Rhodesia

The Federation of Rhodesia, Nyasaland and Botswana, also known as the Rhodesia or the Central African Federation, is the a country in Southern Africa. It is bounded on the west by the Angola and Namibia, on the north by the neighboring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania, on the east by Zambezi and Mozambique, and to the south by South Africa. Rhodesia has a population of roughly 47 million. About 93 percent of Rhodesian's are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages. The remaining population consists of Africa's second largest communities of European (white), and Coloured. Rhodesia is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution. The national language of the country is English and uses the language for business, diplomatic, and educational uses. A vast majority of the population speaks English as either a first or a second language.

The area of Africa now known as Rhodesia was settled by migrating Bantu groups around the 10th century. Centuries later in late 19th century the area was colonised by the British. In 1953 North Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland, became a part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, a semi-independent Federation. Bechuanaland was added to the federation in 1956. Due to external and internal pressure, the United Kingdom held a referendum within the Federation for the colonies to become an independent Federation or to become independent countries. An overwhelming majority voted to continue with the federation, a campaign led by Sir Sereste Khama. Khama was rebuked by South Africa because of his British wife, however led negotiations in London for the new Constitution for the Federation, and became the countries first president. The Federation became independent within the Commonwealth on 24 August 1962. Since then, it has maintained a strong tradition of stable representative democracy, with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections.

Rhodesia is a a large country of over 47 million people. Formerly one of the poorest countries in the world—with a GDP per capita of about US$150 per year in the late 1960s—Rhodesia has since transformed itself into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The economy is dominated by mining, cattle, finance, manufacturing, and tourism. Rhodesia boasts a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $14,833 per year as of 2017, which is one of the highest in Africa. Its high gross national income (by some estimates the fourth-largest in Africa) gives the country a modest standard of living and the highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan Africa, being the first country to achieve a high HDI in 2017.

Rhodesia is a member of United Nations, African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Southern African Development Community. The World Bank classifies Rhodesia as an upper-middle-income economy, and classified it as a newly industrialised country in 2016. Its economy is the third-largest in Africa. Rhodesia is referred to as one of the most developed countries in Africa due to it's high quality infrastructure system and relatively wealthy cities. Rhodesia has been able to eliminate most internal poverty through several programs such as the Rhodesian Housing Service. Nevertheless, slums still can be found in Lusaka and Salisbury as migrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and other countries move to Rhodesia for economic opportunities. Rhodesia has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence.

Colonial History
In 1923, John Alexander, an immigrant from Britain found gold in his farm in the Victoria Province of Southern Rhodesia. Two other men, both in the Habtley province of Southern Rhodesia also struck gold. By 1925, prospectors from Britain, Australia, Canada, and South Africa were flooding into Southern Rhodesia looking for more gold. By 1930, over 200,000 people came to Southern Rhodesia looking for further gold. However many also began to come and look for new land, outside of South Africa. However immigration continued to rise to Southern Rhodesia, and soon people began moving north and east into Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland where land was also suitable for growing cash crops.

In 1953, the British established the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in order to federate their remaining colonies in Southern Africa. While Bechuanaland was not initially a part of the Federation, mainly because of it's demographic differences, it was added to the Federation in 1956 after the British feared that it would be abosrbed into South Africa where racial relations were growing worse. Immigration jumped to the new Federation, as it was seen as a new alternative to South Africa. The land was plentiful and the climate was temperate, and able to grow major cash crops such as Tobacco. By 1960, the white population in the Federation was nearly 2.5 million people, with 1.5 million living in Southern Rhodesia, 1 million living in Northern Rhodesia, 400,000 living in Nyasaland, and 100,000 living in Bechuanaland.

Independence
By the late 1950's, movements, mainly led by Sereste Khama, Hastings Banda, and Kenneth Kaunda began advocating for universal suffrage in the Federation. While Banda and Khama both supported the Federation for economic reasons, Kaunda led a sizable minority group which wanted to breakup the federation into several small African run nation states. Protests were mainly peaceful as the British government was cautious about citing an uprising in the Federation like the Mau Mau uprising.

In 1961, British leaders led by Harold McMillian decided to respond to growing frustrations in the Federation. Their main focus was to keep the Federation in tact, despite increasing frustrations from the African population, and calls by some for independent nations with universal suffrage. However most whites wanted to keep the Federation in tact because it was economically beneficial. However they hoped that the British would bring either Tanganyika or Zambezi into the Federation in order for it to have a seaport and quit being reliant on South Africa. The British also wanted to keep the Federation in tact while also pleasing the African population.

In February of 1961, the British convened the Victoria Falls Convention, and invited six African revolutionaries and six White leaders of the Federation. Among attendance was Sereste Khama of Bechuanaland, Hastings Banda of Nyasaland, Harry Nkumbula of Northern Rhodesia, and Johnathan Lewanika of Southern Rhodesia. Immediately the British announced their intent to make the Federation independent, and planned on gradually allowing universal suffrage in the new constitution. This was something that African's were split on. The British wanted to see the gradual move to suffrage because they feared that immediate suffrage could allow a communist government to take over, and force millions of British citizens into exile in South Africa. The believed that immediately suffrage would lead to the Africanization of the country which by many means was one of the most developed in all of Africa. And some believed that in the whole process, the whites, fearful of losing their power might enact Apartheid in Rhodesia and become part of South Africa or leave the commonwealth. However Khama argued that his Democratic Party was in the center, supported capitalist principles and ideology, and did not wish to Africanize the country because it would mean the alienation of the country's largest economic group. He also argued that the Democratic Party was by far the most successful party among African Rhodesian's. However the British, along with white leaders remained adamant on gradual suffrage, saying it was the only way to ensure the country did not turn to communism or to white rule. Allowing whites to remain in the government and for an easy transition, doesn't invoke the same fear of losing power as an immediately transition to majority rule. Khama, Banda, Nkumbula, and Lewanika all agreed to a new independent Federation, and the British began to write the constitution.

The new constitution was revolutionary in many sense. It set up a new Federation in Southern Africa, which each Dominion or Protectorate becoming a state. It created new fair districts based strictly on real population. In one way, it protected the rights of natives, and made them citizens of the country. It also had a U.S. style Bill of Rights which ensured the freedom of speech, religion, press, and peaceful protest. It also protected against unlawful searches and seizures which is widely considered to be beneficial to the peace of mind of the white inhabitants, because the government could not confiscate and redistribute their lands. The constitution favored the Constitution of Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Transition Period
The transition period for the Federation was widely considered as the most important period in the newly independent Federation. Britain, as well as the Organization of African Unity, and South Africa all watched closely to see if the agreement would pull through. While outwardly, South Africa supported the new constitution, the National Party heavily supported the Rhodesia Party headed by Ian Smith, which wanted to continue minority-white rule and apartheid through a Republican referendum, thus making the new constitution void.

The newly formed United Party gained a majority of the Parliament seats in the 1962 elections. However the Democratic Party, led by Sereste Khama (now Governor of Bechuanaland) gained official opposition status. This put Rhodesian in a cooperative position, as the Democratic Party was Center and the United Party was Center-Left, meaning that they agreed on many issues. However the Rhodesia Party and the Conservative Party both pushed backlash to the new United Party-Democratic Party coalition, mainly for being the first jointly-black and white coalition group.

Khama Prime Ministership
In 1972, the Democratic Party gained majority status in the Parliament, with Khama becoming Prime Minister. The United Party became official opposition, the African National Congress becoming the second largest minority party, followed by the Conservative Party. The Rhodesia Party continued having large losses as much of the white nationalists in Rhodesia left for South Africa. During Khama's time as Prime-Minister, the country had major economic growth, largely in newly named Botswana, and Nyasaland. Khama also instituted strong measures against corruption, promised low and stable taxes to a wide swath of companies, liberalized trade, and increased personal freedoms with two new amendments to the constitution.

The small public service was transformed into an efficient and relatively corruption-free bureaucracy with workers hired based on merit. Calls to immediately "indigenize" the bureaucracy were resisted, and the government retained foreign expatriates working in the bureaucracy until suitably qualified locals could be found to replace them. Khama and his people also drew on international advisers and consultants. Mining companies were encouraged to search the country for more resources, leading to the discovery of additional copper, nickel, and coal deposits.

Between 1966 and 1980 Rhodesia had the fastest-growing economy in the world. This growth was primarily driven by mining, and the government acted to gain a greater percentage of its revenue. The customs union between the Federation and South Africa was renegotiated in 1975, after it had become clear how productive these mines were, to guarantee itself 50% of the revenues. By the mid-1970s, the Federation had a budget surplus.

The government used these revenues to heavily invest in the expansion of infrastructure, health care, and the education system, resulting in further economic development. In particular, the government invested in other sources of economic growth. The cattle and tobacco industry was heavily subsidized, with the government nationalizing the country's lone slaughterhouse and building two more, heavily subsidizing veterinary services, vaccines, and cattle fence construction. It set up the Rhodesian Meat Commission as the sole seller of beef in the country, setting prices and selling beef to regional and international markets. With Khama's direct intervention, it negotiated a lucrative trade deal with the European Economic Community, gaining prices far above world levels.

However Khama spent very little on defense during his tenure, as most of the budget was spent on development. However the Federation did not allow militant groups to operate within their borders, including Angolan UNITA, and Mozambican FRELIMO.

Khama died on July 13, 1980 from Pancreatic Cancer. Quett Masire became Prime Minister after Khama's death and remained Prime Minister until 1987.