British colonialism in Zimbabwe laid the foundation for the nation’s complex political journey. Initially chartered to Cecil Rhodes’s British South Africa Company, the territory then known as Southern Rhodesia later achieved self-governing status.

From 1953 to 1963, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland alongside Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi). The federation dissolved in 1963 amidst Africa’s decolonization wave, leading to Zambia and Malawi’s independence in 1964. However, Rhodesia’s administration unilaterally declared independence from the UK in 1965, sparking international condemnation for its retention of white minority rule, which exacerbated internal racial tensions and spurred resistance among the Black majority.

Despite a majority Black population, the Rhodesian government favored a white settler minority and hindered locals’ political and economic advancement through segregationist policies. In response, Black nationalist movements waged an armed struggle against the administration in what became known as the Rhodesian Bush War, the Zimbabwean War of Liberation or Second Chimurenga (1964-1979). The conflict inflicted widespread violence and displacement, drawing international condemnation for human rights abuses. In 1980, the nation achieved independence and was renamed Zimbabwe, electing former liberation movement leader Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister.