Manikaland

Manikaland was the name of a part of Southern Rhodesia that belonged to the sphere of influence of the British South Africa Society . The area is between 18 ° and 21 ° south latitude and 31 ° 33 'and 33 ° east longitude.

geography

Manikaland was east of Maschonaland and west of Portuguese East Africa (called Gasaland) and covered an area of ​​about 26,000 km². The entire length of the country is traversed by the Sabi River and is surrounded by mountains on both sides. They rise in the east up to 1140 meters.

history

At the end of the 19th century the land was poorly cultivated, but well suited for the cultivation of tropical fruits. There were gold deposits in the north . The largest place was Umtali .

Manikaland was a point of contention between Portugal and the British South Africa Society for a time. Portugal renounced its rights in treaties of 1891 and 1892.

Today's Manicaland Province has a similar location to historic Manicaland , but is larger at around 36,000 square kilometers.

literature

• Hendrik L. Wesseling: Divide and rule - The division of Africa 1880-1914. Volume 76 of contributions to colonial and overseas history, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 978-3-51507-543-5 , p. 275 f.