 100,000 years.<ref name="earlyhis">[https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/zimbabwe Zimbabwe]. ''South Africa History Online.''</ref> Arrowheads and other artifacts point to the {{wpl|San people}} being the area's first inhabitants; they mainly lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers. Like most of southern Africa, Zimbabwe was impacted by the {{wpl|Bantu expansion}} about 2,000 years ago. Peoples from further north in the continent, called the {{wpl|Bantu}}, migrated southwards and had firmly established fixed settlements along the Zimbabwe river.<ref name="earlyhis"/> 

Around the Early [[Middle Ages]], the people of the Zimbabwe region came into contact with Arab traders. The subsequent influx of money helped trigger the establishment of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe.<ref>{{wpa|Zimbabwe|}}</ref> This was one of the first centralized states in the region, and it became one of the building blocks which would form the later Kingdom of Zimbabwe.

===Kingdom of Zimbabwe===
[[File:Great-Zimbabwe-still-standing strong.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Ruins of the old Great Zimbabwe capital.]]
{{cquote|Among the gold mines of the inland plains between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers there is a fortress built of stones of marvelous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them.... This edifice is almost surrounded by hills, upon which are others resembling it in the fashioning of stone and the absence of mortar, and one of them is a tower more than 12 fathoms [22 m] high.|||Vicente Pegado, Portuguese colonist, 1531.<ref>Newitt, M. D. D. (2002). East Africa. 2. Ashgate. p. 39. ISBN 0754601811.</ref>}} 

The Kingdom of Zimbabwe, whose capital was Great Zimbabwe, was formed by the Shona, part of the Bantu group. Thanks to agriculture, gold deposits, and a trade network that reached the Swahili merchant cities on the East African coast, the state and its fortress capital thrived.<ref name="kingdom">[https://www.ancient.eu/Great_Zimbabwe/ Great Zimbabwe]. ''Ancient History Encyclopedia.''</ref> The Zimbabweans easily acquired [[gold]] from shallow surface deposits, which they then traded in exchange for salt and other needed products.<ref name="kingdom"/> Meanwhile, the region was a bread basket, with farmers able to grow abundant sorghum, millet, pumpkins, and watermelons.<ref name="kingdom"/>

The crown jewel, of course, was Great Zimbabwe, the great fortress city that served as the kingdom's capital. Modern archaeologists think that the city would have housed about 18,000 residents.<ref name="kingzim">[https://www.heritagedaily.com/2018/05/the-kingdom-of-zimbabwe/119738 The Kingdom of Zimbabwe]. ''Heritage Daily.''</ref> It also seems to have served as the hub of the kingdom's trade, as archaeologists have uncovered glass beads from Persia, porcelain from China, and coins from Arabia.<ref name="kingzim"/>

The point here, of course, is that the people of Zimbabwe got along just fine before colonialism. They built their own civilizations, established their own economies, and enjoyed their own cultures. Unfortunately, it all went to shit once the [[Europe]]ans showed up.

===Decline and destruction===
[[File:Old Portuguese map of SA 529.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Portuguese map of "Monmotapa" from the 1500s.]]
Like all civilizations, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe faded into obscurity. Around 1430 CE, a disaffected prince of the Zimbabwean dynasty established his own dynasty and state called the {{wpl|Kingdom of Mutapa}}.<ref name="kingzim"/> Back home, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe's gold mines ran dry, and its economy weakened to the point where it was eventually overshadowed by its younger neighbor.

The Kingdom of Mutapa also flourished, but only for a time. For much of the early 16th and 17th centuries, [[Portugal]] began ransacking its way across the eastern coast of Africa in the hopes of seizing control of the lucrative Swahili trade network. First, Portugal destroyed the great Swahili cities along the east coast in what is now [[Kenya]] and [[Somalia]].<ref name="swahili">[https://www.ancient.eu/Swahili_Coast/ Swahili Coast]. ''Ancient History Encyclopedia.''</ref> Around 1530, the Portuguese moved inland to interfere with Mutapa itself, sending [[Jesuit]]s and traders to convert people and attempt to cause disruption.<ref name="mutapa">[https://www.ancient.eu/Mutapa/ Mutapa]. ''Ancient History Encyclopedia.''</ref> 

When subversion didn't work, Portugal tried force. They began a series of [[war]]s that left Mutapa in ruins.<ref>Hall, Martin; Stephen W. Silliman (2005). Historical Archaeology. Wiley Blackwell. pp. 241–44. ISBN 978-1-4051-0751-8.</ref> Portugal also intentionally sparked [[civil war]]s by backing rival claimants to the Mutapa throne.<ref name="earlyhis"/>  Under constant pressure, the Mutapa collapsed, and the Portuguese were only too happy to fill in the gaps. However, they soon lost interest in the new territory once they discovered that the Zimbabwe region's gold mines had largely been depleted and didn't put up much of a fight when the natives pushed them back out. 

Mutapa was succeeded by various other kingdoms, but none of them reached the heights of what had come before. None of them were powerful enough to resist the new big European kid on the block: the [[British Empire]].

===British colonization===
[[File:Punch Rhodes Colossus.png|thumb|right|195px|Cecil Rhodes over Africa. A visualization of his ambitions.]]
{{main|British Empire}}
{{cquote|I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race. ... If there be a [[God]], I think that what he would like me to do is paint as much of the map of Africa British Red as possible.|||Cecil Rhodes.<ref name="crquotes">[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cecil_Rhodes Cecil Rhodes.] ''Wikiquote.''</ref>}}
During the [[Scramble for Africa]], the British colonized their way up [[South Africa]] and into Botswana, which they called Bechuanaland. That gave the British a border with the [[German Empire]]'s colony in Namibia. The need to defend southern Africa led the British to become increasingly aggressive towards any remaining non-European territory. The British decided to privatize the remainder of the southern African colonization effort, leading to the creation of the British South Africa Company (BSAC).<ref name="bsaci">[https://www.britannica.com/place/Botswana/British-protectorate Botswana: British protectorate]. ''Britannica.''</ref> The Company was led by the ruthless businessman Cecil Rhodes.

[[File:Battle of the Shangani.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Machine gun warfare. Not a battle but a massacre.]]

Cecil Rhodes was one really bad hombre. Rhodes was a rabid supporter of British [[imperialism]] who wanted to fold the entire world, including your house, into a global British Empire. He once said, "I would annex the planets if I could".<ref name="crquotes"/> Mars and Pluto would play cricket and fly the Union Jack if Rhodes had his way. The Rhodes Scholarship? He established it to promote civic-minded leadership among "young colonists"  for "the furtherance of the British Empire, for the bringing of the whole uncivilised world under British rule, for the recovery of the [[United States]], for the making the Anglo-Saxon race but one Empire".<ref>[https://www.studyinternational.com/news/rhodes-scholarship-global/ Built on white imperialism, Rhodes Scholarship now open to all]. ''Study International.''</ref> 

Rhodes started as the governor of the Cape Colony in South Africa; he proved himself to be a jolly ol' [[racist]] by denouncing the blacks as barbaric and ruling them as a "subject race."<ref>Magubane, Bernard M. (1996). ''The Making of a Racist State: British Imperialism and the Union of South Africa, 1875–1910''. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. ISBN 978-0865432413.</ref> His policies contributed greatly to the formation of the South African [[apartheid]] regime. After that, he moved on to spearhead the colonization of Zimbabwe and Zambezi. These two territories became [[Rhodesia]], with Zimbabwe as "South Rhodesia."

[[File:Flag of BSAC edit.svg|thumb|right|200px|British South Africa Company flag.]]

During the colonization effort, Rhodes waged war against the natives alongside some disgruntled native allies of his own. He introduced the machine gun to African warfare by bringing five Maxim machine guns and using them to mow down about 10,000 people in his first battle.<ref>[https://medium.com/covilian-military-intelligence-group/the-first-stone-aged-people-to-be-mowed-down-with-a-machine-gun-68427be779b6 The First Stone Aged People To Be Mowed Down With A Machine Gun.] ''Medium.''</ref> Rhodes' victory in this battle completely destroyed any remnants of Zimbabwean civilization, allowing BSAC to take over.

===Rhodesia colony===
BSAC initially focused on gold mining but quickly realized that it needed to diversify operations to make the colony profitable. They decided to begin a great tobacco farming effort, which could only happen by seizing native land and encouraging vast amounts of white settlement.<ref>Rowe, David M. (2001). ''Manipulating the Market: Understanding Economic Sanctions, Institutional Change, and the Political Unity of White Rhodesia'' (First ed.). Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0472111879. p. 65–69</ref> As happened worldwide in colonies, the white settlers got the best land while the black natives got shoved into smaller and harsher places over time. The Company imported a truly massive number of white people into Rhodesia. By 1927, there were nearly 40,000 whites in Rhodesia.<ref>Wills, A. J. (1967). ''An Introduction to the History of Central Africa'' (Second ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.  p. 371</ref>

[[File:BSAC settlers Southern Rhodesia.jpg|thumb|right|275px|White BSAC settlers, 1922.]]

Rhodesia participated in the [[Boer War]]s, and about 40% of its eligible population fought in [[World War I]].<ref>Strachan, Hew (February 2003). ''The First World War, Volume I: To Arms''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191608346. p. 498</ref> In 1917, many of the white settlers in Rhodesia sued for responsible government, previously granted to [[Canada]] and [[Australia]].<ref>Wood, J. R. T. (June 2005). ''So far and no further! Rhodesia's bid for independence during the retreat from empire 1959–1965''. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4120-4952-8.  p. 8</ref> BSAC opposed the measure but caved once a court case transferred unallocated land in Rhodesia to the Crown, which removed much of the colony's profitability. The colony held a referendum among its white population, and 60% of the eligible voters favored responsible government.<ref>Willson, F. M. G., ed. (1963). ''Source Book of Parliamentary Elections and Referenda in Southern Rhodesia, 1898–1962''. Salisbury: Department of Government, University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.</ref>

After [[World War II]], Rhodesia experienced an economic boom, drawing many more white settlers to the region and raising the white population to about 600,000 by 1976.<ref>{{wpa|Southern Rhodesia|}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Split in Rhodesia Ranks |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=3 July 1977 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/07/03/archives/a-split-in-rhodesia-ranks.html |access-date=22 August 2021 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Many more black people were still in the territory, but they still didn't exercise any rights. However, the colony started drawing negative attention concerning its horribly racist white minority rule. In the 1960s, the British government adopted the NIMBAR policy: "No Independence Before Majority African Rule".<ref name="rhodesia">[https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/rhodesia.htm Colony of Southern Rhodesia]. ''British Empire.''</ref> In 1962, the whites retaliated by forming the Rhodesian Front, which had the primary goal of preventing power-sharing with blacks. When [[Labour]] came to power in the [[UK]], Rhodesia decided that the differences with its mother country were irreconcilable. In 1965, the Rhodesian Front declared independence unilaterally.

===Independent Rhodesia===
[[File:Scoutwithgun.jpg|thumb|right|275px|White soldier interrogates black civilians at gunpoint.]]
{{cquote|Having let slip one chance after another of reaching an accommodation with more moderate black leaders, Rhodesia's whites seem to have made the tragic choice of facing black nationalism over the barrel of a gun rather than the conference table. The downhill road toward a race war in Rhodesia is becoming increasingly slippery with blood.|||''Rand Daily Mail'' editorial, May 1976.<ref>{{wpa|Rhodesia|}}</ref>}}
International condemnation was swift, and the UK successfully convinced the [[United Nations]] to sanction its rogue colony.<ref name="rhodesia"/> Not a single member of the UN recognized Rhodesia, and even apartheid South Africa turned its back to prevent more negative attention from falling on itself. Rhodesia had become a rogue nation. 

White minority rule became increasingly intolerable for the black majority, and the blacks became increasingly militant when their calls for equality were ignored. Petrol bombings by radicals became increasingly common, with the ''Zimbabwe Review'' observing in 1961, "for the first time home-made petrol bombs were used by freedom fighters in Salisbury against settler establishments."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120525121502/http://www.rhodesia.nl/wilkinson.html Insurgency in Rhodesia, 1957-1973]. Archived.</ref> White Rhodesian nationalists retaliated by massacring black civilians.<ref>Raeburn, Michael. ''We are everywhere: Narratives from Rhodesian guerillas''. pp. 1–209.</ref> As if that wasn't enough to exacerbate tensions, the white government banned the Southern Rhodesia African National Congress in 1959, the first and only black political organization.<ref>{{wpa|Southern Rhodesia African National Congress|}}</ref> It also raised fares on public transportation for black people, keeping them in poverty by forcing them to spend as much as a third of their income.<ref>Muzondidya, James (January 2005). ''Walking on a Tightrope: Towards a Social History of the Coloured Community of Zimbabwe''. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa Research & Publications. ISBN 978-1-59221-246-0. p. 167–170</ref> The government apparently hadn't considered that whites were badly outnumbered in Rhodesia in doing all this. Open rebellion from the black population was just around the corner.

===Civil war===
[[File:Jross baughman rhodesia pulitzer03.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Rhodesian soldier with a beaten prisoner.]]
A guerrilla war subsequently ensued when Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), supported actively by communist powers and neighboring African nations, initiated guerrilla operations against Rhodesia's white government. ZANU was leftist and pan-African; its leader Mugabe was an avowed [[Marxist]] who favored [[Mao Zedong]]'s mobilization-of-the-farmers strategy.<ref>Nelson, Harold (1983), ''Zimbabwe: a country study''. The American University (Washington, D.C.), ISBN 0160015987</ref> ZAPU was also leftist but leaned towards [[Soviet Union]] alignment rather than the [[People's Republic of China]] like Mugabe.<ref>{{wpa|Zimbabwe African People's Union|}}</ref>

Government forces, while outnumbered, were still a force to be reckoned with. Rhodesia had evaded international sanctions successfully enough to build itself a professional military.<ref>Rogers, Anthony (1998). ''Someone Else's War: Mercenaries from 1960 to the Present''. Hammersmith: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-472077-7. p. 41</ref> The cold-hearted core of the army was white professionals, but the majority of the government's enlisted troops were black Africans. Rhodesia also had an air force, a massive advantage against their guerrilla enemies. All of these forces were supplemented with mercenaries and foreign volunteers. Most notable were the Crippled Eagles, a company of war veterans from the United States who had gone a little crazy in the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{wpa|The Crippled Eagles|}}</ref> 

[[File:Jross baughman rhodesia pulitzer02.jpg|thumb|left|275px|Black POW with rope around his neck.]]

In their increasingly desperate efforts to suppress the guerrillas, the white Rhodesians deployed a variety of rudimentary [[WMD]]s against both combatants and civilians. Although Rhodesia deployed multiple chemical agents, the war is most notorious for the regime's deployment of ''fucking anthrax''. If the Rhodesian sources are credible, their chemical and biological efforts sometimes inflicted more guerrilla casualties than the conventional military operations.<ref>[https://warontherocks.com/2017/08/long-ignored-the-use-of-chemical-and-biological-weapons-against-insurgents/ LONG IGNORED: THE USE OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS AGAINST INSURGENTS]. ''War on the Rocks.''</ref> That is perhaps to be expected since Rhodesia's conventional forces struggled to counter the guerrillas' hit-and-run tactics. It's also notable that the Rhodesian government very blatantly gave zero shits about any international outcry; after all, they were already under heavy sanctions. 

The guerrillas tried to attack cities, but they were too weak to expand their efforts past raiding farms and government installations.<ref name="bushwar">[https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/zimbabwe.htm Rhodesian Bush War]. ''Global Security.''</ref> The economic effect of the war was catastrophic, and the impacts were most harshly felt by Rhodesia's impoverished blacks. Both sides committed atrocities to intimidate civilians; massacres and [[torture]] were frequent.

Disgustingly, Rhodesia received significant international aid against the black rebels. Many Western nations feared that a free black Zimbabwe would turn to [[communism]], so nations like the United States and Portugal traded strategic resources with the white regime.<ref name="bushwari">[https://www.historynet.com/the-wages-of-war.htm The Wages of War]. ''History Net.''</ref> However, Rhodesia's most crucial ally was apartheid South Africa, which provided [[oil]], guns, and ammunition. The black guerrillas, for their part, received aid from China and the Soviets.<ref>{{wpa|China–Zimbabwe relations|}}</ref>

Luckily, the tide of the war turned against Rhodesia, mainly due to international developments. First, [[Henry Kissinger]] in the US decided that failing to come down on the side of the black rebels might radicalize most of southern Africa's black people into siding with the Soviets.<ref name="endwar">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/lifeinfocus/a-life-in-focus-ian-douglas-smith-last-white-prime-minister-rhodesia-zimbabwe-a8754971.html A Life in Focus: Ian Smith – last white leader of Rhodesia]. ''The Independent.''</ref> Even more critical was the collapse of Portugal's African empire in 1975, which turned Mozambique from a European colony into a refuge for the black militias. South Africa, meanwhile, was experiencing its own international pressure and decided to dump its support for Rhodesia to take some of the heat off. 

The war had become unwinnable. So, the negotiating table. Rhodesia allowed itself to be overseen temporarily by the British, who brokered an agreement for a truly democratic election among all of Rhodesia's races.<ref name="endwar"/> The most prominent black leader, Robert Mugabe, naturally won in a landslide. Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, and Salisbury became Harare.

===Mugabe regime===
[[File:Zimbabwe Fifth Brigade.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|The Fifth Brigade shows off its North Korean training.]] 
====Fifth Brigade massacres====
Robert Mugabe was of the Shona ethnic group, and his rise to power was seen by other ethnic groups as a Shona takeover.<ref>Nyarota, Geoffrey (2006). ''Against the Grain'', Zebra, p. 134; ISBN 1770071121.</ref> The unrest started immediately in the Matabeleland region, which takes up much of Zimbabwe's western region. Opposition to his rule was unacceptable to Mugabe, so he responded by assembling his Fifth Brigade in 1981. The Fifth Brigade was a unit of war-hardened ex-guerrillas trained by [[North Korea]] who answered only to Mugabe.<ref>{{wpa|5th Brigade (Zimbabwe)|}}</ref> They were essentially a death squad.

From 1983 to 1987, Mugabe allowed the Fifth Brigade to rampage around the Matabeleland on an indiscriminate killing spree. Brutality was extreme. Village leaders were shot in front of their followers, men, young and old, were forced to dig their own graves, and entire families were forced to stay in their huts which were then set aflame.<ref name="fifth">[https://apnews.com/df5722c221bf4c5ca894e5e481413ca3/Zimbabwe's-Matabeleland-massacre-haunts-Monday's-elections Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland massacre haunts Monday’s elections]. ''Associated Press.''</ref> 

All in all, the Fifth Brigade murdered about 20,000 people.<ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/17/north-korea-and-zimbabwe-a-friendship-explained.html North Korea and Zimbabwe: A friendship explained]. ''NBC News.''</ref> The massacre only ended after Mugabe successfully forced local Matabeleland leaders to form a political union with him.<ref>Meredith, Martin (September 2007) [2002]. ''Mugabe: Power, Plunder and the Struggle for Zimbabwe''. New York: PublicAffairs. pp. 62–73. ISBN 978-1-58648-558-0.</ref> This union created Zimbabwe's current ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF).

====Economic destruction====
[[File:President Zimbabwe , Robert Mugabe bezoekt Nederland Robert Mugabe , kop, Bestanddeelnr 932-1922.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Mugabe in 1982.]]
{{cquote|You have inherited a jewel. Keep it that way.|||Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, founding father of Tanzania, in comments to Mugabe.<ref name="econbadi">[https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/robert-mugabe-leaves-legacy-economic-mismanagement-190906163322986.html Robert Mugabe leaves a legacy of economic mismanagement]. ''Al Jazeera.''</ref>}}
Despite years of civil war and brutal racist oppression, Zimbabwe, at the time of its true independence, had a chance to become a shining example of what Africans could do for themselves. It had good infrastructure, a manufacturing sector, good agricultural production, and solid currency.<ref name="econbadi"/> Under different leadership, Zimbabwe could have been a prosperous country based on racial equality. Unfortunately, Mugabe screwed everything.

First, Mugabe started handing out unbudgeted cash payments to his cronies and supporters, which resulted in the market value of the Zimbabwean dollar crashing by 72%.<ref name="econbadi"/> This, combined with more international sanctions in response to Mugabe's massacres, completely trashed Zimbabwe's economy. But Mugabe wasn't done yet. He then decided to get involved in the ongoing [[civil war]] in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], ordering 11,000 soldiers into the region to fight Congolese dissidents.<ref>Meredith, Martin (2002). Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe. New York: Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-186-5. p. 148</ref> This intervention was costly, coming with a price tag of about $1 million per day. The state could not afford this lavish spending on [[war]], and Zimbabwe's economy further suffered.

Eventually, Mugabe's cronies showed up again to remind him that amid his obsessive pursuits of suppression and war, he had utterly failed to address one of the key reasons for the black uprising: land inequality. Thus began perhaps the most infamous chapter in Zimbabwe's history. In 1992, Mugabe signed the Land Acquisition Act, which authorized his government to seize farmland held by whites and hand it off to blacks.<ref>Alao, Abiodun (2012). ''Mugabe and the Politics of Security in Zimbabwe''. Montreal, Quebec and Kingston, Ontario: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 91–101. ISBN 978-0-7735-4044-6. p. 91–101</ref> While theoretically a good idea to help rectify racial inequality, Mugabe conducted the program in the dumbest way possible. The government confiscated all white-held farmland and handed it off almost exclusively to ZANU-PF party cronies.<ref>Dowden, Richard (2010). ''Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles''. London: Portobello Books. pp. 144–151. ISBN 978-1-58648-753-9.</ref> By 1994, the vast majority of Zimbabwe's land was held by about 600 black politicians, none of whom had any real interest in managing their new farm estates.<ref>Fisher, J L (2010). ''Pioneers, settlers, aliens, exiles: the decolonisation of white identity in Zimbabwe.'' Canberra: ANU E Press. pp. 159–165. ISBN 978-1-921666-14-8.</ref> 

[[File:Operation Murambatsvina.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|Tearing down a suburb in Harare.]]

As a result of this idiocy, agricultural production plunged. Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector then collapsed in the shockwave, leaving Zimbabwe with no economic value. In 2000, Mugabe decided to double down on his policies, implementing "fast-track land reform." Under this policy, ZANU-PF party leaders could assemble their own personal militias to violently seize land from anyone, white and black alike, without compensation and with no limits on how murderous they could be.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/zimbabwe/ZimLand0302.pdf Fast Track Land Reform In Zimbabwe]. ''Human Rights Watch.'' PDF.</ref> As you can imagine, this did nothing to improve Zimbabwe's economy. Quite the opposite, actually.

====Punishing the poor (with bulldozers)====
{{cquote|This is your last chance. You messed up when you voted. Next time you vote you must get it right or you will die.|||Zimbabwean soldier to urban poor in Harare, 2008.<ref name="threaten">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/10/zimbabwe1 'Vote Mugabe or you die'. Inside Zimbabwe, the backlash begins]. ''The Guardian.''</ref>}}
Despite Mugabe's best efforts at voter suppression, popular backlash made itself known in Zimbabwe's major cities, where almost every parliamentary seat went to the opposition in 2005.<ref>{{wpa|2005 Zimbabwean parliamentary election|}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/apr/01/zimbabwe.jamessturcke Mugabe's party wins Zimbabwe election]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> Although the ruling party still won a comfortable majority, Mugabe decided that he had more people to crush. 

Shortly after, Mugabe announced the commencement of Operation Murambatsvina, or "Operation Drive Out The Rubbish". Mugabe had noticed that many urban poor lived in shantytowns and suburbs, so he decided that it might be a cool idea to get rid of those shantytowns and suburbs. Zimbabwean cops burnt, bulldozed, and destroyed tens of thousands of properties around the country, evicting about 700,000 people and leaving them nowhere to go.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/africa/zimbabwe0905/4.htm The Implementation of Operation Murambatsvina (Clear the Filth)]. ''Human Rights Watch.''</ref> With no government compensation, people were forced into the open, forced to pull their kids out of schools, and became even more impoverished and hungry than before. The government decided to help them out and launched Operation Garikai, or "Operation [[bullshit|Better Living]]", which put refugees up in tents and tin shacks without running water.<ref>[https://voicesofafrica.co.za/operation-murambatsvina-fear-suffering-10-years-on/ Operation Murambatsvina: Fear and suffering 10 years on]. ''Voices of Africa.''</ref> 

The program was successful in that it destroyed the opposition's voter base and made it impossible to organize any substantive protest action against the ongoing famine and economic crisis. Many suburbs of Harare no longer exist. Mugabe later decided that coercion works pretty well in elections and unleashed ZANU-PF militias to threaten people with AK-47s into voting the right way.<ref name="threaten"/>

====Hyperinflation and misery====
[[File:Zimbabwe $100 trillion 2009 Obverse.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Sorry. That's not enough.]]
The result of all of this is a country that has experienced one of the worst economic collapses in known history. The most well-known consequence was the insane hyperinflation of Zimbabwe's currency. As the value of the Zimbabwe dollar crashed further and further, the government had to redenominate it repeatedly throughout the early 2000s. In 2009, hyperinflation became so absurd that Zimbabwe had to issue a $100 trillion note worth about $30 US.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7832601.stm Zimbabwe rolls out Z$100tr note]. ''BBC News.''</ref> In terms of percentages, inflation hit 59% in 2000, inflation then ran at almost 600% by 2003 and, in 2006, it hit the scarcely-believable rate of 1,200%.<ref name="inflation">[https://news.sky.com/story/how-zimbabwes-economy-has-collapsed-under-mugabe-11127628 How Zimbabwe's economy has collapsed under Mugabe]. ''Sky News.''</ref> The following year it hit a rate of 66,200%, and by the end of 2008, it had hit nearly 80,000,000,000% (80 ''billion'' percent).<ref name="inflation"/> 

So how did Mugabe respond? In 2007, he banned inflation. No, really. Merchants caught raising prices were arrested, and Mugabe instituted a wage freeze across the country.<ref name="inflation"/> Again, this did ''nothing'' to solve the problem. Zimbabwe's GDP shrank by more than half between 1991 to 2008. Meanwhile, gross national income per capita collapsed from $1,100 US in 1981, the first year after independence, to a miserable $300 US in 1998.<ref name="inflation"/>

Finally, Zimbabwe had to concede that its currency was basically done. In 2009, they abandoned the Zimbabwean dollar, but that process was fucked up in typical Mugabe fashion. In place of the old currency, Zimbabwe adopted no less than ''eight'' currencies as legal tender:
* The [[United States dollar|US dollar]]
* The [[Chinese]] yuan 
* The [[India]]n rupee
* The [[British]] pound
* The [[South Africa]]n rand 
* The Botswana pula
* The [[Australia]]n dollar
* The [[Japan]]ese yen.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26034078 Zimbabwe’s multi-currency confusion]. ''BBC News.''</ref>

Going to the market became a nightmare, and many banks just stopped lending. Ordinary Zimbabweans largely gave up on currency and instead traded in candy, condoms, or mobile phone minutes. Who can blame them?

====Downfall====
[[File:A tank in harare during the coup.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Zimbabwean armored vehicle in Harare during the 2017 coup.]]
{{cquote|Right now we literally have nothing.|||Zimbabwe's finance minister, 2016.<ref>"Bailing out bandits". ''The Economist''. 420 (8997). 9 July 2016. pp. 43–44. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 8 July 2016.</ref>}}
Even with the military and his party militias behind him, Mugabe's iron fist started slipping as time went on. It began all the way back in 2008, which was hardly surprising given that Mugabe had pissed a lot of people off with his bulldozing-the-whole-country trick. In a stunning moment of not lying at the ZANU-PF party congress in 2014, Mugabe accidentally let slip that the opposition had, in fact, won the contentious 2008 election by an astounding 73%.<ref>[https://africanarguments.org/2015/04/23/as-the-house-burns-whither-the-zimbabwean-opposition-by-nicole-beardsworth/ As the House Burns, Whither the Zimbabwean Opposition? – By Nicole Beardsworth]. ''African Arguments.''</ref> And that was ''after'' Mugabe had sent his goons to point rifles at people. 

As Zimbabwe's government and the economy fell apart, people were more dissatisfied. By 2016, people had become so fed up that they launched massive protests. Zimbabwean civilians organized a country-wide strike through WhatsApp.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36724874 Zimbabwe 'shut down' over economic collapse]. ''BBC News.''</ref> Mugabe then blamed Western governments for the protests and blocked the app across Zimbabwe. 

Meanwhile, ZANU-PF became embroiled in a power struggle between First Lady Grace Mugabe and Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, over which one of them would succeed Mugabe once he inevitably kicked it. The situation came to a head in 2017 when Mugabe gave his VP the sack for "disloyalty, disrespect, deceitfulness and unreliability", paving the way for his wife to become his official successor.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/07/africa/zimbabwe-mugabe-vice-president-mnangagwa/index.html Robert Mugabe fires Zimbabwe's VP, paves way for wife to succeed him]. ''CNN.''</ref> Unfortunately for him, his wife was unpopular with the party's old guard, and it was also legally impossible for a woman to become the party leader anyways. Mnangagwa, on the other hand, had wide support among the military.

[[File:Emmerson Mnangagwa.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|Emmerson Mnangagwa announces a new 240% fuel price hike.<ref>[https://www.busiweek.com/zimbabwe-announces-240-increase-in-fuel-price/ Zimbabwe Announces 240% Increase In Fuel Price.] ''East African Business Week.''</ref> Yay?]]

Shortly after, the military placed Mugabe and his wife under house arrest and seized control of the government.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/14/africa/zimbabwe-military-chief-treasonable-conduct/index.html Zimbabwe is under military control after army seizes power from Mugabe]. ''CNN.''</ref> Popular reaction ranged from relief to "who gives a shit?" while the military denied to the international community that it was conducting a coup despite obviously conducting a coup. Eventually, Mugabe sort of conceded defeat. He struck a deal where, in exchange for a $10 million payout and a pension, the Mugabe family would go on a permanent vacation and leave Zimbabwe's presidency.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/25/robert-mugabe-payoff-family-immunity-zimbabwe-zanu-pf Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe to get $10m payoff and immunity for his family]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> According to his nephew, Mugabe died of illness in [[Singapore]] in 2019, apparently as a "very bitter" man.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49633866 Robert Mugabe died a 'very bitter' man, nephew says]. ''BBC News.''</ref>

===Nothing changes===
In the wake of Mugabe's downfall, Zimbabwe held elections in 2017 to determine who would take his place. They pitted ZANU-PF candidate and former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa against reform candidate Nelson Chamisa. Mnangagwa predictably won the election amid fraud allegations, and Zimbabwe's top court ruled in his favor.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-election-court-idUSKCN1L90W2 Top Zimbabwe court confirms Mnangagwa's presidential election victory]. ''Reuters.''</ref> During his inauguration, Mnangagwa promised to represent all Zimbabweans equally, end his country's isolation, and reduce corruption.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42100283 Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa takes power and vows to serve all citizens]. ''BBC News.''</ref> He proceeded to do none of that.

Things went south again quickly in December 2017, when Mnangagwa sent in the army to attack informal vendors in Harare and seize their wares.<ref>[https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/zimbabwean-vendors-pushed-from-streets-as-army-police-start-raids-12283212 Zimbabwean vendors pushed from streets as army, police start raids]. ''IOL.''</ref> One distressed person said, "Mugabe in a way was better, he never sent soldiers to take away our goods." Then the president decided to randomly hike fuel prices by 130%. When people protested this move, Zimbabwean police responded with lethal force, killing at least 17 people, raping at least 17 women, shooting and injuring 81 people, and arresting over 1,000 suspected protesters during door-to-door raids.<ref name="hrwi">[https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/zimbabwe Zimbabwe: Events of 2019]. ''Human Rights Watch.''</ref> 

Zimbabwe's economic crisis has also deepened under the new regime's watch, with Mnangagwa making erratic decisions with no consultation. Chief among them was the decision to ban the usage of the US dollar and revive usage of the Zimbabwe dollar, which you'll remember was suspended due to being absolutely worthless.<ref name="zdollar">[https://www.dw.com/en/zimbabwe-crisis-deepens-under-president-emmerson-mnangagwa/a-49769353 Zimbabwe crisis deepens under President Emmerson Mnangagwa]. ''Deutsche Welle.''</ref> Zimbabwe is also experiencing its worst energy crisis in decades, with rolling blackouts running for 18 hours per day.<ref name="zdollar"/> This makes business extremely difficult there. Also, as of recently, hyperinflation has returned. 

Food insecurity and poverty are still omnipresent. Zimbabwe is the last in the world alphabetically. Thanks to Mugabe and his cronies, it's last in the world in everything else.

==Human rights==
[[File:Demonstration against Mugabe.JPG|thumb|right|300px|This protest is in London. It's not safe to do this in Zimbabwe.]]
===Arbitrary violence===
Zimbabwe's ruling party is guilty of a litany of crimes against humanity. Most recent were massacres across the country in response to fuel price protests when security forces fired assault weapons into crowds and took advantage of the confusion to [[rape]] many women and steal from people.<ref name="hrwi"/> Following the protests, security forces rounded up and detained hundreds of people, many of whom were brought before courts on charges of public violence and criminal nuisance. Outside observers have uncovered evidence that Zimbabwe's security forces [[torture]]d many of those people. 

Security forces also kidnapped Dr. Peter Magombeyi, a government employee and leader of the doctors’ union who organized a series of protests to demand better salaries for government doctors. They tortured him for four days and then dumped him in the street in Harare, likely to serve as a warning to others.<ref name="hrwi"/>

===Freedom of expression and assembly===
Zimbabwe's government routinely shuts down the internet during protests or times of unrest.<ref name="amnesty">[https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/zimbabwe/report-zimbabwe/ ZIMBABWE 2019]. ''Amnesty International.''</ref> Security forces arrest people simply for voicing criticism of President Mnangagwa, which is a crime in Zimbabwe. Protests are banned in Zimbabwe and are met with lethal force when they occur. The leading opposition party also has its leaders harassed, arrested, and charged during protests, ostensibly for failing to prevent them.<ref name="amnesty"/>

===Women's rights===
In 2019, Zimbabwe's Parliament debated a marriage bill that seeks to outlaw child marriage.<ref name="hrwi"/> This is great. However, the bill does ''not'' give women any divorce rights, which means they can still be left homeless by vindictive exes.<ref name="hrwi"/> When their husband dies, women also don't have property rights, meaning that the husband's family gets everything while the woman is left destitute.

==Gallery==
<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:Harare movers and shakers.jpg|Buildings in Harare.
File:Goat Offal.JPG|Sadza porridge, greens, and goat offal.
File:H14vicfalls.jpg|Victoria Falls. 
File:Teaching of local residents to make handwashing device (5567442445).jpg|Women making handwashing devices.
File:Curled trunk.jpg|Elephant at a watering hole.
</gallery></center>

==See also==
*[[Liberia]]
*[[Haiti]]
*[[Scramble for Africa]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{nationbox}}

[[Category:African countries]]
[[Category:Government incompetence]]
[[Category:Authoritarian regimes]]
[[Category:Totalitarianism]]
[[Category:Racism]]

Categories: African countries, Government incompetence, Authoritarian regimes, Totalitarianism, Racism