Commenting on colonialism,
Tewodros II a nineteenth century Ethiopian emperor said that “I know their
game. First it’s traders and missionaries. Then it’s ambassadors. After that,
they bring the guns.” His sentiments would be echoed by Jomo Kenyatta who also
pointed out the close connection between the bible of the missionaries and the
flag of imperialism. The colonisation of Zimbabwe was no exception and this
essay shall demonstrate that to a large extent it followed the classic pattern
of missionary, hunter and trader activity before the imperial power came in.
British-born
missionaries were first onto the nineteenth century Zimbabwean scene and not
surprisingly British imperialism followed. Robert Moffat was permitted
by Mzilikazi to set up the first mission station at Inyathi in 1859. Little did
Mzilikazi and Lobengula know that Moffat and his son John would be sending out
treacherous reports regarding the Ndebele as a “miserable people” and “it will
be a blessing to the world when they are broken up.”
John
Moffat went beyond mere rhetoric and rendered practical assistance to the cause
of colonialism by entering the paid service of Cecil Rhodes and negotiating
treaties which laid the basis of colonialism. To this end, he fully
exploited old ‘family ties’ with Ndebele royalty and got Lobengula to assent to
the Moffat Treaty and Rudd Concession both in 1888. The first circumscribed
Lobengula’s power in foreign policy issues while the second gave Rhodes’ agents
complete mineral rights and full powers to procure them in Lobengula’s
territory. It was on the basis of the Rudd Concession that the British government
granted Rhodes a charter for the colonisation of Zimbabwe. Considering the fact
that Lobengula virtually surrendered his territory and independence for
negligible returns, it is most likely that he was misinformed with (Moffat’s
connivance) as to the actual written terms of those treaties.
Lobengula
followed Mzilikazi’s example and permitted the London Missionary Society
(L.M.S) to open a second mission under Charles Helm at Hope Fountain in 1870
and that too was a mistake which paved the way for colonialism. Like the Moffats,
Helm was firmly convinced that no substantial conversion of the Ndebele to
Christianity was possible without the undermining of Lobengula’s power and the
destruction of the Ndebele traditional structure. Just like John Moffat, Helm
abused the trust Lobengula had in him by portraying Rhodes as a trustworthy and
reliable man. Helm persuaded Lobengula to sign the Rudd Concession on which the
colonisation of Zimbabwe was based.
The
desire to colonise Zimbabwe was also touched off by the glowing and times
exaggerated reports that the country abounded with mineral wealth and natural
resources and these can be attributed to hunters and traders who visited the
country. Thomas Baines was one such trader-prospector-cum artist and he was
given a concession by Lobengula to exploit gold reserves but failed owing to
lack of capital. His legacy mainly lies in the vivid but highly romantic
paintings that portrayed a land awash with elephants and other natural
resources only waiting for Europeans to exploit.
Traders
such as George Westbeech and Karl Mauch spread rumours about the abundance of
gold leading to suggestions that there could actually be a ‘second rand’ in
Zimbabwe. Mauch was even granted the Tati Concession in 1870 and this was
bought from him by Cecil Rhodes in his relentless drive towards colonizing
Zimbabwe. Leask, Fairbairn, Philips and Tainton were some of the traders at
Lobengula’s court prior to the Rudd Concession and they aided colonialism by
selling their own concessions to Rhodes and persuaded Lobengula to sign with
Rudd Lobengula’s tactics of playing off one group of Europeans against the
others therefore, came to nothing as Rhodes’ financial muscle not only enabled
him to buy concessions from his rivals, it also enabled him to get them to work
for him in persuading Lobengula to deal with him. This was true of the traders
and the missionaries and it was equally true of the hunters too.
Hunters
like Henry Hartley and Frederick Selous also played their part in advertising
Zimbabwe as a land full of minerals and big game. Hartley spoke
favourably of the mineral prospectus after discovering gold 70 miles south-west
of present day Harare while Selous even cut a road between Mashonaland and Matabeleland
(Hunters’ Road) to facilitate the transportation of ivory. His biggest
contribution to colonialism was to be in the guiding of the ‘Pioneer Column’ in
1890 as it trekked in from South Africa to assume control of Mashonaland on
behalf Britain.
In
the final analysis, it is evident that the colonisation of Zimbabwe owed to
beliefs of abundant economic resources and the various concessions obtained
from the African rulers. It is also evident that in all such beliefs and
concessions obtained, there was the hand of missionaries, traders and hunters.
