EditorialThis second issue of Zambezia has an even wider range of interest than the first. The Editor is parti-cularly pleased that in addition to several articles on the social sciences he has been able to include studieson a Rhodesian poet and various aspects of the history of Southern and Central Africa. An informativeletter has been received from the National Archives of Rhodesia on the use of the word Zambezia. Thewide use of this term, at least for a short period, is of great interest to the Editorial Board of Zambezia,for it helps to draw attention to the policy of this journal to invite contributions from other parts ofCentral and Southern Africa. It has therefore been decided to reproduce, with its author's permission,the full text of the letter:Although E. C. Tabler has entitled a book Zambezia and Matabeleland in the Seventies, theterm "Zambezia" does not appear to have been used for the territory now known as Rhodesiabefore about 1889: the designations were "Mashonaland," "Matabeleland," "Banyailand," "MiddleZambesi," "Northern Goldfields," "South Central Africa," "Southern Africa," "Across the Limpopo,"[ r > "Gazaland," "Manica," etc. An early use of the word may have been overlooked, but "Zambezia"was certainly not in general currency.At the time of the granting of the Charter, "Zambesia" was put forward as a possible namefor the new British possession, and other suggestions were "Cecilia," "Charterland" and "Rhodesia."At first "Zambesia" (sometimes "Zambezia") was most popular: The Times of 15th October, 1889,carried an article entitled "British Zambesia," and in October, 1890, a Stanford map was producedshowing "Zambesia and Matabeleland." The predecessor of The Rhodesian Herald was The Masho-naland Herald and Zambesian Times. Mather's book Zambesia, England's El Dorado in Africa, waspublished in 1891 and Wills and Collingridge speak of "Zambesia" (Northern and Southern) inThe Downfall of Lobengula (c. 1894). However Jameson favoured "Rhodesia" in a letter to hisbrother in December, 1890, and from October, 1892, The Mashonaland Herald and ZambesianTimes became The Rhodesia Herald. More writers, especially when Matabeleland had been occupiedand "Mashonaland" no longer covered the area of the British South Africa Company's administra-tion, began to use "Rhodesia" frequently. In an Administrator's Proclamation of 1st May, 1895,"Rhodesia" was adopted as the official title of the whole of the British South Africa Company'sterritory, with the provinces of Matabeleland. Mashonaland and Northern Zambesia. Legislationy up to that point had avoided using "Rhodesia" or "Zambesia," e.g., Matabeleland Order in Council,1894. Parts of the Proclamation were eventually found to be ultra vires, and when it was replaced(by the Southern Rhodesia Boundary Regulations, 1897) "Southern Rhodesia" and "NorthernRhodesia" became the official names. Government Notice 82 of 1897, dated 1st June, 1897, con-firmed that the Secretary of State had approved the term "Rhodesia."However, the name "Zambesia" continued to be used, just as the title "Central African Federa-tion" lingered on after the "Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland" had become the official desig-nation. Companies such as the Zambesia Exploring Company and the Zambesia Rand InvestmentCompany continued for several years and "Zambesia" was still used in tardily revised overseaspublications such as The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1902 edition) and Stanford's maps (1901edition).Outside Rhodesia's borders, Zambesia is still, of course, the official title for a Province ofMozambique.