Harare’s Stories from the Past

Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe with a couple of centuries old history. It has seen a long journey from the Shona settlement to the succeeding African invasions and from the British arrival in 1890 to the modern city it is today. What was originally settled by the British as fort for the military is today, a world class metropolitan center in southern Africa. Modern day Zimbabwean capital is a beautiful city housing a spectacular skyline, grand colonial buildings, tranquility and greenery and many attractions for tourists. Harare’s rapidly increasing popularity has caused flights to Harare to increase in numbers.

It was in the 19^th century that the Shona speakers, the first known settlers of Harare, emerged at the site. They were taken over by the Mbare people under the command of lower ranked, Chief Mbare. However, the rule of Chief Mbare could not last very long and he was overpowered by Chief Gutsa. Chief Gutsa was the last African leader to conquer the land as his short-lived victory at the site of present day Harare was soon replaced with the British rule. The city of Harare is named after its first settlers, the Shona speakers who, in the local language, were called Ne-Harawa in respect to their chief, Haarare. The world Haarare means “the one who does not sleep”.

British South Africa Company arrived in Harare on 11^th September 1980, led by Major Frank Johnson. The site of Harare was considered favorable for agriculture which was also rich in gold, thus a British fort was planned to be built there. Two days after Johnson’s arrival, England’s flag was hosted where now the Africa Unity Square stands. Originally set as Fort Salisbury, the area late came to be known as just “Salisbury”. Under the British rule, the locals were highly deprived of their rights, higher pays, better jobs and better living standards. All their interests were sidelined and they were suppressed. With this hostility from the British side, uprisings from the locals took place and conflicts between the locals and the British became common. Side by the side, Salisbury was seeing great developments. In 1897, Salisbury became a municipality and around the same time, some African chiefs who had led the uprising against the British, were hanged to death. In 1899, Salisbury saw the introduction of railways followed by two dams in 1913 to supply power to the 180 houses of the area. Soon after this, oil street lamps were replaced and the streets lit up with electricity. In 1935, Salisbury was given the status of a city where industries and factories running on electricity grew.

Great architectural works in the city continued at a higher pace and many of those works now draw tourists to grab their Harare flights. African influenced British architecture still decorates the cityscape with its magnificence.  

In 1953, Salisbury became the capital of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Then formed Southern Rhodesia followed by Republic of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Salisbury remained their capital. On April 18, 1980, Republic of Zimbabwe was formed and Salisbury was its capital. In 1982, on Zimbabwe’s second Independence Day, the name Salisbury was changed to Harare.

Harare is now regarded as one of the most beautiful African cities. Its tranquility, greenery, grandeur, museums and entertainment attract millions of tourists to the city each year. In addition, its prosperity has made possible, the availability of luxury hotels, international cuisines and cheap flights to Harare. This has made Harare, a paradise for holidaymakers.