Mount Hampden is a village in
Mashonaland West Province
Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.5 million (2012). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province.
Districts
Mashonaland West is divided into 7 districts:
* Chegutu ...
,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
. It is about eleven miles from the capital,
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its ...
. It was the original destination of the Rhodesian
Pioneer Column
The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia).
Background
Rhodes was anxious t ...
; however, the Column eventually settled some eleven miles to the south. Mount Hampden was named after English politician
John Hampden
John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of t ...
by the hunter and explorer
Frederick Courteney Selous
Frederick Courteney Selous, DSO (; 31 December 1851 – 4 January 1917) was a British explorer, officer, professional hunter, and conservationist, famous for his exploits in Southeast Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir Henry Rider ...
. In 2012, the government of Zimbabwe announced its plans to build a new capital city in Mount Hampden. The new capital will reportedly have a Parliament building, a Presidential palace, the Supreme and High courts, the Reserve bank, posh suburbs, hotels and modern shopping malls.
Populated places in Mashonaland East Province
Planned capitals
Planned cities
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