User:Beneaththelandslide/drafts/History of Southern Rhodesia from 1946 to 1965

This line will eventually be a detailed introduction.

During the war, Northern Rhodesian politicians, led by Roy Welensky, had formed a party in support of amalgamation between the two Rhodesias. After the Southern Rhodesian election in 1948 returned the United Party, which was also in support of amalgamation, talks began for a closer union between the two territories. These aims were to eventually manifest as the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

The main reason behind amalgamation was to bring the Rhodesias into closer economic union. The post-World War II boom had begun in earnest, and politicians in both territories desired to make the best possible use of it. Northern Rhodesia contained vast copper mines, which would provide a large source of revenue, while Southern Rhodesia had a diversified economy based on agriculture and minerals, with a small but growing manufacturing sector.

The British Labour Government of Clement Attlee was opposed to amalgamation, but following the National Party's victory in South Africa in 1948 and the beginnings of Apartheid, there were fears of Southern Rhodesia falling into its sphere of influence. The compromise, negotiated over years of conferences between 1949 and 1952, was for a federation which would also include the small colony of Nyasaland. Southern Rhodesia would retain its system of self government, and the other two territories would remain under Colonial Office control, but powers from all three territories would be delegated to a federal system. The United Kingdom would continue to control external affairs, and hold a veto over any legislation which would prevent black advancement; the federation was intended to be one of 'racial partnership'--a balance between Apartheid South Africa and the emerging Black Nationalism of the north.

Whites in all three territories were broadly supportive of federation, but the blacks, who constituted the vast majority of the population, and insofar as their opinion could be gauged, were opposed. This was especially true in the two northern territories, where educated black opinion feared that the Southern Rhodesian system of government (controlled by the white settlers, rather than the colonial office) would be imposed upon them.

In March 1951, the four governments (British, Northern Rhodesian, Southern Rhodesian and Nyasalandian) met in London to work out the basis for federation. During this meeting, political representation, powers to be delegated to the federal government, black representation and interests, and the system of government itself were essentially agreed upon. Although the agreement reached upon the conference's completion was non-binding, it provided the blueprint for the final negotiations which were to take place in the coming year.

Although the British Labour Government had agreed to federation, and had led the talks, it lost office in the October 1951 election to the Conservatives. When the laws for the establishment of the federation were put through the House of Commons in March 1953 (the Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federation Act), Labour would vote against them on the basis of their not being a majority of black opinion in favour of federation. The Southern Rhodesian referendum on federation gave 25,570 in favour and 14,729 against, while the northern territories legislative councils approved the laws. On September 4 the federation was proclaimed and its first Governor General sworn in.

Southern Rhodesia Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins resigned his position on September 7, and was appointed interim federal Prime Minister by the Governor General. Elections were held on December 15, and the United Federal Party, created by Huggins and Welensky specifically for federation, won a victory with twice as many votes over their Confederate Party rivals, who advocated a system similar to Apartheid for the federation.

With Huggins making the move to the federal sphere, a new Southern Rhodesian Premier (the position had been changed from Prime Minister to distinguish between the federal and territorial leaders) was elected: Garfield Todd, a New Zealand-born missionary who had built up a large ranch near Shabani. As many members of the Southern Rhodesian assembly had moved into federal politics, an election was necessary, and Todd won 26 out of 30 seats in the 1954 election for his United Rhodesia Party (analogous to the federal UFP), with the opposition being four independent members.

Beyond the politics of Southern Rhodesia, the economy was fast expanding, and had done so during World War II (the impetus then being its contribution to Britain's war effort), and afterwards. The resources of the territory—mineral and agricultural, were in high demand worldwide, and combined with a large increase in white immigration, growth was visible beyond treasury figures, shown in the expanding skylines of Salisbury and Bulawayo.

Unlike other English-speaking countries and territories worldwide, Southern Rhodesia applied stringent immigration restrictions, requiring newcomers to have monetary capital or educational qualifications, preventing a 'poor white' situation as in South Africa and other countries. At the end of the World War, the white population of the territory stood at 82,000, and five years later it was 135,000. Most of the these immigrants were either British, or English-speaking South Africans, but there were tiny minorities of Afrikaners, Greeks, and Italians.

The black population, still concentrated in non-urban areas (1.5 million out of 2 million) and particularly in the Tribal Trust Lands, had begun to throw up an elite, which would provide the basis for Southern Rhodesian Black Nationalism. In urban areas, blacks were restricted—with some exceptions—from living amongst the whites, and their homes were government-constructed buildings on the outskirts of the cities. Government provided services were all segregated between the races, including schools, healthcare and transportation. The income tax threshold was high, and blacks paid little to no tax (0.5% of the total), but all services provided by the government were inferior to that for whites, and the black wage was one tenth that of the white.

With the increase in wealthier blacks, and their entrance into the political arena (due to the federation's electoral system, black Rhodesians were sitting in the federal legislature), Todd's government, alongside that of the federal one, began a reform programme. His government allowed for restaurants and other leisure facilities be multi-racial if they so wished, alcohol restrictions were relaxed, and the grounds of the University College continued to allow black residence in an otherwise white area.

In 1957, Todd's reform programme met its crux. Two pieces of legislation proved difficult, both of which related to black advancement. The first was for the abolishment of miscegenation laws which prevented sexual relations outside of marriage between black men and white women (the Immorality Act). Instead of this, other members of the Southern Rhodesian assembly pushed for an act that barred sexual relations between white men and black women; Todd's suggestion was to make illegal any sexual intercourse outside marriage on a colourblind basis, but this raised the ire of his colleagues. The result was a law forbidding any sexual relations between the races before marriage.

The second piece of legislation related to black participation in the political system. In the Southern Rhodesian assembly, blacks were not represented, and few met the wage and educational qualifications required to vote (in 1956, out of an electorate of 52,184, 560 were black). Todd supported legislation to create a 'special roll' for voters with lower qualifications (essentially blacks), and to allow them to have a proportional influence in the constituencies. It passed the assembly with one exception, but there was quiet dissatisfaction with it.

While pushing for these changes, Todd began to meet with Southern Rhodesia African National Congress members, including Joshua Nkomo. His rhetoric, previously as conservative as that of much of his party and the population at large, began to change—in 1946 he opposed any African representation in parliament,^[1] but in 1957 was talking of "the Africans catching up in twenty years".^[2] This began to concern his colleagues, who believed that if it continued, the URP was sure to loose the next territorial election.

In December 1957 Todd was holidaying in South Africa, having left Southern Rhodesia for a month-long holiday. He returned a week early in January 1958, amongst rumours of his cabinet resigning (there had been earlier rumours the previous November). Patrick Fletcher met him upon arrival at Salisbury Airport on January 9 and told him that his entire cabinet had offered their resignations on the previous day.^[3] Todd was told openly that the reasons for their resignations were due to his changing attitude regarding African advancement. Unable to draw majority support from his caucus, he took the matter to the UFP party congress. On February 8, a leadership ballot was held, and Todd lost to Edgar Whitehead, a compromise candidate who had the support of the party's centrist and right wings.^[4]

Whitehead had been the Rhodesian representative in Washington, D.C. prior to winning the UFP's leadership. But he remained outside the assembly, and it was a requirement that he was a member in order to accede to the Premiership. Choosing a constituency that had been uncontested by the opposition in the last election, he stood against a Dominion Party (DP; the conservative opposition) candidate on April 16, and lost. He then called elections in June.^[5]

New electoral laws had come into being before the election, including the introduction of the preferential vote. When the election results came in, it was what kept the UFP in power. The DP had gained a majority of votes both in total and in the two-party-preferred count, but due to electoral malapportionment, its votes were insufficiently concentrated to win a majority of seats. Todd had split from the UFP and formed his own party, and although it won no seats, its second preferences flowed to the UFP instead of the DP. The results were 17 for the UFP, and 13 for the DP.^[6]

Whitehead, despite being more inclined to black aspirations than Todd, was nonetheless unable to establish a rapport with any prominent black leaders. In 1955, a black organisation known as the City Youth League was formed to protest against increases in public transportation, and eventually became the Southern Rhodesia African National Congress (SRANC).^[7] Its original and stated methods were for the black majority to gain rule through peaceful methods, but after a continued spate of politically inspired violence in the black townships and reserves, and the beginnings of an uprising in the territory of Nyasaland, the SRANC was banned by Whitehead's government in March 1959.^[8] African nationalist parties in other territories were also banned, and the federal government interned their leaders in Southern Rhodesian prisons.

Despite the white backlash in the previous election, Whitehead continued with a programme of black advancement. He allowed blacks to enter the upper echelons of the public service, removed the Immorality Act that contributed to Todd's downfall, ended discrimination in post offices and for alcohol purchase, and planned for a primary education for every black child.^[9]

He also initiated a constitutional convention, mirroring those that had taken place federally and in the northern territories. In London and Salisbury a new constitution was worked out by an all-party conference, including the National Democratic Party (NDP), the African nationalist successor to the SRANC. The new constitution replaced the old 30-seat assembly with a new one, which had two types of constituencies, elected by different voting rolls. 50 seats would be elected by an 'A-roll' which had high voting qualifications (essentially for whites), while 15 would be elected by a 'B-roll' with lower qualifications (for blacks).^[10] The purpose of the new constitution was that it would lead to black majority rule over a generation or more (estimates varied widely, the shortest length of time was 15 years) as blacks met the educational and wage qualifications required to vote. Opposition came from both white and black parties: whites in the DP opposed it for giving 'premature' advancement to blacks, black nationalists because it did not lead to immediate black majority rule. The NDP initially supported the constitution, but withdrew support days after signing it, demanding immediate universal suffrage.^[11]

The federation, not by the fault of Southern Rhodesia but by its northern counterparts, was falling apart. African nationalists in the two northern territories had progressively extracted more and more concessions from the British government through new constitutions, and black leaders had risen to power: Kenneth Kaunda in Northern Rhodesia, and Hastings Banda in Nyasaland. They set about pressing for independence, and independence inevitably meant the dismantling of the federation.

Federal Prime Minister Roy Welensky called elections for the federal parliament in 1961, but this planned show of support did not save the federation. For the most part, parties on the left and right, white and black, did not bother to compete, realising the federation's inevitable dissolution. Welensky won a huge victory, but it was meaningless, and in 1962 he was informed that the federation was to indeed be dismantled.

The political uncertainty triggered a decline in the white population, with immigration unable to match emigration during the early 1960s. This coincided with the dismantling of the federation and its economy; the two northern territories, upon their independence as Zambia and Malawi (formerly Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland respectively), put up tariff walls to protect their infant manufacturing industries, while the lack of white growth caused a slowing of demand for consumer goods.

The Rhodesian Front, formed in March 1962 from the DP and right-wing dissenters in the UFP, and led by DP leader Winston Field, was ambivalent towards the federation and supported Southern Rhodesian independence. It was also opposed to the 1961 constitution, which it believed gave too much political power to the black majority too soon. Their platform for the coming territorial elections in early 1962 advocated a slowing of African political advancement, which stood in stark contrast to Whitehead's desire to include an African minister in his next government.

The government had clamped down hard on disruption in the black townships, banning newer African nationalist parties for continued violence and intimidation, and interning their leaders. In response, Joshua Nkomo, leader of ZAPU, travelled worldwide bringing attention to the situation in Southern Rhodesia, including speeches at the United Nations, where he talked of being a "slave" and stated that soon ZAPU would be in power in Southern Rhodesia. Whitehead had started a campaign for blacks to involve themselves in the institutionalised political processes; it was estimated that 5,500 blacks qualified for the A-roll, and 60,000 for the B-roll. The UFP wanted these votes in the December 1962 elections.

Instead, the African nationalists called for a boycott, and it was extremely effective: of the 60,000 eligible B-roll voters, 10,000 registered, and only 2,500 voted. The whites, however, turned out in droves to vote out the UFP. Uncomfortable with Whitehead's programme for black advancement, and concerned with nationalist violence, the Rhodesian Front was voted in with a 5-seat majority in a house of 65. The RF's programme, relatively moderate in the context of contemporary Rhodesian politics, argued not in favour of perpetual white domination, or of black inability, but in opposition to "dominance by the African of the European before he has aquired adequate knowledge and experience of democratic government". It would not be until later that the RF would diverge from a slowing of African advancement, to halting, and then reversing it.

• Young, Kenneth (1967). Rhodesia and Independence: A Study in British Colonial Policy. London: Eyre & Spottiswood.
• Blake, Robert (1977). A History of Rhodesia. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-48068-6.
• Smith, Ian (2001). Bitter Harvest: The Great Betrayal. London: Blake. ISBN 1-903402050.
• Wood, JRT (2004). So far and no further!: Rhodesia's bid for independence during the retreat from empire 1959-1965. Victoria: Trafford. ISBN 1-4120-4952-0.