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Rhodesia was the name of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia after 1965. Landlocked and located in southern Africa, it was governed by white minority rule until 1979. The colony was named after Cecil Rhodes, whose British South Africa Company acquired the land in the nineteenth century. The colony gained internationally-recognised independence from Britain in 1980 and became the Republic of Zimbabwe. At an earlier period, the name "Rhodesia" was used to refer to a larger region that corresponds to both Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia) and Zambia (Northern Rhodesia).
In 1899 a Legislative Council was created with a minority of elected seats, through which the BSAC had to pass government measures. The electorate was almost exclusively comprised of white settlers, and the proportion of elected seats increased steadily over time. Prior to about 1918 the opinion among the electorate supported continued BSAC rule but opinion changed because of the development of the country and increased settlement. In addition a decision in the British courts that land not in private ownership belonged to the British crown rather than the BSAC gave great impetus to the campaign for self-government.
The Legislative Council election in 1920 returned a large majority of candidates of the Responsible Government Association and it became clear that BSAC rule was no longer practical. Opinion in Britain and South Africa favoured incorporation of Southern Rhodesia in the Union of South Africa, but by forcing the pace of negotiation the Southern Rhodesians obtained unfavourable terms and the electorate backed Responsible Government in a 1922 referendum. Self-government began in October 1923.
One major consequence of this was that the white settlers were able to enact discriminatory legislation concerning land tenure. The Land Apportionment and Tenure Acts reserved 50% of the land area for exclusively white ownership. 25% was designated “Tribal Trust Land” which was available to be worked on a collective basis by black tribes and where individual titled ownership was not possible.
Southern Rhodesia developed an economy that was narrowly based on the production of a small number of primary products (notably, chrome and tobacco). It therefore became very vulnerable to the economic cycle. The deep recession of the 1930s gave way to a post-war boom. This boom prompted the immigration of about 200,000 white settlers between 1945 and 1970, taking the white population up to 270,000. A large number of these immigrants were of British working class origin. The idea of a University was mooted, but the requirements were that it be nonracial. This caused concern in some quarters. Eventually, the University College of Rhodesia came into being and was located in Salisbury - in 1980, it was renamed the University of Zimbabwe.
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved on January 1 1964. When Northern Rhodesia was granted independence by Britain on October 24 1964, it changed its name to Zambia; Southern Rhodesia remained a British colony and came to be known simply as Rhodesia. The majority of the Federation's military and financial assets went to Rhodesia as (a) the British Government did not wish to see them fall into the hands of the nationalist leaders, and (b) Southern Rhodesia had borne the majority of the costs of running the Federation. With regard to the latter, however, Northern Rhodesia was the wealthiest of the three member states (due to its vast copper mines) and actually contributed more to the overall building of infrastructure than the other two members. Southern Rhodesia, recognising an inevitable dissolution of the Federation, was quick to use federal funds in building up their infrastructure ahead of the others. A key component of this was the building of the Kariba Dam and its hydroelectric facility (shafts, control centre, etc.), which was situated on the Southern Rhodesian side of the Zambezi Gorge. This situation caused some embarrassment for the Zambian government later when it was a "front line state" in support of insurgents into Rhodesia in that its major source of electric power was controlled by the Rhodesian rebel state.
After failed negotiations between the UK and Rhodesia, on November 11 1965, Smith's government declared the country independent from British government rule in what became known as UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence). The timing of Smith's telegram announcing UDI to British Prime Minister Harold Wilson is significant. It was sent precisely at 1 p.m. local time (11 a.m. in London) on November 11, 1965, at the precise moment that the UK started its traditional one minute of silence to mark the end of World War I and honour its war dead. The not-so-hidden message to "kith and kin", as Smith put it, was to recall the fact that Southern Rhodesia had helped the UK in its time of need in World War I and World War II and that the British should not forget that. British High Commissioner John Barnes Johnston, who disliked Smith, cleaned out the High Commission building of all official documents and left Rhodesia (though Smith left strict instructions that the High Commission building be left untouched, much to Johnston's surprise).
UDI was internationally condemned, and at the behest of Britain, Rhodesia was placed under the first United Nations Security Council authorised sanctions, beginning in 1965 and lasting until the restoration of British rule in December 1979. The terms of these sanctions forbade most forms of trade or financial exchange with Rhodesia. Sanctions were not universally adhered to, however. South Africa, Portugal, Israel and some Arab states helped Rhodesia. In the immediate term, Rhodesia was able to evade sanctions by various means - but the means of evasion typically involved "selling at a discount and buying at a premium". Also, few outsiders would invest in Rhodesia.
From the time of UDI onwards, the Rhodesian government struggled to obtain international recognition and the lifting of sanctions. No significant state ever granted recognition to Rhodesia, and in 1970 the US government categorically stated that "under no circumstances" would it recognise Rhodesia. BBC: 1970: Ian Smith declares Rhodesia a republic Rebel or secessionist provinces have never been liked by the international community.
Initially, the state maintained its loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II as "Queen of Rhodesia" (a title to which she never consented) but not to her representative, the Governor Sir Humphrey Gibbs, whose constitutional duties were exercised by an "Officer Administering the Government", Clifford Dupont. On March 2 1970, Rhodesia's government formally severed links with the British Crown, and Rhodesia was declared a republic, with Dupont as President. Dupont was a London solicitor who had emigrated to Rhodesia in 1953.
2005 was the 40th anniversary of UDI and this prompted memorial events of various kinds. 40 years was sufficient time to make UDI history and allow it to be considered in proper perspective. But many people who were directly affected by or who participated in UDI were still alive.
Critics of UDI maintain that it was intended to defend the privileges of a small white elite at the expense of the black majority. In this view of things, UDI created a vacuum which the Mugabe regime eventually filled.Herald online :a critique of UDI Alternatively, until well into the 1990s, many Rhodesians sought to justify UDI on the ground that it had delayed independence by 15 years. They claimed that this delay enabled Zimbabwe to avoid some of the economic and political problems suffered by many other newly independent African nations.Rumor Mill posting :justification of UDI, partisan comment Whatever, nobody can dispute that the costs of UDI were high and its benefits uncertain.
ZANU was led by Robert Mugabe, latterly based in Mozambique and was supported by the People's Republic of China. ZAPU was led by Joshua Nkomo, based in Zambia and was supported by the Soviet Union. ZANU and ZAPU together formed 'the Patriotic Front'. Broadly, ZANU represented the 80% of the Black population who were Shona speaking and ZAPU represented the 20% who were Sindebele speaking. The degree of support offered by China and the Soviet Union to the nationalist parties was probably less than was commonly thought at the time. The nationalist parties were often described as 'Marxist', but events showed that this Marxism was largely superficial. The main priority of ZANU and ZAPU was to end white rule in Rhodesia.
Once the war started, an impression quickly took root that the Rhodesians were going to lose. Even the South Africans realised that attempting to sustain white minority rule in a situation where blacks outnumbered whites by 22:1 was untenable.APF newsletter, 1975 :appraisal of Rhodesia in 1975 International business groups involved in the country (e.g. Lonrho) transferred their support from the Rhodesian government to black nationalist parties. Nkomo was feted on his visits to Europe by business leaders and politicians. Funding was provided for his ZAPU party and associated ZIPRA military operations. This funding allowed ZIPRA to purchase sophisticated weaponry on the international arms market, which ultimately helped lead to the demise of Rhodesia. ZANU also attracted business supporters who perceived the course that future events were likely to take Zimdaily: British Multimillionaire Lends President Mugabe US$10 million
Initially, the war was very one-sided since the Rhodesian government was able to deploy an overwhelming superiority in manpower, firepower and mobility, but the situation changed suddenly after the end of Portuguese colonial rule in Mozambique in 1975. At that time ZANU's alliance with FRELIMO and the porous border between Mozambique and eastern Rhodesia enabled large-scale training and infiltration of ZANU/ZANLA guerillas. The government adopted a 'strategic hamlets' policy of the kind used in Malaya and Vietnam to restrict the influence of insurgents over the population of rural areas. Local people were forced to relocate to protected villages (PVs) which were strictly controlled and guarded by the government. This was deeply unpopular and served only to increase support for the insurgents. The war degenerated into rounds of increasing brutality from both sides.
The Rhodesian government faced a serious economic struggle during the 1970s as a result of sanctions, emigration, and the strain imposed on the economic system by conscription of all white men. At this time volunteers were recruited from overseas to help in the fight. One particular source of volunteers was Vietnam war veterans (mostly US and Australian nationals) who had found it difficult to adjust to civilian life. From the start of 1977, the Rhodesians began to take serious casualties, which left few white families untouched.Mazoe: Rhodesian Roll of Honour
Rhodesia began to lose vital economic and military support from South Africa, which, while sympathetic to the white minority government, never accorded it diplomatic recognition. The South Africans started to place limits on the fuel and munitions it supplied to the Rhodesian military. They also withdrew the personnel and equipment that they had previously provided to aid the war effort. In 1976 the South African and US governments combined to place pressure on Smith to agree to a form of majority rule. Some Rhodesians claimed that one possible reason why South Africa started to withdraw aid from Rhodesia was the still embittered history between the British-dominated Rhodesia and the Afrikaner-dominated South Africa. It was seen by some as one last way the Boers could "stick it to the Brit" for the previous centuries of domination, and the lingering resentment over the Boer Wars. Ian Smith claimed in his memoirs that even though many white South Africans were supportive of Rhodesia, South African Prime Minister John Vorster's policy of detente with the Black African states ended up with Rhodesia being offered as the "sacrificial lamb" in order to buy more time for South Africa. Other observers perceive South Africa's distancing itself from Rhodesia as being an early move in the process that led to majority rule in SA itself. Propoganda: The Other Rhodesian War
By early 1978 the Rhodesian armed forces were on the defensive. The early strategy of trying to defend the borders was abandoned in favour of trying to defend key economic areas and lines of communication with South Africa, while the rest of the countryside became a patchwork of "no-go areas". This last term was first used in Rhodesia and has since entered the English language. Rhodesia's front-line forces never contained more than 25,000 troops, eight tanks (Polish made T-55s) and nine old Hawker Hunter jets. Those forces could still launch raids on enemy bases, but Rhodesia was facing diplomatic isolation, economic collapse and military defeat.
The morale of Rhodesians and their overseas supporters was stiffened by the work of journalists such as Lord Richard Cecil, son of the Marquess of Salisbury. Cecil produced regular news reports such as the Thames TV ‘Front Line Rhodesia’ features. These reports typically contrasted the incompetent insurgents with the “superbly professional” white government troops. Nick Downie report :caution, partisan comment On 27 April 1978 Cecil parachuted into enemy territory with a Rhodesian airborne unit and landed in the midst of a group of ZANLA insurgents, who immediately shot him dead.
The shooting down on 3 September 1978 of a civilian Air Rhodesia Vickers Viscount airliner (the Hunyani) in the Kariba area by ZIPRA insurgents using surface-to-air missiles is widely considered to be the event that finally destroyed the Rhodesians' will to continue the war. Although militarily insignificant, the loss of this aircraft (and a second Viscount, the Umniati, in 1979) demonstrated just how vulnerable Rhodesian civil society was to insurgent attack.The Viscount Disasters - The Story
The Rhodesians’ means to continue the war were also eroding fast. In December 1978, a ZANLA unit penetrated the outskirts of Salisbury and fired a volley of incendiary rockets into the main oil storage depot – the most heavily defended economic asset in the country. The storage tanks burned for five days giving off a column of smoke that could be seen 80 miles away. Half a million barrels of petroleum product (comprising Rhodesia’s strategic oil reserve) were lost. At a stroke, the country’s annual budget deficit was increased by 20%. The Atlantic Monthly : The Fragility of Domestic Energy, see page 5
In 1979, some special forces units were accused of using counter terrorist operations as cover for ivory poaching and smuggling. Colonel Reid-Daly (commander of the Selous Scouts) was court martialled and dismissed. Meanwhile, support for ZANU-PF was growing amongst the black soldiers who made up 70% of the Rhodesian army.Ian Beckett :report on Bush War
By the end of 1978, the need to cut a deal was apparent to most Rhodesians, but not to all. Ian Smith had dismissed his intransigent Defence Minister, P. K. van der Byl as early as 1976. Rhodesia Worldwide :"PK". "PK" had been a hard-line opponent of any form of compromise with domestic opposition or the international community since before UDI. PK eventually retired to his country estate outside Cape Town. But there were elements in Rhodesia, mainly embittered former security force personnel, who forcibly opposed majority rule up to and well beyond independence.Newsnet report :saboteurs hit Zimbabwean military, partisan comment
As the result of an "internal settlement" between the Rhodesian government and some fringe African nationalist parties, which were not in exile and not involved in the war, elections were held in April 1979. The UANC (United African National Council) party won a majority in this election, and its leader, Abel Muzorewa (a United Methodist Church bishop), became the country's nominal prime minister on June 1 1979. The country's name was changed to Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The internal settlement left control of the country's police, security forces, civil service and judiciary in white hands. It assured whites of about one third of the seats in parliament. It was essentially a power-sharing arrangement which did not amount to majority rule.
While the 1979 election was described by the Rhodesian government as non-racial and democratic, it did not include the main nationalist parties ZANU and ZAPU. In spite of offers from Ian Smith, the latter parties declined to participate in an election leading to anything less than full and immediate majority rule.
Bishop Muzorewa's government did not receive international recognition. The Bush War continued unabated and sanctions were not lifted. The international community refused to accept the validity of any agreement which did not incorporate the main nationalist parties. The British Government (then led by the recently elected Margaret Thatcher) issued invitations to all parties to attend a peace conference at Lancaster House. These negotiations took place in London in late 1979. The three-month-long conference almost failed to reach conclusion, due to disagreements on Land reform, but resulted in the Lancaster House Agreement. UDI ended, and Rhodesia reverted to the status of a British colony ('The British Dependency of Southern Rhodesia').
The outcome was an internationally supervised general election in early 1980. ZANU (PF) led by Robert Mugabe won this election. Elements in the Rhodesian armed forces toyed with the idea of mounting a coup ("Operation Quartz") Operation Quartz :possible military coup Rhodesia 1980 to prevent ZANU taking over government of the country, but the coup was never realised.
However, after a meeting with Robert Mugabe and the central committee of ZANU (PF), Ian Smith was reassured that whites could, and should stay in the new Zimbabwe. Mugabe promised that he would abide strictly by the terms of the Lancaster House Agreement and that changes in Zimbabwe would be made gradually and by proper legal process.
On April 18 1980, the country became independent as the Republic of Zimbabwe, and its capital, Salisbury, was renamed Harare two years later.
Main Article: Politics of Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was self-governing from 1923, although it never gained full Dominion status within the old Commonwealth. Its electoral register had property and education qualifications (unexceptional for the early twentieth century) which allowed white settlers to dominate the government. Over the years, various electoral arrangements were made at a national and municipal level to maintain white dominance. For example, the franchise for the first Legislative Council election in 1899 Rhodesian elections : Elections in Rhodesia, background to Rhodesian elections contained the following requirement :
voters to be British subjects, male, 21 years of age and older, able to write their address and occupation, and then to fulfil the following financial requirements: (a) ownership of a registered mining claim in Southern Rhodesia, or (b) occupying immovable property worth £75, or (c) receiving wages or salary of £50 per annum in Southern Rhodesia. Six months' continuous residence was also required for qualifications (b) and (c).
That was innocuous by the standards of the time, but the practical effect was to exclude black people from the electorate. Whites never comprised more than 5% of the country's total population, but up to 1979 they never had less than 95% of the total vote in national elections.
Up until the 1950s, Southern Rhodesia had a vibrant political life with right and left wing parties (by white settler standards) competing for power. The Rhodesia Labour Party held seats in the Assembly and in municipal councils throughout the 1920s and 30s. From 1953 to 1958 the prime minister was Garfield Todd, a liberal who did much to promote the development of the Black community through investment in education, housing and healthcare. However, Todd was forced from office when he attempted to widen the franchise in order to allow Blacks up to 20% of the total votes.
From 1958 onwards, white settler politics consolidated and ossified around one issue - resistance to majority rule. This set the scene for UDI.
The 1961 Constitution governed Rhodesia up until 1969. It used the Westminster Parliamentary System modified by a complicated system of separate voter rolls with property and education qualifications. The system ensured that whites had the majority of Assembly seats.
Under the 1969 (Republic) constitution, there was a bicameral parliament consisting of an indirectly elected senate and a directly elected House of Assembly, in which the majority of seats were effectively reserved for whites. The office of president was a ceremonial post, with executive power remaining with the prime minister.
The "independence" (1980) constitution retained parliamentary seats reserved for whites (20 out of a total of 100). These reserved seats were not finally abolished until 1986. The arrangements surrounding independence ensured that aspects of Rhodesia survived in the new Zimbabwe until well into the 1990s.
Rhodesia | Former countries | British Empire | History of Zimbabwe | Former place names
Rhodesië | Rhodesia | Rhodesien | Rhodesia | Rodezio | Rhodésie du Sud | Rhodesia | Ródesía | Rhodesia | רודזיה | ローデシア | Rhodesia | Rodezja | Rhodesia
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