What was the Direct Rule?
Direct Rule was a system of administration where indigenous political and administrative institutions and leaders were replaced with European systems.
It was a system of government whereby European officers ruled directly without using any intermediaries (go-betweens).
Almost all colonial powers used Direct Rule as a method of administration to some extent.
the origin of British colonial rule in Zimbabwe
British colonial rule was introduced in Zimbabwe in 1899, when British settlers under Cecil Rhodes‟ British South Africa Company entrenched themselves economically and politically after their arrival in Mashonaland.
Together with Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi),, southern Rhodesia (as Zimbabwe was known at that time) formed British Central Africa.
Cecil Rhodes used his great wealth to settle Europeans in Mashonaland. He firmly established Company rule in spite of resistance by the indigenous people.
British South Africa Company officials were stationed all over Zimbabwe. The presence of many European settlers meant that the administrative vacancies in the colony could easily be filled. For this reason, Zimbabwe was named Rhodesia (after Cecil Rhodes himself).
Individual settlers were appointed as administrators and were given free land by the British South Africa Company.
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