UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2007 A failed experiment in imperial governance: The Central African Federation (1953--1963) Blake Sherer University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Sherer, Blake, "A failed experiment in imperial governance: The Central African Federation (1953--1963)" (2007). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2263. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/vias-hcej This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A FAILED EXPERIMENT IN IMPERIAL GOVERNANCE: THE CENTRAL AFRICAN FEDERATION (I953-I963) by Blake Sherer Bachelor of Science The University of Alabama 2005 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in History Department of History College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1452275 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. 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Thesis Approval The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas November 5th , 20 07 The Thesis prepared by BLAKE SHERER Entitled A Failed Experiment in Imperial Governance; The Central African Federation— (1953-1963) is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in History____________________ îxamination Committee Chair Dean of the Graduate College ihation C^nmittee I^mhe] Examination Committee Member Graduate College Faculty Ksp^sentative 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract A Failed Experiment in Imperial Governance: The Central African Federation (1953-1963) by Blake Sherer Dr. Michelle Tusan, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas This work foremost attempts to understand why federation failed in British Central Africa. Federations had been implemented throughout the British Empire to great success, for nearly a century. As such, this project frames the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland within the larger relationship of Great Britain and its overseas holdings. Of particular interest is the assignment of power to the colonies and the métropole in determining the institution’s structure and collapse. This project will argue that contrary to previous histories on the Federation, institutional failures were not the root causes of disintegration. Larger ideologieal forces were at play on the African continent. The lack of firm support for multiracialism by the British government and the general pubic left the Federation at the whim of white and black nationalisms. Fundamental to this ideological struggle was a shift away from Great 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Britain as the métropole, with the colonies themselves becoming the center. This led to a nascent national identity, particularly among white settlers. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. I Historical Literature on the Federation ................................................................................ 3 Methodology ............................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2 HISTORY OF NYASALAND AND THE RHODESIAS.............................. 7 Nyasaland .................................................................................................................................7 Northern Rhodesia ................................................................................................................ 10 Southern Rhodesia ................................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 3 HISTORIOGRAPHY OF BRITISH IMPERIAL FEDERATIONS............ 17 American Origins .................................................................................................................. 17 British Métropole .................................................................................................................. 19 Colonial Perspective .............................................................................................................22 Web of Power for Minorities .............................................................................................. 23 Geography ..............................................................................................................................24 Federation Historiography ...................................................................................................25 CHAPTER 4 IDEOLOGIES IN BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA 1953-1963....................31 Minority Rule ........................................................................................................................ 31 Majority Rule .........................................................................................................................32 Multiracialism........................................................................................................................35 CHAPTER 5 PUBLIC OPINION IN THE FEDERATION................................................. 39 Religious Community ...........................................................................................................39 Business Community ............................................................................................................44 Farmers................................................................................................................................... 50 Africans.................................................................................................................................. 55 Upper-Classes of British Society ........................................................................................59 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 62 CHAPTER 6 PRINTED MEDIA IN THE FEDERATION..................................................64 History of Newspaper Industry ...........................................................................................67 Northern Rhodesia ................................................................................................................ 69 Southern Rhodesia ................................................................................................................ 79 Nyasaland ...............................................................................................................................82 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. 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Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 86 Images ............... 88 CHAPTER 7 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF THE FEDERATION ............................102 Imperial Context ..................................................................................................................103 Justifications for Closer Association ................................................................................105 Run-up to Federation ..........................................................................................................107 Federation’s Pinnacle ......................................................................................................... 114 Stress Fractures....................................................................................................................118 Larger Forces at Work ........................................................................................................119