date_of_birth j. nozipo maraire
The Colony of Southern Rhodesia was a self - governing British Crown colony in southern Africa from ___MASK15___ to ___MASK4___ , equivalent in territorial terms to modern Zimbabwe . Following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965 it existed as the self - declared , unrecognised state of Rhodesia until 1979 , when it reconstituted itself under indigenous African rule as Zimbabwe Rhodesia , which also failed to win overseas recognition . After a period of interim British control following the Lancaster House Agreement in December 1979 , the country achieved internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe in April ___MASK4___ . A unilateral declaration of independence ( UDI ) is a formal process leading to the establishment of a new state by a subnational entity which declares itself independent and sovereign without a formal agreement with the national state from which it is seceding . The term was first used when Rhodesia declared independence in ___MASK27___ from the United Kingdom ( UK ) without an agreement with the UK . Botswana , officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa . The citizens refer to themselves as " Batswana " ( singular : " Motswana "). Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland , Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September ___MASK29___ . Since then , it has maintained a strong tradition of stable representative democracy , with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections . The negotiations which led to the Lancaster House Agreement brought recognised independence to Rhodesia ( as the Republic of Zimbabwe ) following Ian Smith ' s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in ___MASK27___ . The Agreement covered the Independence Constitution , pre - independence arrangements , and a ceasefire . The parties represented during the conference were : the British Government , the Patriotic Front led by Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo , ZAPU ( Zimbabwe African Peoples Union ) and ZANU ( Zimbabwe African National Union ) and the Zimbabwe Rhodesia government , represented by Bishop Abel Muzorewa and Ian Smith . It was signed on 21 December 1979 . Zimbabwe Rhodesia was an unrecognised state that existed from ___MASK5___ to ___MASK36___ . Zimbabwe Rhodesia was preceded by an unrecognized republic named Rhodesia and was briefly followed by the re - established British colony of Southern Rhodesia , which according to British constitutional theory had remained the proper government after Unilateral Declaration of Independence ( UDI ) in 1965 . About three months later , the re - established colony of Southern Rhodesia was granted internationally recognised independence as the Republic of Zimbabwe . Zimbabwe , officially the Republic of Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in southern Africa , between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers . It is bordered by South Africa to the south , Botswana to the west and southwest , Zambia to the northwest , and Mozambique to the east and northeast . Although it does not border Namibia , less than ___MASK79___ metres of the Zambezi River separates it from that country . The capital and largest city is Harare . A country of roughly 13 million people , Zimbabwe has 16 official languages , with English , Shona , and Ndebele the most commonly used . A Crown colony , also known in the 17th century as royal colony and since ___MASK37___ known as British Overseas Territories , was a type of colonial administration of the overseas territories of the British Empire . Rhodesia , commonly known from ___MASK10___ onwards as the Republic of Rhodesia , was an unrecognised state in southern Africa from 1965 to 1979 , equivalent in territorial terms to modern Zimbabwe . With its capital in Salisbury ( now Harare ), Rhodesia was considered a " de facto " successor state to the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia ( which had achieved responsible government in 1923 ). J . Nozipo Maraire ( born in Mangula , Southern Rhodesia in 1964 ) is a Zimbabwean doctor , entrepreneur and writer . She is the author of Zenzele : A Letter for My Daughter . The novel was published in 1996 , was a New York Times `` Notable Book of the Year '' and a Boston Globe bestseller . It has been published and translated into over 14 languages .