Great Zimbabwe and Pre-colonial States: notes

Great Zimbabwe

• Rise: cattle, gold and trade to the coast made it rich and powerful.
• Life: kings ruled with chiefs; stone walls show power; religion linked to ancestors.
• Decline: pressure on land, grazing and trade shifted power to other states.

Later States

• Mutapa: controlled gold trade in the north and met the Portuguese.
• Torwa and Rozvi: Khami was the Torwa capital. The Rozvi, led by Changamire, ruled the plateau.
• Ndebele: Mzilikazi and later Lobengula ruled from Bulawayo with a king, indunas and regiments.
• Mfecane: wars and migration from the south, started in Zulu lands, spread new peoples.