The First Chimurenga war broke out in the Zimbabwean plateau from 1896

to 1897. It was fought between the white colonisers under the British South
Africa Company(BSAC) and the indigenous Shona and Ndebele communities.
The war was as a result of the locals' resistance to colonisation at the hands
of the British.

Contents
 1 Prelude to the Chimurenga
 2 Outbreak of the War
 3 War in Matabeleland
 4 Religious Influence
 5 The War in Mashonaland
 6 Debates over the war
 7 Legacy

Prelude to the Chimurenga

Prior to the coming of the First Chimurenga

in Mashonaland and Matabeleland, Europeans had made contact with the
locals through missionaries and trade. The likes of David Livingstone, Charles
Helm, Fredrick Courtney Selous had already established contacts with the
locals. Such a situation paved way for Cecil Rhodes and his British South
African Company (BSAC) to enter into the country and sign treaties with the
local leaders. Treaties were signed between the Company and King
Lobengula who was king of the Ndebele Kingdom`` which was arguably the
most sophisticated and highly organised polity in the pre-colonial period.
The Pioneer Column, which was a mercenary army hired by Rhodes had
earlier on established white settlemtns in areas such as Fort Victoria
(now Masvingo) and Fort Salisbury (now Harare).

Outbreak of the War

The coming of the Pioneer Column in the early 1890s rang the bell for a
military confrontation with the locals and the invaders. The resistance offered
in 1896-7 was known as the Second Matabele War by the British, but the First
Chimurenga by the Africans. The name Chimurenga comes from that of
Sororenzou Murenga, who had led his people during First Matabele War in
1893. Hence Chimurenga is a Shona word that implies "revolutionary
struggle".[1] The name also carries strong overtones of violence, relbelellion
and revolt. In Ndebele language,Chimurenga can be understood
as Umvukela.

War in Matabeleland
British encroachment into the Ndebele territory, also known
as Matabeleland was the main reasons for the revolt. In March 1896, the
Ndebele (Matabele) people revolted against the authority of the BSAC in what
is now celebrated in Zimbabwe as the First War of Independence. Mlimo, the
Ndebele spiritual leader, is credited for fomenting much of the anger that led
to this confrontation. He convinced the Ndebele and the Shona that the white
settlers whose population has grown to about 4,000 were responsible for the
drought, locust plagues and the cattle disease rinderpest ravaging the country
at the time.[1]

Religious Influence
Mlimo planned to wait until the night of March 29 in 1896, the first full moon, to
take Bulawayo by surprise immediately after a ceremony called the Big
Dance. He promised, through his priests, that if the Ndebele went to war
against the white settlers their bullets would change to water and their cannon
shells would become eggs.[1] His plan was to kill all of the settlers
in Bulawayo first, but not to destroy the town itself as it would serve again as
the royal kraal for the newly reincarnated King Lobengula. Mlimo decreed that
the white settlers should be attacked and driven from the country through
the Mangwe Pass on the Western edge of the Matobo Hills, which was to be
left open and unguarded, for this reason.
Once the settlers were purged from Bulawayo, the Ndebele and Shona
warriors would head out into the countryside and continue the slaughter until
all the settlers were either killed or fled. On March 20, Ndebele troops shot
and stabbed a native policeman who was working for the British South Africa
Company. Over the next few days, other outlying settlers and prospectors
were killed. Frederick Selous, the famous big-game hunter, had heard
rumours of settlers in the countryside being killed, but he thought it was a
localised problem. When news of the policeman’s murder reached Selous on
March 23, he knew the Ndebele had started a massive uprising.[2]
Nearly 2,000 Ndebele warriors began the rebellion in earnest on March 24.
Many, although not all, of the young native police, quickly deserted and joined
the rebels. Armed with Martini-Henry rifles, Winchester repeaters, and Lee-
Metfords, as well old and obsolete guns, assegais, knobkerries, and battle-
axes, the Ndebele headed into the countryside. As the news of the massive
rebellion spread and the Shona joined in the fighting, the settlers headed
towards Bulawayo. Within a week, 141 white settlers were slain
in Matabeleland, an additional 103 were killed in Mashonaland, and hundreds
of settler homes, ranches and mines were burnt.

The War in Mashonaland

War broke out in June 1896 at Mazowe with an attack on Alice Mine. This was
followed by the medium Mbuya Nehanda Nyakasikana capturing and
executing Mazowe Native Commissioner Pollard. Other religious figures who
led the rebellion include Kaguvi Gumboreshumba also known as Sekuru
Kaguvi, who was active in the Goromonzi area and Mukwati, a priest of the
Mwari shrine who was active throughout Mashonaland. In addition to the
mediums, traditional leaders played a major role in the rebellion, notably Chief
Mashayamombe, who led the resistance, in his chieftaincy in Mhondoro, south
of Harare. He was amongst the first chiefs to rebel and the last to be defeated.
He was supplied with many of the surrounding districts, such as Chikomba.
Other chiefs who played an important role included Gwabayana,
Makoni, Mapondera, Mangwende and Seke. With the war in Matabeleland
ending, General Carrington of the BSAC was able to concentrate his forces on
Mashonaland and the rebels retreated into granite kopjes. With no central
command to oppose him, Carrington was able to bring maxim guns against
each stronghold in turn until resistance ended.Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru
Kaguvi Gumboreshumba were captured and executed in 1898, but Mukwati
was never captured and eventually died a natural death in Mutoko.[3]

Debates over the war

Several scholars have put forward many views to account for the 1896-97
uprisings. D. N. Beach argued that, the 1896-7 uprisings cannot be classified
as the country's first Chimurenga rather it was a series of zvindunduma (ripple
effect of violence from one area to another) dismissing the views propagated
by Terence Ranger that the war was simultaneous.[4] He also dismissed
Ranger's argument that religion played a pivotal role in how the war was
organised and strategized arguing that spirit mediums convened at Mkwati to
collect medicine to combat locusts which had been wrecking havoc in
Mashonaland.[5] J. R. D Cobbing also shared the same sentiments piling a
barrage of criticism against Ranger's conclusions.

Legacy
The rebellion failed completely and did not result in any major changes in
BSAC policy, for example the hut tax was implemented. The territories of
Matabeleland and Mashonaland became Rhodesia and both the Ndebele and
Shona became subjects of the Cecil Rhodes administration. However, the
legacy of leaders such as Kaguvi, Mapondera and Nehanda was to inspire
future generations.[6] The revolt planted a long lasting impact on the political
ideology of the country. The name Chimurenga itself never faded from the
political ideology of the country. In fact, it became the basis of the
decolonisation process which began to take a radical stance in the
1950s.[7] Mbuya Nehanda's words "My Bones would Rise" became the
motivation for the nationalist movements to fight against the colonisers during
the Second Chimurenga. Even in the post-colonial era, the land reform
programme was also dubbed the Third Chimurenga symbolising a continuing
linkage with the First Chimurenga war. In Zimbabwe, Chimurenga has come
to be associated with equality, wealth distribution, human rights and freedom.
Nationalist parties such as the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and
the Zimbabwe African People's Union have built their ideologies from the First
Chimurenga and this shows how much it has been a strong point of reference
for most Zimbabweans.[3]