First published in 1975, The Rhodesian Problem presents a documentary record of Rhodesia from the establishment of the Crown colony in 1923 to the illegal declaration of independence in 1965 and the post-independence efforts for a settlement of the conflict. The documents chart the gradual development of conflict between the ruling white minority and the black majority. They illustrate the methods adopted by the Smith government to maintain effective power in the face of United Nations and British government sanctions and increasing opposition from the indigenous black population. The main objectives of Rhodesian policy during the period under review were the achievement of independence from Britain; the expansion to the north to create a ‘greater Rhodesia’ dominion in central Africa, including the wealth of the Copperbelt; and the preservation of a society in which white minority rule was based upon a system of rigid racial segregation.
There are over 60 documents, ranging from the Buxton committee report of 1921 through to an estimate of the contemporary situation by Peter Niesewand, the journalist who was imprisoned by the Smith regime in 1973. They cover many shades of opinion including UN resolutions, official Rhodesian government propaganda, and statements from the African opposition, and the collection provides overall a dramatic account of the Rhodesian problem. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of history and international politics.
Part 1: A ‘Self-Governing colony’ 1. The Buxton Committee Report, 1921 2. The Letters Patent, 1923 3. Correspondence on a Settlement with the British South Africa Company, 1923 Part 2. White Settler ‘Imperialism’ v. British Trusteeship 4. The Bledisloe Commission Report, 1939 5. Report of the Conference on Federation, 1953 6. Report of the Monckton Commission, 1960 Part 3. Party Politics 7. Edgar Whitehead, address to the UN Trusteeship Committee, 1962 8. Rhodesian Front, Principles and Policies, 1973 9. Davis M’Gabe, ‘Rhodesia’s African Majority’, Africa Report, February 1967 10. African National Council Manifesto, 1972 Part 4: The Constitutional system 11. Report of the Constitutional Conference, 1961 12. Eshmael M’lambo, ‘A Measure of “Civilization”’, The Times, 16 November 1971 13. Rhodesian Front, Proposals for a New Constitution, 1969 14. Ian Smith, broadcast to the nation, 20 May 1969 15. Ahrn Palley, Parliamentary Debates, 8 October 1969 Part 5: Security and Repression 16. The Law and Order (Maintenance) Act, Parliamentary Debates, 1960 and 1968 17. The Chief Justice (Tredgold), The Rhodesia That was My Life, 1968 18. Claire Palley, ‘Law and the Unequal society’, Race, July 1970 19. Court Trial Proceedings against Moto, Newsbrief Rhodesia, May 1973 Part 6: Apartheid: The Ideological Basis 20. Sir Godfrey Huggins, Native Policy in Southern Rhodesia, 1941 21. Ian Smith, Parliamentary Debates, 2 August 1967 22. Rev. Banana (ANC), Moto, 26 August 1972 Part 7: Apartheid: The Practical Application 23. K. E. E. Brown, Land in Southern Rhodesian, 1959 24. Guy Clutton-Brock, Let Tangwena Be, 1969 25. The Land Tenure Act, Parliamentary Debates, 15 October 1969 26. Peter Gibbs, ‘The New Industrial Conciliation Bill’, Central African Examiner, 28 February 1959 27. P. F. Sithole, ‘Labour Problems’, Rhodesian Journal of Economics, December 1972 28. ‘Rhodesia’s Labour Calm’, Financial Mail (Johannesburg), 5 April 1973 29. Report of UN Commission on Human Rights, 1971–3 30. Judges’ Report, Education Commission, 1962 31. African Education, Parliamentary Debates, 20 April 1966 32. ‘African Education’, Zimbabwe Review, 30 August 1969 33. UNESCO Report, 25 January 1973 34. Jack Halpern, ‘Polarisation in Rhodesia: State, Church and People’, The World Today, January 1971 35. Municipal Amendment Act, 1967, and Ministerial Statement, Parliamentary Debates, 7 November 1967 36. UN Secretariat, Objective: Justice, April–June 1973 Part 8: The Independence Issue 37. Documents on the Negotiations, 1963–5 38. Labour Government Statement, 27 October 1964 39. The Rhodesian UDI, 11 November 1965 40. Proposals for a Settlement, 1966 41. Leo Baron, ‘The 1961 Constitution and the Tiger Proposals’, The World Today, September 1967 42. The Perace Report on Rhodesian Opinion, May 1972 43. Ian Smith, broadcast to the nation, 23 May 1972 Part 9: The World Outside 44. Prime Minister’s address to UN General Assembly, 16 December 1965 45. ‘A Hard Look at Sanctions’, Financial Times, 23 June 1969 46. Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conferences, Final Communiqués, January and September 1966 47. James Barber, ‘The Impact on the Commonwealth’, Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies, July 1969 48. Resolution on Zimbabwe and Memorandum from the President of Tanzania, Africa Contemporary Record, 1972–73 49. Anirudha Gupta, ‘The Rhodesian Crisis and the OAU’, International Studies, July 1967 50. Guy Arnold and Alan Baldwin, Token Sanctions or Total Economic Warfare, September 1972 51. UN Security council Resolution, 22 May 1973 Part 10. The Liberation Movement: ‘Terrorists’ or ‘Freedom Fighters’? 52. Note to the United Kingdom, 28 August 1967 53. Police and Defence Reports, 1967–71 54. State of Emergency, Parliamentary Debates, 16 June 1972 55. ZAPU/ZANU Statements to the UN/OAU Conference on Southern Africa, Oslo, April 1973 56. Peter Niesewand, ‘What Smith Really Faces’, Africa Report, March–April 1973
Biography
Elaine Windrich was formerly Professor of Political Science at Stanford University, USA.
