Republic of Rhodesia (1965–1979)

The Republic of Rhodesia, commonly called Rhodesia, was a short-lived white supremacist settler-colonial regime in Zimbabwe, which unilaterally declared its independence from Britain on November 11, 1965, making it the de facto successor to the British colonization efforts which had been ongoing there since the 1890s.^[1]^[2]^[3] The so-called Republic of Rhodesia was declared by settler politician Ian Smith of the Rhodesian Front (RF) party, which had won the 1962 election in Southern Rhodesia.^[2]^[3] Throughout its existence, the "Rhodesian" state was concerned with preventing the emergence of majority rule, preserving white settler dominance, and suppressing Zimbabwe's liberation organizations of the time, principally represented by the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU).^[2]^[3] The Zimbabwean liberation organizations waged a national liberation war against the settler regime, with "Rhodesia" eventually dissolving in 1979 after various negotiations, soon followed by the formal independence of Zimbabwe in 1980.^[3]

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↑ “The whites in Zimbabwe obtained substantial autonomy as the Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1923 and declared a 'unilateral declaration of independence' (UDI) in 1965. [...] While the government in power in Rhodesia made some theoretical distinctions between its own laws and those of South Africa, the position of the national liberation movements was that these distinctions were paper ones, the reality being substantially the same. [...] The statement by Frolizi, a short-lived organization formed by some former leaders of ZAPU and ZANU in 1971, emphasized the evolution of a 'settler colonial bourgeois society' wherein the economic forces had developed to a point such that 'they are no longer compatible with classical colonial relations of property'. The ZANU paper and the statement of the African National Council (Zimbabwe) both agreed with the idea that the mode of government in Rhodesia had been evolving - towards a system of apartheid copied from South Africa. The ZANU statement denounced the settlers for their 'Nazi' crimes.”

Aquino de Bragança and Immanuel Wallerstein (1982). The African Liberation Reader, Volume 1: The Anatomy of Colonialism.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 “The "liberal" regime of Garfield Todd had been replaced by the "not-so liberal" regime of Edgar Whitehead, which, in turn, had been swept away in a rising tide of white right wing reaction resulting in the Rhodesia Front victory in the 1962 elections. White attitudes were hardening and the election was won on a white supremacy platform. [...] Winston Field, who became timid and prevarications on the question of unilaterally declaring independence from Britain, was replaced by Ian Smith who had a different temperamental disposition.”

Masipula Sithole (2015). Zimbabwe: Struggles-within-the-Struggle.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 David Martin and Phyllis Johnson (1981). The Struggle for Zimbabwe.

[1] “The whites in Zimbabwe obtained substantial autonomy as the Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1923 and declared a 'unilateral declaration of independence' (UDI) in 1965. [...] While the government in power in Rhodesia made some theoretical distinctions between its own laws and those of South Africa, the position of the national liberation movements was that these distinctions were paper ones, the reality being substantially the same. [...] The statement by Frolizi, a short-lived organization formed by some former leaders of ZAPU and ZANU in 1971, emphasized the evolution of a 'settler colonial bourgeois society' wherein the economic forces had developed to a point such that 'they are no longer compatible with classical colonial relations of property'. The ZANU paper and the statement of the African National Council (Zimbabwe) both agreed with the idea that the mode of government in Rhodesia had been evolving - towards a system of apartheid copied from South Africa. The ZANU statement denounced the settlers for their 'Nazi' crimes.”

Aquino de Bragança and Immanuel Wallerstein (1982). The African Liberation Reader, Volume 1: The Anatomy of Colonialism.

[:0-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 “The "liberal" regime of Garfield Todd had been replaced by the "not-so liberal" regime of Edgar Whitehead, which, in turn, had been swept away in a rising tide of white right wing reaction resulting in the Rhodesia Front victory in the 1962 elections. White attitudes were hardening and the election was won on a white supremacy platform. [...] Winston Field, who became timid and prevarications on the question of unilaterally declaring independence from Britain, was replaced by Ian Smith who had a different temperamental disposition.”

Masipula Sithole (2015). Zimbabwe: Struggles-within-the-Struggle.

[:1-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 David Martin and Phyllis Johnson (1981). The Struggle for Zimbabwe.

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