Harare(officially calledSalisburyuntil 1982) is the capital and most populous city ofZimbabwe. Situated in the north-east of the country in the heart of historicMashonaland, the city.The city was founded in 1890 by thePioneer Column, a small military force in the service of theBritish South Africa Company, and named Fort Salisbury after the British Prime MinisterLord Salisbury. Salisbury was thereafter the seat of the Southern Rhodesian (laterRhodesian) government and, between 1953 and 1963, the capital of theCentral African Federation. It retained the name Salisbury until 1982, when it was renamed Harare on the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence.
Harare is Zimbabwe's leading financial, commercial, and communications centre, and a trade centre for tobacco, maize, cotton, andcitrusfruits. Manufactured goods include textiles, steel and chemicals, and gold is mined in the area. The city's suburbs includeBorrowdale,Mount PleasantandAvondale; the most affluent neighbourhoods are to the north. TheUniversity of Zimbabwe, the country's oldest university (founded in 1952), is situated in Mount Pleasant, about 6km (3.7mi) north of the city centre.Harare is home to the country's mainTest cricketground,Harare Sports Club, and toDynamos F.C., Zimbabwe's most successfulassociation footballteam.