Today Harare has over 4 million residents, it is a buzzing city but it wasn’t that way.
Local Shona chiefs, Mbire, Neharawe were fighting for control around the copy in what we call Harare.
Cecil John Rhodes was seeking riches up north and set up to to lower the Ndebele King who had a reputation of cheeky character.
Cecil John Rhodes tried to seek help for his conquest from the government through the colonial office which was not willing because they didn’t want to burden themselves with African possessions, this was after they had colonised Botswana. Rhodes succeeded in convincing the British South Africa Company to send representatives to convince Lobengula to give him mining consetions.
Rhodes duped Lobengula into giving him rights to his land and even the land of the Shonas as well unknowingly. Rhodes went back to England and lied that Lobengula had agreed to Brutish occupation and the charter was granted on 28 October.
He later met Johnson at the Kimberly club , he told Rhodes that he needed 250 men to colonised Rhodisea, Rhodes took up offer. A Budget of $87 500 pounds was presented to him and that was the birth of the Pioneer column. Artisans and tradesman were given first preference with the promise of being given 3000 ar of land and 15 gold claims each in the promised land. The Pioneer column set off on the 15th of June from South Africa led by the bi game hunter, Courteney Selou hacking their way through the dense bush.
On the 11th of of September they managed to cross the Hunyani River and Johnson glimpsed at what he thought was mount Hampton. He was given instruction to set up the fort there, but when he climbed the mountain he was fascinated by the the beautiful open plain which had red soils. Dr Leander Star Jameson who was to be the first administrator of the settlement agreed in a ceremony that was held on 13 September 1890, 21 gun shot were fired as a salute, the Union Jack was wasted and a settlement called Fort Salisbury was born.
That year the country expirienced one of the soggy ever expirience in Mashonaland with 15 mm of rain between 10 October 1890 and March 15, 1891. This so many pioneers succumbing to malaria and to make it worse they had to rely on medicine and food from South Africa which took long.
The settlement began to grow and new arrivals pioneer Street is called Kaguvi Street. The government buildings were built on the Causeway. William Fairbridge came from South Africa to see if he could establish a newspaper. On 27 June 1891 the first issue of the Mashonaland Times was established.
The whites began using African labourers, teaboys, in their farms. The whites were not feeling safe due to the earlier Shona uprisings.
They created the first settlement called Harare named after Zezuru chief Neharawe. At Zimbabwe’s independence it was renamed Mbare and Salisbury, Harare.
