[edit]
See also: Timeline of Harare
"Fort Salisbury" redirects here; not to be confused with Fort at Salisbury Point.
Early colonial history[edit]
The Pioneer Column hoists the Union Jack on the koppie overlooking the city on 13 September 1890
Salisbury in 1930
The Pioneer Column, a military volunteer force of settlers organized by Cecil Rhodes, founded the city on 12 September 1890 as a fort. They originally named the city Fort Salisbury after The 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and it subsequently became known simply as Salisbury. The Salisbury Polo Club was formed in 1896. Salisbury was declared a municipality in 1897, and it became a city in 1935.
The original Parliament House, constructed in 1895
At the time of the city's founding, its site and surroundings were poorly drained. The earliest development was on sloping ground along the left bank of a stream, in an area where the Julius Nyerere Way industrial road runs today. The first area to be fully drained was near the head of the stream and was named Causeway. Causeway is now the site of many important government buildings, including the Senate House and the Office of the Prime Minister. After the position was abolished in January 1988, the office was renamed for the use of the President.
Salisbury was the seat of the British South Africa Company administrator and became the capital of the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1923.
Post-war period[edit]
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, Salisbury expanded rapidly, boosted by its designation as the capital of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. This growth ushered in a wave of liberalism, investment and developmentalism from 1953 to 1963, transforming the city's skyline in the process. This was accompanied by significant post-war immigration, primarily from Great Britain, Southern Africa and, to a lesser extent, Southern Europe.[citation needed] According to the US Department of State, more than half of white Zimbabweans arrived in Zimbabwe after WW2. The rapid rise of motor vehicle ownership and the investment in road development greatly accelerated the outward sprawl of suburbs such as Alexandra Park and Mount Pleasant. At the same time, mostly black suburbs like Highfield suffered from overcrowding as their populations boomed.[citation needed]
The optimism and prosperity of this period proved to be short-lived, as the Federation collapsed, which hindered the city's prosperity.[additional citation(s) needed]
1960s and 1970s[edit]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (July 2024)
Jameson Avenue, Salisbury (now Samora Machel Avenue, Harare) in 1970The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved in 1963. Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front government declared Rhodesia independent from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965, with Salisbury retained as the capital. Smith's Rhodesia later became the short-lived state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia; it was not until 18 April 1980 that the country was internationally recognized as independent as the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Post-independence years[edit]
New Reserve Bank Tower, completed in 1997
The city initially boomed under a wave of optimism and investment that followed the country's independence in 1980. The name of the city was changed to Harare on 18 April 1982, the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence, taking its name from the village near Harare Kopje of the Shona chief Neharawa, whose nickname was "he who does not sleep". Before it was renamed in 1982, the black residential area now known as Mbare was called "Harari".
Significant investment in education and healthcare produced a confident and growing middle class, evidenced by the rise of firms such as Econet Global and innovative design and architecture, exemplified by the Eastgate Centre. A notable symbol of this era in Harare's history is the New Reserve Bank Tower, one of the city's major landmarks.
Harare was the location of several international summits during this period, such as the 8th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in September 1986 and the 1991 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The latter produced the Harare Declaration, dictating the membership criteria of the Commonwealth. In 1998, Harare was the host city of the 8th Assembly of the World Council of Churches.
However, by 1992, Harare began to experience an economic downturn and the government responded by enacting neoliberal reforms. These policies provoked a boom in banking, finance and agriculture, but also led to significant job losses in manufacturing, thereby greatly increasing unemployment and income inequality. Domestic firms struggled to compete with imports, leading to the collapse of several institutions, particularly in the textile industry.
Economic difficulties and hyperinflation (1999–2008)[edit]
In the early 21st century, Harare was adversely affected by the political and economic crises that plagued Zimbabwe, particularly following the contested 2002 presidential election and 2005 parliamentary elections. The elected council was replaced by a government-appointed commission due to alleged inefficiency.[citation needed] Still, essential services such as rubbish collection and street repairs rapidly worsened, and are now virtually non-existent in poorer parts of the city.[citation needed] In May 2006, the Zimbabwean newspaper Financial Gazette described the city in an editorial as a "sunshine city-turned-sewage farm". In 2009, Harare was voted the world's toughest city to live in according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's livability poll, which factors in stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. The situation was unchanged in 2011, according to the same poll.
Operation Murambatsvina[edit]
In May 2005, the Zimbabwean government demolished shanties, illegal vending sites, and backyard cottages in Harare, Epworth and other cities in Operation Murambatsvina ("Drive Out Trash"). It was widely alleged[weasel words] that the true purpose of the campaign was to make sure shanty towns would not develop in any urban areas that might favor the Movement for Democratic Change, and to reduce the likelihood of mass action against the government by driving people out of the cities.[citation needed] The government claimed its actions were necessitated by a rise of criminality and disease.[citation needed] This was followed by Operation Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle (Operation "Better Living") a year later, which consisted of building poor-quality concrete housing.[citation needed]
Economic uncertainty[edit]
In late March 2010, Harare's Joina City Tower was finally opened after fourteen years of delayed construction, marketed as 'Harare's New Pride'. Initially, uptake of space in the tower was low, with office occupancy at only 3% in October 2011. By May 2013, office occupancy had risen to around half, with all the retail space occupied.[relevant?]
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Harare as the world's least livable city (out of 140 surveyed) in February 2011, rising to 137th out of 140 in August 2012.
In March 2015, Harare City Council planned a two-year project to install 4,000 solar street lights, starting in the central business district, at a cost of $15,000,000.
In November 2017, the biggest demonstration in the history of the Republic of Zimbabwe was held in Harare, which led to the forced resignation of the long-serving 93-year-old President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, an event which was part of the first successful coup in Zimbabwe.
Contemporary Harare[edit]
Since 2000, Harare has experienced periods of spectacular decline, particularly in the 2000s, but since the Great Recession it has stabilised and experienced significant population growth and uneven economic growth.[citation needed][clarification needed] There has nonetheless been substantial international investment and speculation in the city's financial and property markets. Development on the urban fringes of the city has occurred in areas such as Borrowdale, Glen Lorne, The Grange, Mount Pleasant Heights, as well as in the new suburbs of Hogerty Hill, Shawasha Hills, Bloomingdale and Westlea. Urban sprawl has also expanded into the nearby areas of Mount Hampden, Ruwa and Norton. In addition, inner city areas such as Avondale, Eastlea, Belgravia, Newlands and Milton Park have seen increased gentrification driven by speculation from expat Zimbabweans. This speculation has also attracted other foreign buyers, resulting in high property prices and widespread rent increases. Harare sustained the highest population increase and urban development of any major Zimbabwean city since 2000, with other cities such as Bulawayo, Gweru, and Mutare largely stagnating during the same period.
Beginning in 2006, the city's growth extended into its northern and western fringes, beyond the city's urban growth boundary. Predictions that by 2025 the metropolitan area population will reach 4 to 5 million have sparked concerns over unchecked sprawl and unregulated development.[needs update] The concentration of real estate development in Harare has also come at the expense of other Zimbabwean cities such as Gweru and particularly Bulawayo, which is increasingly characterized by stagnation and high unemployment due to the collapse of many of its heavy industries. Today, Harare's property market remains highly priced, more so than regional cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town.[citation needed] The top end of the market is completely dominated by wealthy or dual-citizen Zimbabweans (see Zimbabwean diaspora and Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom), Chinese and South African buyers. Despite gentrification and speculation, the country's and city's unemployment rates remain high.[citation needed]
In 2020, Harare was classified as a Gamma city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. In 2026, the suburbs of Harare were affected by widespread flooding.
