Robert Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924 in Southern Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe. The young boy grew up under harsh conditions during colonial rule when most black Africans were treated like second-class citizens with few rights or opportunities for advancement. In the early 1940’s Mugabe left for Fort Hare University in South Africa where he was exposed to Nationalist and Marxist ideas. Mugabe became involved with anti-colonial politics while at school in South Africa and joined the African National Congress. After graduating from Fort Hare University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History & English Literature, Mugabe went back home to continue while continuing his studies and teaching in schools as well.
Ascension to Power
In the early 1960s, Mugabe joined the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). In 1964 he was arrested and imprisoned for 10 years by Rhodesian authorities. He was released in 1974 and immediately joined the fight against white minority rule in Rhodesia. In 1979 peace negotiations were held in London and the war ended. New elections were also held and Mugabe became head of state after his party won elections. He became the country’s first Prime Minister. However during his time in power he turned the country into an authoritarian, one party state and received a lot of international criticism for human rights violation. In 2017 he was eventually removed from power by the military and a new predecessor was put in power. He passed on September 6, 2019. Many say he was well respected among the people but, he overstayed his time in power.
Hyperinflation Under Mugabe
The country had been struggling economically for decades and the pain reached its height during the 2000’s the country went through shortages and massive hyperinflation. During hyperinflation prices rise at such an extreme rate that people cannot afford basic necessities like food and water, leading to famine and disease. Larger and larger denomination banknotes kept coming out and the denominations made people overnight millionaires and billionaires. The 100 Trillion dollar banknote was introduced and withdrawn in 2009, but not before it had become a symbol of the economic crisis that Zimbabwe faced. Even though the economy has stabilized since then, there are still concerns about whether or not Zimbabwe has stabilized enough to move forward with its recovery plan.
Banknotes Under Mugabe
The 100 Billion Dollar Special Agro Cheque was issued in 2008. It was originally intended for the exclusive use of Zimbabwean farmers, although they found their way into regular commerce as prices continued to rise. The obverse side of the note features the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe logo and the denomination written in words. With two giraffes printed on the bottom-right. The reverse side features a grain elevator with multiple silos and two giraffes.
This Zimbabwe 100 Trillion Dollar banknote was issued by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in 2008. It’s the largest denomination banknote issued by Zimbabwe. It’s part of the Trillion Series which consists of 100, 50, 20, 10 Trillion Dollars. This blue banknote features the Chiremba balancing rocks in Epworth on its obverse. It also shows stylized grains and a cow in underprint, and a Zimbabwe bird in Optically Variable Ink. The back of the paper bill depicts Victoria Falls and a cape buffalo. It is among the largest denomination banknote ever to be printed. The Hungarian Pengo still holds the title of largest denomination.
The Zimbabwe 100 Dollars Banknote is part of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s 2019-2020 issues. This family of banknotes is currently in circulation in the country. They range in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 Dollars and the current exchange rate as of April 2023 is approximately $1 USD to 945 Zimbabwe Dollars. A lot of the same design elements from previous banknote families are still present in the current design. It obverse features the Chiremba balancing rock formation. The reverse depicts Zimbabwe Great ruins.
Sources:
Thumbnail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mugabe_1979_a.jpg
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Mugabe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe
