On this day in 1982, on the second anniversary of independence, Zimbabwe renamed its capital city Harare, after the Shona chief, Neharawa.
The city was founded in 1890 by the Pioneer Column, a small military force of the British South Africa Company, and named Fort Salisbury after the then British Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury. Company administrators demarcated the city and ran it until Southern Rhodesia achieved responsible government in 1923.
Salisbury was thereafter the seat of the Southern Rhodesian (later Rhodesian) government and, between 1953 and 1963, the capital of the Central African Federation. It retained the name Salisbury until 1982, when it was renamed Harare on the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence.
Harare is Zimbabwe’s leading political, financial, commercial, and communications centre, as well as a trade centre for tobacco, maize, cotton, and citrus fruits. Manufacturing, including textiles, steel, and chemicals, is also economically significant, as is local gold mining.
The University of Zimbabwe, the country’s oldest university, is located in Harare, as are several other colleges and universities. The city is home to Harare Sports Club, the country’s main Test cricket ground, as well as Dynamos F.C., the country’s most successful association football team.
Information courtesy of: https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/capital-city-zimbabwe-renamed and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harare.
