Founding of a Nation
Rhodesia 1889 - 1922

The history of Rhodesia goes back to 1889, when Cecil John Rhodes secured a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria, to explore and develop the land north of the Limpopo River. He formed the British South Africa Company (BSAC) for this purpose. 

On the 13th September 1890, Lieutenant Tyndale - Biscoe of the BSAC Pioneer column, hoisted the Union Jack on a tree at the site which was to become Salisbury, the capital of Rhodesia. This embryonic city was named in honour of the then British Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury.

Pioneer Settlers in Rhodesia (click image for larger view)

Rhodes and his Pioneers went into unknown territory, a land full dangers. The Matabele people had just recently arrived in the western region. They were a faction of the Zulu nation who had broken away after a dispute with their King, Shaka. To the east lay an area occupied by bands of wandering tribesman, the Shona, who had migrated south from the north and east. 

The Shona had forcibly dispossessed the original inhabitants of the area, the gentle Kung San people, better known to Westerners as 'Bushmen'. These people were driven into modern day Botswana and Namibia, whilst the Shona settled on their ancestral land. The Matabele arriving at a later date than the Shona, in turn drove the Shona peoples from the western area of the Shona colonized Kung San lands, and colonized those lands themselves. 

The initial period of white settlement met with the usual problems of establishing a new territory. During this time a short war occured with the Matabele, they were quickly pacified and subdued.

A lingering dissatisfaction among the Matabele led to an uprising in 1896, which also surprisingly involved some of the Shona people. The Shona were generally welcoming of the white men, Rhodes protected them from the ravages of the fierce Matabele, who had regularly raided them for women and cattle. If the white men had not arrived when they did, it is probable that the Shona peoples would have been driven into modern day Mozambique by the expanding Matabele.

The Matabele were quickly pacified by Rhodes, the Shona elements took a little while longer to subdue. After the uprising finished in 1897, peace reigned for a very long time. Indeed, it wasn't until 1962  that the police were again in need of a recourse to arms. This was due to black radicals, sponsored by the Soviet Bloc, using violence in their quest for founding a Marxist state in Rhodesia,

Rhodes pioneers gradually spread out over the new territory in search of gold. There were very few conflicts with the local population, as they themselves were not interested in digging in the ground for gold. They found the white mans fascination for the material very strange. The natives were happy enough though to work at this strange new task, and for the first time earn money and join in the new adventure of buying and selling. This was something which had previously been unknown to them.

Land in the new territory was extremely plentiful, the whole area of modern day Rhodesia contained only around 295,000 people. There were no problems in raising good quality crops on the fertile soils. The native peoples only used basic wooden farming implements, and so preferred to work the light sandy or loam soils. The white man on the other hand used metal agricultural implements, and so prefered the heavier soils that were of little interest to the natives.

The settlers who came to this territory were adventurers, the kind of people who thrived on a challenge, and possessed a strong will to succeed. They were filled with a passion to make a better life for themselves and their families, in this raw and untamed new land of Rhodesia.

Along with these settlers came the ideals and standards of the British Empire, a positive force for good in the world. The British introduced such concepts as, proper standards of freedom and justice, and the basics of education, health and hygiene. The new Rhodesians constructed railways, paved roads and modern infrastructure.

Due to its establishment by the British South Africa Company, Rhodesia was never governed directly from Whitehall and was not a British colony. Rather it was a self governing dominion, in the same way that Canada, Australia and New Zealand were.

By the end of the First World War, Rhodesia was prospering and the people were beginning to speak of governing themselves. The economy was well managed, development was planned and there was steady progress. Race relations were harmonious and it must not be forgotten, Rhodesians had made a first class contribution to Britains war effort. With this kind of record, the British Government were extremely supportive of a move towards self government.

Following negotiations with both the British Government and the British South Africa Company, it was decided that Rhodesians should be given the option of either joining the Union of South Africa, or being granted what was termed "responsible government".

This "responsible government" was described as being a unique kind of dominion status, whereby the British Government would look after Rhodesia's exterior diplomatic and foreign affairs, thus providing Rhodesia with the benefit of not having to fund expensive overseas missions around the world, yet still enable Rhodesia to attain the recognition and status of a dominion.

These two options were put to the Rhodesian people at a vote in 1922. The Rhodesian people overwhelmingly chose the route of "responsible government", with the aspiration of building a nation the equal of the other dominions.