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Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe

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. more...

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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).

History

1890–1953

The territory which later comprised Rhodesia was eventually taken over through military force by the British South Africa Company and the defeat of King Lobengula during the First Matabele War in 1893. The Second Matabele War, 1896-1897, resulted in the death of many white settlers, but this final uprising was quelled by the assassination of Mlimo, the Matabele spiritual leader. The early white settlers, including legendary military figures Baden-Powell, Burnham, and Selous, were mostly soldiers and mining prospectors who were either recruited or encouraged to come by the BSAC. Although viable mineral deposits (chromium, gold, platinum and coal) were found, these were modest in scale and many of the white settlers took advantage of generous land grants to build up agricultural estates (known as “white farms”). This process was facilitated by the fact that the authorities in Rhodesia did not initially recognise the ownership of land by native blacks. Blacks living on land granted to white settlers were either evicted or declared to be tenants.

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. Charles Patrick John Coghlan was the first Premier of Southern Rhodesia and upon his death in 1927 he was succeeded by Howard Unwin Moffat.