Zimbabwe

Zimbabwethumb|300px|right (Great House of Stone)

Introduction
Artifacts from the original kingdom date back to 1200 CE. However, Zimbabwe was believed to have inherited its power from a previous trade center in the region called Mapungubwe ( 200-1000 CE). It is believed that Zimbabwe was built by the ancestors of the present day Shona people. However, until recently European explorers, scholars and archeologists denied the kingdom was built by indigenous Africans.

Failure to provide evidence for this claim has led to the death of the theory.

History
After the decline of Mapungubwe, Zimbabwe rose. Artifacts found in the capital city,Great Zimbabwe, include beautifully decorated weapons, porcelain imported from Asia (China), and its stone sculptures, many of which are topped with birds. One of its most famous sculptures was a gold sculpture of a rhinoceros.

The city was known for trading salt, pottery and metal.

Decline & Lost
Zimbabwe flourished between 1200-1400 CE, but once its population grew, its resources suffered. Drought, and other natural distasters added to its decline. Also, different groups would spread and establish their own trade capital, contributing to the end of Great Zimbabwe. However, in the 18th century, Zimbabwe faced its greatest challenge: British colonialism. Zimbabwe, long known for its gold (thanks in part to the Portuguese, the first Europeans to make contact in c.1500), attracted a British empire determined to capitalize on it. In 1895, the British seized Zimbabwe and named it Rhodesia, after the British colonel Cecil John Rhodes, who had persuaded them to take it over.

Found
Zimbabwe gained its independence from the British, and white Zimbabwean rule in 1980, after a failed attempt to do so in the 1960s that led to an uprising by the white Zimbabweans who did not want an independent, black majority to rule over them.

Shortly after independence in1980, the Shona people, who had been denied their cultural history by the British who refused to believe their ancestors built the stone monuments and civilization, renamed their country Zimbabwe, and restored the legacy of their ancestors, making the Zimbabwe birds their national symbol.