Bulawayo
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Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, after the capital Harare, with a population of 676,000 (UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator, Zimbabwe, 2005), now estimated on 707,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439km south-west of Harare (), and is the capital of Matabeleland North.
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[edit] General information
The name "Bulawayo" comes from the Sindebele word Kwabulawayo meaning 'place of the persecuted one' or 'place of slaughter'. It is also known as the 'City of Kings', 'Skies' or 'Bluez' or 'Bullers'. The city is on the site of the kraal of Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, who founded the settlement in 1871, about 15km south-east of the present city centre, over the site formerly known as Gibixhegu. In 1881, the king moved the royal settlement further north, to an area roughly corresponding with Bulawayo's modern northern suburbs near modern day Northlea High School. During the 1893 Matabele War the advance of British troops led the king to burn his capital and flee north, and troops occupied the town. The American Scout, Frederick Russell Burnham, witnessed the burning of old Bulawayo and later encountered Lobengula while serving as lead scout for the Shangani Patrol. On 4 November 1894, Leander Starr Jameson declared Bulawayo a settlement under the rule of the British South Africa Company and Cecil John Rhodes ordered that the new settlement be built on the ruins of Lobengula's royal town, which is where the State House stands today. In 1897, the new town of Bulawayo acquired the status of municipality, and in 1943, Bulawayo became a city.
[edit] Siege of Bulawayo
Right at the outbreak of the the Second Matabele War, in March 1896, Bulawayo was besieged by Ndebele forces and a laager was established there for defensive purposes. The Ndebele had experienced the brutal effectiveness of the British Maxim guns in the First Matabele War, so they never mounted a significant attack against Bulawayo even though over 10,000 Ndebele warriors could be seen near the town. But rather than wait passively the settlers immediately mounted patrols, called the Bulawayo Field Force, under legendary figures such as Selous and Burnham who rode out to rescue any surviving settlers in the countryside and went on attack against the Ndebele. Within the first week of fighting, 20 men of the Bulawayo Field Force were killed and another 50 wounded.
During the siege, conditions inside Bulawayo quickly deteriorated. By day, settlers could go to homes and buildings within the town, but at night they were forced to seek shelter in the much smaller laager. Nearly 1,000 women and children were crowded into the small area and false alarms of attacks were common. The Ndebele made a critical error during the siege in neglected to cut the telegraph lines connecting Bulawayo to Mafeking. This gave both the besieged Bulawayo Field Force and the British relief forces, coming from Harare (formerly Salisbury) and Masvingo (formerly Fort Victoria) 300 miles to the North, and from Kimberley and Mafeking 600 miles to the South, far more information than they would otherwise have had. Once the relief forces arrived in late May 1896, the siege was broken and an estimated 50,000 Ndebele retreated into their stronghold of the Matobo Hills near Bulawayo. Not until October 1897 would the Ndebele finally lay down their arms.
[edit] Liberation
The liberation struggle for the independence of Zimbabwe was started in Bulawayo and today it is home to the strongest opposition to the government of Robert Mugabe. It is a welcoming multicultural city with residents able to speak at least three languages (English, Ndebele, Zulu, Xhosa, Kalanga, Suthu and SeSwati). Bulawayo has long been regarded as the business capital of Zimbabwe and is home to the National Railways of Zimbabwe because of its strategic position near Botswana and South Africa. It is the nearest large city to Hwange National Park, Matopo National Park and Victoria Falls.
Before the collapse of Zimbabwe's rail infrastructure, Bulawayo was an important transport hub, providing rail links between Botswana, South Africa and Zambia and promoting the city's development as a major industrial centre. The city still contains much of what remains of Zimbabwe's heavy industry and food processing capability.
Bulawayo is home to the Queens Sports Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club, two of the three grounds in Zimbabwe where test match cricket has been played. It is home to two large football teams which are of two ethnic groups, Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints.
Other facilities include:
- National Museum and Archives of Zimbabwe
- Natural History Museum
- National Gallery, Bulawayo
- National University Of Science And Technology (NUST)
- Bulawayo Polytechnic College
- Christian Brothers College, Bulawayo
- Whitestone School
- Petra Primary School
- Falcon College
- Centenary Park
The majority of the population of Bulawayo belong to the Ndebele ethnic and language group, who descend from 19th century Zulu immigrants and are a minority in Zimbabwe.
[edit] Town twinning
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Bridger, P., House, M., and others, 1973. Encyclopaedia Rhodesia, College Press, Salisbury, Rhodesia.
- Scouting on Two Continents, by Major Frederick Russell Burnham, D.S.O. LC call number: DT775 .B8 1926. (1926)
[edit] External links
- A map of Bulawayo
- List of colonial settlers and traders in Bulawayo, 1895
- More on contemporary Bulawayo
- Bulawayo:detailed history and pictures of its modern state
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| Provinces | |
| Manicaland | Mashonaland Central | Mashonaland East | Mashonaland West | Masvingo | Matabeleland North | Matabeleland South | Midlands | |
| Cities | |
| Bulawayo | Harare | |
