Rhodesia

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This article is about the former British colony of (Southern) Rhodesia, today Zimbabwe. See Rhodesia (disambiguation).
Republic of Rhodesia
Image:Rhodesia Flag.png Image:Rhodesiancoatofarms.GIF
(In detail) (In detail)
National motto: Sit Nomine Digna (Latin: May she be worthy of the name}
Image:LocationRhodesia.png
Official language English
Capital Salisbury
Political system Parliamentary system
Form of government Republic
- Last President John Wrathall
- Prime Minister Ian Smith
Area
 - Total
 - % water
390 580 km²
1%
Population
 - 1978 est.
 - Density
6 930 000
17.74/km²
GDP (PPP) $3.15 billion US (1974 est.)
Independence
 - Declared
 - Republic Declared
 - Became Zimbabwe          		From British rule
November 11, 1965
March 2, 1970
June 1, 1979
Currency Rhodesian dollar (R)
Time zone UTC+2
National anthem Rise O Voices of Rhodesia (from 1974)
Calling code +263

Rhodesia was the name of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia after 1964. 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).

Contents

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History

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1953–1965

In 1953, with calls for independence mounting in many of its African possessions, the United Kingdom created the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (or the Central African Federation ['CAF']), which consisted of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, respectively). The idea was to try and steer a middle road between the differing aspirations of the Black Nationalists, the Colonial administration and the White settler population. The CAF sought to emulate the experience of Australia, Canada and South Africa - wherein groups of colonies had been federated together in order to form viable independent nations. Originally designed to be "an indissoluble federation", the CAF quickly started to unravel. It suffered the fate of similar ventures undertaken in the closing days of Empire including the West Indies Federation and East African Federation.

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.

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UDI

Image:Udi2-rho.jpg The British government adopted a policy known as No Independence Before Majority African Rule (NBMAR). This policy dictated that those colonies with a substantial population of white settlers would not receive independence except under conditions of universal suffrage and majority rule. This policy was opposed by the European minority Rhodesian Front (RF) government, led by Ian Smith. The white settlers in Rhodesia enjoyed economic and political privileges. It had become apparent from the mid-1950s that the whites were prepared to go to extreme lengths to retain those privileges.

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. <ref>BBC: 1970: Ian Smith declares Rhodesia a republic</ref> 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.

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The Bush War, or Second Chimurenga

A lengthy armed campaign by ZANLA (the military wing of ZANU [the Zimbabwe African National Union]) and ZIPRA (the military wing of ZAPU [the Zimbabwe African People's Union]) against the Rhodesian government followed UDI. This became known as the Bush War by White Rhodesians and as the "Second Chimurenga" (or rebellion in Shona) by supporters of the guerrillas. The war is generally considered to have started in 1972 with scattered attacks on isolated white owned farms.

ZANU was led by Robert Mugabe, latterly based in Mozambique and was supported by 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. 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 <ref>Zimdaily: British Multimillionaire Lends President Mugabe US$10 million</ref>

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.

Image:Bushwar1.JPG

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. Their response was to find another war to engage in. The commonest cause of death amongst this group while in Rhodesian service was suicide.<ref>Mazoe: Rhodesian Roll of Honour </ref>

From 1975 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. 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 the South African people (white only) 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. <ref> Propoganda: The Other Rhodesian War</ref>

Image:YP-YND.JPG 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 shooting down in 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.<ref>The Viscount Disasters - The Story</ref>

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End game

The need to cut a deal was apparent to most Rhodesians by 1978 – but not to all. Rhodesian special forces carried out a raid on Joshua Nkomo's residence in Lusaka (Zambia) with the stated intention of assassinating him. This was curious, given that the Rhodesian government was secretly negotiating with Nkomo over a deal to keep Mugabe out of power. Nkomo, tipped off by the Rhodesian intelligence service, escaped this attempt on his life.

Ian Smith dismissed his intransigent Defence Minister, P. K. van der Byl. <ref>"PK"</ref>. "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.

Image:PK2.jpg

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") <ref>Operation Quartz :possible military coup Rhodesia 1980</ref> to prevent ZANU taking over government of the country, but the coup was never realised.

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Independence

Mugabe and the victorious black nationalists were rather less concerned by Operation Quartz than by the possibility that there might be a mass exodus of the white community of the kind that had caused chaos in Mozambique five years earlier. Such an exodus had been prepared for by the South African government. With the agreement of the British Governor of Rhodesia, South African troops had entered the country to secure the road approaches to the Beit Bridge border crossing point. Refugee camps had been prepared in the Transvaal. On the day the election results became known, most white families had prepared contingency plans for flight, including the packing of cars and suitcases.

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.

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Politics

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 <ref> Rhodesian elections : Elections in Rhodesia, background to Rhodesian elections</ref> 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. 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.

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Publications

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Black perspective

  • Ranger, Terence O. The African voice in Southern Rhodesia, 1898-1930 (Northwestern Univ. Press, 1970) ISBN 0810103206
  • Parker, Franklin. African development and education in Southern Rhodesia (Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn., 1970) ISBN 0034329839
  • Hone, Percy Frederick. Southern Rhodesia (Negro Universities Press, 1969) ISBN 0837126614
  • "Race Relations in Rhodesia, Survey for 1972-73" by D.K.Davies, London, 1975, ISBN 901720569
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Settler perspective

  • Boggie, Jeannie M.Experiences of Rhodesia's Pioneer Women (Bulawayo, 1st edition 1938, 2nd edition 1950).*

Gann, Lewis, H. A History of Southern Rhodesia: Early Days to 1934 (Chatto & Windus, London, 1965) ISBN 0394480686

  • Blake, Robert. A History of Rhodesia (Eyre Methuen, London, 1977) ISBN 0394480686
  • Mutambirwa, Chmunorwa, James. The Rise and Fall of Settler Power in Southern Rhodesia, 1898-1923 (Assoc. Univ. Press, 1980) ISBN 0838622674
  • Meredith, Martin. The Past is Another Country: Rhodesia, 1890-1979 (Andre Deutsch, London, 1979) ISBN 0233971211
  • Colin, Leys. European Politics in Southern Rhodesia (Oxford Univ. Press, 1965) ISBN 0313235481
  • Haw, Richard C. (fwd. by Sir Godfrey Huggins) No other home: Co-existence in Africa (S. Manning, Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia, 1960?) ASIN B0007J5PVI
  • Rogers, Cyril A., Frantz, C. (fwd. by Sir Robert Tredgold) Racial themes in Southern Rhodesia: the attitudes and behavior of the white population (Kennikat Press, Port Washington, NY, 1962) ISBN 0804617244
  • Kennedy, Dane Keith. Islands of White: Settler society and culture in Kenya and Southern Rhodesia, 1890-1939 (Duke Univ. Press, 1987) ISBN 0822307081
  • Legum, Colin (ed.). Africa: A Handbook to the Continent (London, 1961). ISBN 0033874213
  • Hodder-Williams, Richard. White Farmers in Rhodesia, 1890-1956 (London, 1983) ISBN 033327234
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White government perspective

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Land

  • Weinmann, H. Agricultural research and development in Southern Rhodesia, under the rule of the British South Africa Company, 1890-1923 (Univ. of Rhodesia, Salisbury, 1972) ISBN 0869240048
  • Van Onselen, Charles. African mine labour in Southern Rhodesia, 1900-1933 ( Pluto Press, London, 1976) ISBN 0902818961
  • Yudelman, Montague. Africans on the land: Economic problems of African agricultural development in Southern, Central, and East Africa, with special reference to Southern Rhodesia (Harvard Univ. Press, 1964) ISBN B0000CMAWI
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Other

  • Kumbula, Tendayi J. Education and social control in Southern Rhodesia (R&E Research Assoc., Palo Alto, Calif, 1979) ISBN 0882475665
  • Evans, Henry St. John Tomlinson. The church in Southern Rhodesia (Society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts [etc.], London, 1945) ISBN B0006DBPTQ
  • Kane, Nora Sophie Hoffmann. (fwd. by Sir Godfrey Huggins) The World's View: The Story of Southern Rhodesia (Cassel, London, 1954) ISBN B0000CIZXU
  • Rayner, William. The Tribe and its Successors: An account of African traditional life and European settlement in Southern Rhodesia (Faber and Faber, London 1962) ISBN B0000CLA7K
  • Akers, Mary (ed.). Encyclopedia Rhodesia (College Press Pvt. Ltd., Salisbury, Rhodesia, 1973).
  • The South & East African Year Book & Guide (49th edition, 1949)
  • Jones, Neville. Rhodesian Genesis (O.B.E., Bulawayo, 1953) ISBN 1096288665
  • Gunther, John. Inside Africa (London, 1st edition 1955, reprinted 1957) ISBN B0000CJA7H
  • Reed, Douglas. The Siege of Southern Africa (Macmillan, Johannesburg, 1974) ISBN 0869540149
  • Lewis, Arthur R. (Rev.). Too Bright the Vision? (London, 1982) ISBN 0852050216
  • Sutton-Pryce, Ted. Zimbabwe: A Model for Namibia? (Pretoria, 1989) ISBN 0868743895
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See also

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External links

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References

<references/>af:Rhodesië da:Rhodesia es:Rhodesia eo:Rodezio fr:Rhodésie du Sud id:Rhodesia is:Ródesía it:Rhodesia he:רודזיה ja:ローデシア no:Rhodesia pl:Rodezja sv:Rhodesia

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