Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia | |||||||||||||||||
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1923–1980 | |||||||||||||||||
Anthem: " British colony (1923–1965 1979-1980) | |||||||||||||||||
Capital | Salisbury | ||||||||||||||||
Common languages | English (official) Shona and Sindebele widely spoken, some Afrikaans | ||||||||||||||||
Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||||||||||||
Monarch | |||||||||||||||||
• 1923-1936 | George V | ||||||||||||||||
• 1936 | Edward VIII | ||||||||||||||||
• 1936–1952 | George VI | ||||||||||||||||
• 1952–1964[a] | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||
• 1979–1980 | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||
Governor | |||||||||||||||||
• 1923–1928 (first) | John Chancellor | ||||||||||||||||
Humphrey Gibbs | |||||||||||||||||
• 1979–1980 (last) | Christopher Soames | ||||||||||||||||
Charles Coghlan | |||||||||||||||||
• 1964[d] (last) | Ian Smith | ||||||||||||||||
Legislature | Legislative Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||
1890–1923 | |||||||||||||||||
• Annexed by the UK | 12 September 1923 | ||||||||||||||||
1 October 1923 | |||||||||||||||||
1953–1963 | |||||||||||||||||
• UDI | 11 November 1965 | ||||||||||||||||
3 March 1970 | |||||||||||||||||
1 June 1979 | |||||||||||||||||
18 April 1980 | |||||||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||||||
1904[1] | 372,518 km2 (143,830 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||||||
• 1904[1] | 605,764 | ||||||||||||||||
Currency | |||||||||||||||||
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Today part of | Zimbabwe | ||||||||||||||||
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Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked
This southern region, known for its extensive gold reserves, was first purchased by the BSAC's
The British colony was established de jure in 1923, having earlier been occupied, constructed and administered by the British South Africa Company and its sub-concessionaires who were mostly British subjects. In 1953, it was merged into the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which lasted until 1963. Southern Rhodesia was renamed Rhodesia and remained a de jure British colony until 1980. However, the Rhodesian government issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965 and established a fully independent Rhodesia, which immediately became an unrecognised state. In 1979, it reconstituted itself under majority rule as Zimbabwe Rhodesia, which also failed to win international recognition. After a period of interim British control following the Lancaster House Agreement in December 1979, the country achieved internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe in April 1980.
History
Origin as "Rhodesia"
Initially, the territory was referred to as "South Zambezia", a reference to the River
The British government agreed that Rhodes' company, the
A
Century up to independence
The territory north of the Zambezi was the subject of separate treaties with African chiefs: today, it forms the country of Zambia. The first BSAC Administrator for the western part was appointed for Barotseland in 1897 and for the whole of North-Western Rhodesia in 1900. The first BSAC Administrator for the eastern part, North-Eastern Rhodesia, was appointed in 1895.[8][9] The whites in the territory south of the river paid it scant regard though, and generally used the name "Rhodesia" in a narrow sense to mean their part. The designation "Southern Rhodesia" was first used officially in 1898 in the Southern Rhodesia Order in Council of 20 October 1898, which applied to the area south of the Zambezi,[10] and was more common after the BSAC merged the administration of the two northern territories as Northern Rhodesia in 1911.
As a result of the various treaties between the BSAC and the black tribes, Acts of Parliament delineating BSAC and Crown Lands, overlapping British colonial commission authority of both areas, the rights of the increasing number of British settlers and their descendants were given secondary review by authorities. This resulted in the formation of new movements for expanding the self-government of the Rhodesian people which saw BSAC rule as an impediment to further expansion.
The
In view of the outcome of the referendum, the territory was annexed by the United Kingdom on 12 September 1923.[11][12][13][14] Shortly after annexation, on 1 October 1923, the first constitution for the new Colony of Southern Rhodesia came into force.[15][13] Under this constitution Sir Charles Coghlan became the first Premier of First Cabinet of Southern Rhodesia and upon his death in 1927 he was succeeded by Howard Unwin Moffat.
During World War II, Southern Rhodesian military units participated on the side of the United Kingdom. Southern Rhodesian forces were involved on many fronts including the East and North African campaigns, Italy, Madagascar and Burma. Southern Rhodesian forces had the highest loss ratio of any constituent element, colony, dependency or dominion of the British Empire forces during World War II. Additionally, the Rhodesian pilots earned the highest number of decorations and ace appellations of any group within the Empire. This resulted in the Royal Family paying an unusual state visit to the colony at the end of the war to thank the Rhodesian people.
Economically, Southern Rhodesia developed an economy that was narrowly based on production of a few primary products, notably, chrome and tobacco. It was therefore 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 307,000. A large number of these immigrants were of British working-class origin. The black population was about 6 million.[16]
In the 1940s, the founding of a university to serve central African countries was proposed. Such a university was eventually established in
1953–1965
In 1953, with calls for independence mounting in many of its African possessions, the United Kingdom created the
The
Return to "Rhodesia"
With the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia no longer in existence, in 1964, Southern Rhodesia reverted to the name Rhodesia (see next section).
In 1965,
Legal aspects of the name since 1964
On 7 October 1964, the Southern Rhodesian government announced that when Northern Rhodesia achieved independence as Zambia, the Southern Rhodesian government would officially become known as the Rhodesian Government and the colony would become known as Rhodesia.[18]
On 23 October of that year, the Minister of Internal Affairs notified the press that the Constitution would be amended to make this official. The Legislative Assembly then passed an Interpretation Bill to declare that the colony could be referred to as Rhodesia. The Bill received its third reading on 9 December 1964, and passed to the Governor for royal assent.[citation needed]
However, no royal assent was granted to the Bill. Section 3 of the Southern Rhodesia (Annexation) Order 1923 provided that Southern Rhodesia "shall be known as the Colony of Southern Rhodesia" and the Southern Rhodesia (Constitution) Act 1961 and the
The Rhodesian government, which had begun using the new name anyway, did not press the issue. The
While the new name was widely used, 'Southern Rhodesia' remained the colony's formal name in United Kingdom constitutional theory: for example, the Act passed by the United Kingdom Parliament declaring the independence a legal nullity was entitled the Southern Rhodesia Act 1965.[21]
Following the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Southern Rhodesia Constitution (Interim Provisions) Order 1979, establishing the offices of Governor and Deputy Governor of Southern Rhodesia, filled by Lord Soames and Sir Antony Duff respectively.[22]
The new Governor arrived in Salisbury on 12 December 1979, and on that day the Parliament of Zimbabwe Rhodesia handed power over to him by passing the Constitution of Zimbabwe Rhodesia (Amendment) (No. 4) Act, declaring that "Zimbabwe Rhodesia shall cease to be an independent State and become part of Her Majesty's dominions". After elections in February 1980, the colony ceased to exist when the new country of Zimbabwe became independent at midnight on 17 April 1980.[23]
History of Zimbabwe | ||||||||||
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Ancient history
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Zimbabwe-Rhodesia | June–December 1979 | |||||||||
December 1979 | ||||||||||
British Dependency | 1979–1980 | |||||||||
Zimbabwe | 1980–present | |||||||||
Gukurahundi | 1982–1987 | |||||||||
Second Congo War | 1998–2003 | |||||||||
Coup d'état | 2017 |
Judiciary
List of chief justices of Southern Rhodesia:
Incumbent | Tenure | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | ||
Sir Murray Bisset | 1927 | 1931 | Previously Test cricketer for South Africa |
Sir Fraser Russell | 1931 | ?1943 | |
Sir Robert James Hudson | 1943 | 15 May 1950 | |
Vernon Lewis[24] | 1950 | 1950 | Died in Service, 1950 |
Sir Robert Tredgold
|
1950 | 1955 | Chief Justice of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, 1953?–1961 |
Sir John Murray | 1 August 1955 | 1961 | |
Sir Hugh Beadle
|
1961 | 1977 | |
Hector Macdonald | 1977 | 1980 |
See also
- Administrative posts of the British South Africa Company in Southern Rhodesia
- Albert John Lutuli, a famous South African born in Southern Rhodesia
- Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
- History of Zimbabwe
- List of presidents of Zimbabwe
- President of Rhodesia
- Southern Rhodesia in World War I
- Matebeleland and annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate
References
- ^ a b "Census of the British empire. 1901". Openlibrary.org. 1906. p. 177. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ "Southern Rhodesia Act 1965". legislation.gov.uk. 1965. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ "Southern Rhodesia Act 1979". legislation.gov.uk. 1979. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ The Ruined Cities of Mashonaland, J. Theodore Bent, Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1892.
- ^ "Our History". Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "The Business ‹ Private clients :: The Rothschild Archive". Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ISBN 0-393-04770-9. Archivedfrom the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ^ P E N Tindall, (1967). A History of Central Africa, Praeger, pp. 133–4.
- ^ E A Walter, (1963).The Cambridge History of the British Empire: South Africa, Rhodesia and the High Commission Territories, Cambridge University Press, pp. 696–7.
- ^ "Southern Rhodesia Order in Council" (PDF). rhodesia.me.uk. 1898. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ Southern Rhodesia (Annexation) Order in Council, 30 July 1923 which provided by section 3 thereof: "From and after the coming into operation of this Order the said territories shall be annexed to and form part of His Majesty's Dominions, and shall be known as the Colony of Southern Rhodesia".
- ^ Stella Madzibamuto v Desmond William Larder – Burke, Fredrick Phillip George (1969) A.C 645 – Authority for date of annexation having been 12 September 1923, being the date the Rhodesia (Annexation) Order in Council came into effect
- ^ a b Collective Responses to Illegal Acts in International Law: United Nations Action in the Question of Southern Rhodesia by Vera Gowlland-Debbas
- ^ Stella Madzibamuto v Desmond William Larder – Burke, Fredrick Phillip George (1969) A.C 645
- ^ Southern Rhodesia Constitution Letters Patent 1923
- New York Times. 3 July 1977. Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ^ "History of the University of Zimbabwe" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2007.
- ^ Southern Rhodesia Information Service Press Statement 980/64 A.G.C.
- ^ See Palley, Claire (1966). The Constitutional History and Law of Southern Rhodesia. Oxford University Press. pp. 742–3.
- Colonial Police Medalto the undermentioned officers: RHODESIA for Meritorious Service, Jack Berry, Superintendent, British South Africa Police, &c...",
- ^ a b International Enclopedia of Comparative Law Archived 21 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine, J C B Möhr, 1976, page xx
- Hansard, 14 December 1979
- ^ Collective Responses to Illegal Acts in International Law: United Nations Action in the Question of Southern Rhodesia, Vera Gowlland-Debbas Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1990, page 91
- ^ "Heroes: the underground railroad in Rhodesia". Vukutu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
Bibliography
- Shutt, Allison K. (2015). Manners Make a Nation: Racial Etiquette in Southern Rhodesia, 1910–1963. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.
- Blake, Robert (1978). A History of Rhodesia. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-48068-6.
External links
- Hillier, Alfred Peter; Cana, Frank Richardson (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). pp. 1004–1008. .
- Cana, Frank Richardson (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 32 (12th ed.). pp. 269–273. .