The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

[aaronkiker]

1. 00:10 “Conducted a referendum in 1923 to end British rule and establish a new constitution.

Incorrect and/or inaccurate:
a. There was no British rule at that time. The referendum was to end rule by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) and institute self-government by the white settlers. In Zimbabwe history, the British era prior to 1923 is commonly known as the “Period of Company rule.”
b. Administraton passed directly from the BSAC to the white settlers. In fact, Britain never directly ruled Southern Rhodesia except for a brief period prior to independence in 1980. Britain's parliament had “reserve powers” to legislate for Southern Rhodesia but never used them.
c. “And establish a new constitution” The 1923 constitution was the first one for Southern Rhodesia so they can’t be said to have established “a new constitution.”

2. 00:33 White settlers devised a plan to expand their territory by merging with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

Incorrect: A proposed merger (called amalgamation) was discussed but not carried out. Even in that era, Britain was against such a merger in which Africans would not be seen to benefit. This is an error in your analysis which leaves out the unique structure of the federal government. The Federation maintained the separate territorial governments and borders.

a. Therefore the Federation had two prime ministers:
i. A Federation prime minister and
ii. A prime minister for Southern Rhodesia (which it had since 1923),
b. The Federation had four governors:
i. Because Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing colony (as established in 1923, its governor acted as a figurehead constitutional monarch with executive power residing the Southern Rhodesia Prime Minister
ii. Because Northern Rhodesia was a protectorate in which African affairs ostensibly took precedence over settler affairs (native paramountcy), the governor exercised executive power over Northern Rhodesia’s government.
iii. Because Nyasaland was a protectorate in which African affairs ostensibly took precedence over settler affairs (native paramountcy), , the governor exercised executive power over Nyasaland’s government.
iv. The Federation itself had one Governor-general (for the federation).
c. The Federation had four legislatures:
i. There was a unicameral Federal Assembly,
ii. A parliament for Southern Rhodesia (established in 1923)
iii. A legislative council for Northern Rhodesia and
iv. A legislative council for Nyasaland.
d. The Federaton had four supreme courts, divided similarly as the other parts of the Federal government

3. 00:56: The wealth produced in Northern Rhodesia was used to fund projects benefitting Southern Rhodesia, such as the Kariba Dam.

Inaccurate: The Kariba Dam is on the border between Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), thus,
a. Both countries benefitted from the electrical power, water supply, fishing industry and tourism at the lake (Kariba) created by the dam.
b. According to the Handbook of the Federation, Northern Rhodesia was only one of several contributors to Kariba and its contribution was in line with Northern Rhodesia’s stated need for a cheap supply of electricity to power the copper mines.

4. 1:21 After the dissolution of the Federation (1963) the British tried to persuade the white settlers of Southern Rhodesia to give Africans more power. The group led by prime minister Garfield Todd supported giving more rights to Africans but was voted out in 1959.

Out of sequence and inaccurate:
a. Narrator stated Britain wanted the Federation to give Africans more power after Federation’s dissolution in 1963 and that Garfield Todd tried to do this but Garfield Todd served and left office all PRIOR to the Federation’s dissolution.
b. The narrator also states Todd left office in 1959, he left in 1958.

5. 2:06 The leaders formed a new party, ZAPU and in 1962, Joshua Nkomo was elected President.

Potentially confusing. Suggest stating that Joshua Nkomo was elected “President of ZAPU, ” to prevent those unfamiliar with Zimbabwe history from mistakenly thinking he was elected “president of Zimbabwe.”

[Wilhelm]

the Kariba dam benefited N. Rhodesia as well. In S. Rhodesia many blacks were not in favour of dissolution. They weren't exploited and oppressed under Mugabe?