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Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to This

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Speaker 1: Day and History Class, a podcast that brings you a

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Speaker 1: new slice of history every day. Today is June. The

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Speaker 1: day was June nineteenth. Nineteen seventeen. Revolutionary and politician Joshua

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Speaker 1: and Como was born in Model Bili Land in modern

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Speaker 1: day Zimbabwe. And Como led the Zimbabwe African Pupils Union

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Speaker 1: and served as second Vice President of Zimbabwe from nineteen

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Speaker 1: to nine. In September of eighteen ninety, the Pioneer column

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Speaker 1: of the British South African Company raised the British flag

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Speaker 1: at Fort Salisbury or present day Harari. British columnists called

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Speaker 1: the area Southern Rhodesia after imperialists and politician Cecil Rhodes.

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Speaker 1: Over the next decade, white people arrived in large numbers

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Speaker 1: and began seizing farmland and overseeing the mining of resources

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Speaker 1: like gold, chrome, ore, and platinum. The Biley and Shona

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Speaker 1: people's who lived in the area were displaced by the Europeans.

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Speaker 1: They had made efforts to resist British rule, but Southern

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Speaker 1: Rhodesia was annexed by the United Kingdom in nineteen twenty three.

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Speaker 1: Como grew up in colonial era Southern Rhodesia as part

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Speaker 1: of an Indo Biley family. As a young adult and

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Speaker 1: Como took a job as a social welfare worker with

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Speaker 1: the Rhodesia Railways. He began to advocate for railway workers

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Speaker 1: and helped build up the Rhodesian Railways African Employees Association,

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Speaker 1: and when the British government proposed uniting some of his

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Speaker 1: African colonies, including Southern Rhodesia, into a federation, he was

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Speaker 1: vocal about his opposition to federation. Though the anti federation

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Speaker 1: movement had many supporters, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyassa

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Speaker 1: Land was formed in nineteen fifty three, and Como gained

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Speaker 1: a reputation as a committed African nationalist when the African

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Speaker 1: National Youth League and the Boulawio branch of the African

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Speaker 1: National Congress merged in nineteen fifty seven, when Como was

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Speaker 1: elected president of the new a n C. Through his

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Speaker 1: work as president of the a n C, he met

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Speaker 1: other people who were involved in anti colonial movements. In

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Speaker 1: nineteen fifty nine, the government banned the a n C

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Speaker 1: and hundreds of his members were arrested as in Como

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Speaker 1: traveled through Europe and the United States to raise money

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Speaker 1: in support for the independence movement. Members of the a

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Speaker 1: n C formed the National Democratic Party and Como was

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Speaker 1: declared president of the n d P, which was later

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Speaker 1: banned as well. Another party, the Zimbabwe African People's Union

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Speaker 1: or z a p U, soon formed and was also banned.

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Speaker 1: Como continued to press for international support, but some people

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Speaker 1: perceived in Como as a moderate and doubted his commitment

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Speaker 1: to the nationalist movement. It some people in the z

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Speaker 1: a p U broke away from the group informed the

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Speaker 1: Zimbabwe African National Union. All the while white Rhodesian prime

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Speaker 1: ministers targeted black nationalists. Prime Minister Ian Smith banished in

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Speaker 1: Como to a detention center in a remote part of

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Speaker 1: southern Rhodesia. Como was incarcerated for ten years, but his

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Speaker 1: incarceration garnered him more support and increased opposition to the

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Speaker 1: Smith administration. By the time in Coma was freed in

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Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four, nationalist groups had gained ground, and Como

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Speaker 1: directed the z a p U s military, political and

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Speaker 1: diplomatic activities from Zambia. Robert Mugabi, another nationalist leader, had

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Speaker 1: been at odds with Uncomo before, but the z A

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Speaker 1: p U and Mugabe's z A n YOU linked to

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Speaker 1: form the Patriotic Front and bring down white minority rule.

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Speaker 1: Smith agreed to a new constitution and Zimbabwe gained its

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Speaker 1: independent in nineteen eighty. Mugabi became Prime Minister and Minister

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Speaker 1: for Defense, but in Como continued to be in conflict

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Speaker 1: with Mugabi and fighting between z A p U and

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Speaker 1: z A n U supporters escalated. After years of violence

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Speaker 1: and massacres carried out against the Dabilee by the Zimbabwe

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Speaker 1: National Army, and Como and Mugabi agreed to merge their

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Speaker 1: parties into a unified one called z A n UPS.

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Speaker 1: The agreement said that the party was committed to a

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Speaker 1: one party state. It also provided for in Como to

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Speaker 1: become the second of two vice presidents of Zimbabwe in nine,

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Speaker 1: a role that was largely symbolic. He served as second

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Speaker 1: Vice president until his death in nine In his later

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Speaker 1: years and Como dealt with health issues. Many people disapproved

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Speaker 1: of how he handled political challenges, and he lost a

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Speaker 1: lot of influence. Still, Como has been called the father

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Speaker 1: of Zimbabwe Nationalism for his eating role in the fight

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Speaker 1: for independence from white colonial rule. I'm Eve Steff Coote

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Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today

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Speaker 1: that you did yesterday. And if you have any comments

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Speaker 1: or suggestions, you can send them to us at this

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Speaker 1: d i HC podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Thanks

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Speaker 1: so much for listening to the show and we'll see

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Speaker 1: you tomorrow. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit

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