ZIMSEC A Level · History · Form 5
Historiography
Early colonial writers wrongly claimed outsiders built Great Zimbabwe; archaeologists such as David Randall-MacIver (1905) and Gertrude Caton-Thompson (1929) showed it was built by local African people. This debate shows how history can be used politically.
Great Zimbabwe (c. 1200–1450)
- Rise: favourable environment, cattle wealth, control of gold trade with the coast via Sofala, and religious authority.
- Organisation: kingship supported by spirit mediums, tribute from vassals, an elite living in stone enclosures.
- Decline: environmental exhaustion, overpopulation, shifting trade routes and succession disputes.
Mutapa and Torwa/Rozvi
- Mutapa: northward move to the Zambezi; Portuguese interference from the 16th century through trade and treaties (prazos), leading to loss of sovereignty.
- Torwa (Khami) and later Rozvi (Changamire Dombo expelled the Portuguese in the 1690s).
Economy and society
Agriculture, cattle, mining, iron working, hunting and long-distance trade; social organisation based on lineage, chieftaincy and religion.
Evaluating causes
Historians debate whether trade or cattle and agriculture was more important in the rise of these states – use evidence and weigh factors.
Exam tip: At A Level, compare interpretations and weigh factors rather than just listing them.
Check yourself
- Who showed in 1929 that Great Zimbabwe was built by Africans?
- Give two factors in the rise of Great Zimbabwe.
- How did the Portuguese weaken the Mutapa state?
Show answers
- Gertrude Caton-Thompson (following David Randall-MacIver in 1905).
- Any two: cattle wealth, gold trade control, religious authority, favourable environment.
- By interfering in succession, forcing treaties, establishing prazos and controlling trade.
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