THE accession of territories governed by the British South Africa Company (BSAC)was explicitly provisioned for by Section 150 of the South Africa Act 1909, the British Act of Parliament, which created the union in 1910 by consolidating the Empire’s Colonies of Cape, Natal, Orange River and Transvaal into a unified dominion. 

Originally the BSAC was against Southern Rhodesia’s inclusion, fearing the territory’s potential domination by Afrikaners, but regressed in 1918, when the Privy Council in London ruled that unalienated land in the Rhodesias was owned not by the Company, but by the Crown. 

The loss of the ability to raise funds through the sale of land hampered the BSAC’s ability to pay dividends to its shareholders and slowed down its envisioned development of Southern Rhodesia. 

Believing that membership in the newly-formed Union of South Africa could help solve their problems, the BSAC now backed Southern Rhodesia’s incorporation as South Africa’s fifth province.

However, this prospect proved unpopular among Southern Rhodesia’s white settlers, most of whom wanted self-government.

On October 27 1922, a referendum was held on the colony’s future, at the suggestion of Winston Churchill, the then Britain’s Secretary for the Colonies; the responsible government won by 59 percent. 

Southern Rhodesia was duly annexed by the Empire on September  12 1923, and granted full self-government on October 1 the same year.

The Responsible Government in Southern Rhodesia was in power from the end of British South Africa Company (BSAC) rule in 1923 to the beginning of UDI in 1965. 

During this period, Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing colony of Britain and was more representative of the white population. 

The new Southern Rhodesian government immediately purchased the land from the  British Treasury for £2million; 10 years later it paid the same sum to the BSAC for the country’s mineral rights. 

In 1939, though uninvolved in foreign affairs, under the United Party, led by Dr Godfrey Huggins, (1883–1971), Southern Rhodesia felt obliged to follow Britain’s lead, and once again enthusiastically supported ‘the mother country’ during the Second World War, symbolically affirming Britain’s Declaration of War before any other part of the British Empire.

During the ensuing conflict over 26 100 Southern Rhodesians of all races served in the armed forces; pro ratato white population a higher contribution of manpower than any other British colony or dominion, and more than the United Kingdom itself.

In 1941, King George VI knighted Godfrey Huggins-Southern Rhodesia’s Prime Minister. 

While the war was still going on, Britain made propositions towards dominion status. Huggins dismissed this, saying it was imperative to first win the war.

The idea of dominion-ship was raised again in 1952; but Salisbury (Harare) once more did not pursue it, instead following the results of a referendum held early in April 1953, on whether to enter a semi-independent Federation with the directly-administered British colonies of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland.  

The merger was bitterly rejected by indigenous nationalists in all three states.

A month after the referendum,Southern Rhodesia became part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland with Salisbury (Harare), designated as the Federal Capital and a number of its powers transferred to the Federal Government.  

These included control of the armed forces, external affairs, European broadcasting and the development of communications, finance, power and industry.  

In August 1953,G. M. Huggins became the amalgamated body’s first Prime Minister. By the end of 1963, the ill-fated federation was defunct. 

In 1961, following a referendum, a new constitution was granted by the British government which purported to give independence to Rhodesia in all matters other than “those affecting the sovereign, the governor and external affairs”; and which would bring Africans into the legislative assembly for the first time. 

When the final constitution was granted, however, two additional clauses that had not been agreed to during constitutional meetings had been inserted giving the British the right to add to, or revoke, important sections of the constitution by means of an Order-In-Council; and the right to appeal to the British Privy Council on any dispute involving the declaration of rights. 

This ‘right’ gave the Privy Council power to declare an Act of the Rhodesian Parliament invalid, although it had no connection with the sovereign, governor or ‘external affairs’.

In 1962, the Rhodesian Front came into power and endeavoured to renegotiate for independence for Rhodesia under the 1961 constitution.  

By 1965 it became clear to the Rhodesian government that the British government had no intention of granting independence to Rhodesia, the former made a unilateral declaration of independence – UDI.

The 1961 constitution was then amended to remove the powers retained by the British sovereign and government and to establish Rhodesia as a fully independent state. 

Subsequent to a further referendum, Rhodesia became a republic under the 1969 constitution in 1970.

The constitutional changes adopted as the result of a referendum split the non-racial (though qualified) electoral roll into graduated ‘A’ and ‘B’ rolls; the latter had lower qualifications, and was claimed to be intended to “cater for prospective indigenous voters, who had previously not qualified”.

Dr. Michelina Rudo Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian Researcher, Industrial Design Consultant, Lecturer and Specialist Hospitality Interior Decorator.  She is a published author in her field.  For Comments E-mail: linamanucci@gmail.com