Matebeleland after the dispersion: a study in involuntary population movements, their economic and political impact in the era of colonialism, 1893-1960

Abstract

This paper' comes as a result of seven months' work at the National Archives, Harare. The time which saw the production of this paper was punctuated by a number of obligations falling upon the author throughout the entire period of archival research, among them fieldwork in the Midlands Province for a forthcoming independent study of that area. Time divided amongst numerous obligations has never been known to produce an atmosphere conducive to a thorough treatment of just one of them, unless such a time division lacked a single element of impartiality. This paper therefore comes before a thorough and exhaustive investigation Of the relevant archival material has been conducted. The search for these is an ongoing process, and it is hoped to unearth more relevant files which, taken together with oral interviews soon to be conducted in Matabeleland and elsewhere, will make possible a reconstruction of the history of rural Matabeleland between 1895 and 1960. Given the inconsistency of visits to the Archives by the author and the almost absence of relevant oral interviews, it can only be expected that at this stage the paper cannot be entirely relied upon as truly representative of the historical developments in rural Matabeleland in the period of reference. Yet it is necessary that the paper should come out now, in view of its forward - looking nature. The arguments it advances at the moment may be premature, but at its most development stage these will certainly be worthy making. It has been necessary to conceive of this study in view of the in-exhaustive nature of the historical works that have devoted a fraction of their time to involuntary population movements, particularly their development/ underdevelopment aspects.