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The Rhodesian Federation

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The Rhodesian Federation Carpathia2013 The Rhodesian Federation Let Us Deserve Greatness1 1 Coat of Arms and motto are borrowed from OTL’s Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1 Carpathia2013 The Colony of Rhodesia was granted self-government in 1923. Rhodesia retained the Cape Colony system, which gave voting rights to blacks and whites who owned property with a minimum value of £150 or had an annual income of at least £100. Both means tests were accompanied by a simple language test in English. These voting qualifications that ensured de jure equality (in theory at least) amongst the races. In reality the white minority effectively ran the country. The 1924 election saw an easy victory for the Rhodesia Party with 54% of the vote. As the global recovery from the great depression began to gain momentum, copper prices were beginning to rise. Northern Rhodesia’s copper belt was beginning to make money and thus it was proposed that the two Rhodesia’s be federated into s single dominion. In 1934 a royal commission was established to investigate the possibility of merging the two Rhodesia’s into a single state. The commission was chaired by Lord Bledisloe, a former Governor-General of New Zealand. The other five Commissioners were Patrick (later Sir Patrick) Ashley Cooper, a governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, two who had had experience of Colonial service, an MP who was also a lawyer and one who had considerable experience in mining and its labour policy. March 21st 1936 saw the publication of the Bledisloe Report respecting amalgamation of the Rhodesias. Two leading Commissioners, Lord Bledisloe and Patrick Ashley Cooper, favoured complete and early amalgamation and wrote their minority report accordingly. A passing reference was made to African nationalism in northern Rhodesia but the economic benefits of linking the copper belt with southern Rhodesia far outweighed the costs. The other three commissioners were more or less on the fence and thus the report was seen to overall support complete and early amalgamation. Huggin’s proposal for the federation flag On the topic of African independence, the tiny British colony of Nyasaland would also be given self-rule and would be an associate state of the Rhodesian federation. Thereby Nyasaland would be able to dictate its own domestic policy, including equal representation for all races, but their foreign policy would be dictated by Salisbury. In September that year a preliminary conference was held at the Victoria Falls between representatives of the Southern Rhodesia Government and unofficial representatives of Northern Rhodesia on the federation of the territories. 2 Carpathia2013 In January 1938 the White Paper on the proposed Federation of the Rhodesias was tabled in the Legislative Assembly2. The final conference on Federation was held in London in September, attended by the Rhodesian prime minister Sir Godfrey Huggins. On December 9th 1938 a general referendum was held in North and South Rhodesia on the topic of federation. The predominantly European voters in both territories voted 63% in favour of federation3. On March 30th 1939 Whitehall officially federated North and South Rhodesia, merging them into a single Dominion4. The new dominion had a population of 2.8 million, 1.4 million in each Rhodesia and 75,000 Europeans (60,000 in the South, 20,000 in the North). The Dominion capital was therefore in Salisbury and. The imperial authorities in London retained direct powers over foreign affairs, constitutional alterations, native administration and bills regarding mining revenues, railways and the prime minister’s salary. The Dominion of Greater Rhodesia in 1939 The benefit of having Northern Rhodesia as part of the country was two-fold, firstly the copper belt would provide revenue and secondly it was lightly populated, meaning the government could open it up for European immigrant farmers5. Godfrey Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern, was elected Prime Minster in 1940 and would hold that title until 1953. 2 The timeline of events leading up to federation are based off the dates it took in our timeline minus the huge gap from 1939 to 1949 wherein Britain was distracted from world war 2 and the recovery. 3 This is based off the figures on federation in 1953 which were 25,560 voted for, and 14,729 voted against. 4 This was a real proposition by Godfrey Huggins in the late 1930’s but WW2 got in the way in OTL. In TTL the proposal is pushed through before the war starts. British Imperial Policy and Decolonization, 1938-64: Volume 2: 1951-64 page 555. 5 In OTL even during the Federal period (1953-1963), Britain had substantial control over Northern Rhodesia (and Nyasaland too). 3 Carpathia2013 A loyal dominion, Rhodesian pilots flew in the RAF during the battle of Britain and Rhodesian troops fought with commonwealth forces against Rommel in north Africa. Rhodesian Forces came under the Union of South Africa Command and an Imperial Training School for the RAF was opened at Salisbury. After the war the ITS would later evolve into the Rhodesian Air Force. After North Africa, Rhodesian forces fought in the Balkans, Italy and Burma. Per capita, Rhodesia sent more fighting men to the war than any other commonwealth country which earnt them a visit from the king in 1947. Rhodesian Sherman Tank of the Special Service Battalion during the Italian campaign 1944 Throughout the 1950s the vast farmland of Northern Rhodesia attracted more European immigrants and by 1960 the population had reached 6.9 million with 330,000 Europeans6. The 1953 election saw prime minister Huggins retire and be replaced by Sir Garfield Todd. The United Party would remain in power until 1962 where it lost to the Rhodesian Front under Winston Field. The early 1960s saw the rise of Pan-African political groups inspired by the civil rights movement. In Rhodesia such groups were heavily repressed by the government, as in South Africa, and caused little real trouble. The satellite state of Nyasaland attracted many Africans from Rhodesia until Salisbury forced the smaller nation to restrict its intake of immigrants. Neighbouring Congo won its independence in 1960 which sparked a civil war when the province of Katanga attempted 6 In OTL immigration fell in the 1950’s due to the talk of independence and the European population only reached 296,000 by 1960. 4 Carpathia2013 to secede from the rest of the country. The Congo was backed by the UN while Katanga was supported by Belgium. The Rhodesians saw Katanga as an ideal buffer state between themselves and the black government in the Congo. Starting in 1962 the Rhodesians supported the Katanga fighters with equipment and training, also offering them a safe haven from UN attacks. In 1964 South Africa also gave assistance to Katanga, using the Rhodesian territory as a corridor to move arms and supplies to the Katangan front. On August 22nd 1965 the UN agreed to a ceasefire, forcing the Congo government to recognize Katanga’s independence. In 1965 Rhodesia’s north-western border saw its first guerrilla war as African insurgents backed by Tanzania waged war with the southern government. The Northern Territory only had a population of 560,000 at the time and the insurgency caused little disruption to the rest of the country. The Western border was also rife with violence as the Portuguese crushed the MPLA. The Rhodesian Army worked with the MPLA to destroy the insurgents as they fled across the border7. By 1966 the guerrilla threat in north Angola had been eliminated and peace returned to Portuguese Angola. The destruction of the MPLA forged relations between Portugal and Rhodesia and also taught the Rhodesian Army many counter insurgency tactics for which it would become famous. The Rhodesian Army would continue fighting on the eastern frontier in 1967 against insurgents fighting the Portuguese in Mozambique. 60,000 Portuguese troops were able to return home in 1968 as the fighting moved to the very north of Mozambique8. Tanzania would continue to harbor insurgents and terrorists but with the Rhodesians securing their border the Portuguese were able to hold back the insurgents indefinitely. The war would continue into the 1970’s however. Rhodesia’s growing violence against black insurgents saw it become increasingly outcast through the 1960’s as the west tried to distance itself. Starting in 1967 there was increasing talk in London of booting Rhodesia from the commonwealth. In 1969 Rhodesia withdrew from the commonwealth following a referendum on independence. Rhodesia reformed its constitution as a presidential republic with Ian Smith sworn in as the 1st President of Rhodesia in 1970. In 1966 the UN passed resolution 2145 which stated that South Africa had no right to govern the province of South-West Africa which it had taken from Germany in 1915. South Africa refused to give up power however which inspired the once peaceful South West Africa People’s Organisation to mutate into the militant People’s Liberation Army of Namibia. The PLAN would wage a guerrilla campaign against Cape Town for decades to come. At the same time South Africa’s nuclear weapons program was progressing. Working with assistance from the US, Israel and Pakistan, South Africa had been working towards a bomb since 1948. Intense international pressure shut down the South African test sights but didn’t stop them 7 In OTL Zambia (TTL’s Northern Rhodesia) provided a safe haven for the MPLA which protracted the conflict until the Portuguese couldn’t fight anymore. In TTL no safe haven means defeat for the MPLA. 8 About half the Portuguese Army at the time. 5 Carpathia2013 from conducting a covert nuclear weapons test in the Indian ocean with their Israeli friends in 1979.
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