The Rhodesian Bush War C aim – to explain the causes, main events, nature and ending of

the war B/A aim – to explain the causes, main events, nature and ending

of the war in detail

• What do you know about this war so far?

• When was the war?

• Write down key points from this video.

• https://vimeo.com/40720614

What caused the Rhodesian Bush War?

Who fought the war?

• National Front

• Zimbabwe African People’s Union – ZAPU

• Zimbabwe African National Union – ZANU – more inward looking, leftist, pan-Africanist, included Mugabe.

• These sides later unite to become ZANLA.

What tactics were used?

• Guerrilla warfare• anthrax

A white soldier interrogates Rhodesian villagers about terrorist activity in late 1977. This photograph would become one of the most enduring images of the bush war.

Events

• Civil disobedience – 1957-1964 – attacks, boycotts, organising political groups which were then banned.

Attacks began on white settlers in 1961 and any black Africans who identified with them.

• First Phase 1964-1972 – nationalists getting stronger, in two groups, National Front hit by sanctions, black

nationalists hid in Mozambique

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlIoaN50s1o

Stage two 1972-1977 • About even• ZAPU and ZANU united into ZANLA to defeat the National Front. • Mozambique shut its borders to the white Rhodesians as they had now

got their independence with a black majority. The white Rhodesians kept crossing the border to raid ZANLA camps.

• South Africa built new oil pipes to supply Rhodesia with oil – this was more expensive and couldn’t be maintained long-term. Unexplained snarl ups from South Africa due to the destabilising influence of the National Front began in 1976

• Britain and the US kept trying to get both sides to agree to a peace settlement, but the Rhodesian government were unwilling to relinquish political and economic control, and the black nationalists were bitterly divided by feudal, tribal, and political differences.

• Britain didn’t take any stronger action due to the socialist sympathies of ZANLA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYL6aTK3k6Y 2mins 50s

Stage three

• Final Phase 1977-1979 – – South Africa withdrawing support for the National

Front as they were such a destabilising influence on the region. They began to support Bishop Muzowera

– Mozambique supporting ZANLA more – ZANLA winning

– Why did the National Front decide to negotiate an end to the war?

Why did the Rhodesian Bush War last so long?

• National Front were quite strong as they experienced incomplete sanctions, had the reluctant support of South Africa (as wanted to help the white settlers but also didn’t want them to treat the black Africans so badly that they would overthrow the white settlers and establish a Marxist regime), had very committed white Rhodesian soldiers, but had a generalistic aim of maintaining the status quo

• ZANU and ZAPU were quite strong because they had more men, support of Marxists from Mozambique from 1976, clear aim of overthrowing white minority rule, sanctions radicalised black Rhodesians to support ZANU and ZAPU but they were divided until 1976, in 1976 the Patriotic Front was formed (unification of ZANU and ZAPU), got weapons through sympathetic Mozambique and other powers

How did South Africa’s involvement affect the Rhodesian Bush War?

• Refused to observe UN sanctions – some say Rhodesia would only have lasted months without it.

• Before 1976 Rhodesia got most of their oil from Mozambique. Then Mozambique became independent and closed its borders and refused to let any goods get through to Rhodesia. Then South Africa quickly built a railway to provide the oil.

• It was more expensive to reroute trade through South Africa – the ports were much more congested.

• South Africa pressured Rhodesia to end the war from 1976 as they believed Rhodesia had gone too far by going into Mozambique to kill ZAPU insurgents and they felt they were a destabilising nation. America had also told South Africa that they would face serious sanctions next if they kept trading with Rhodesia. Rhodesia started to experience ‘unexplained’ snarl-ups in the South African transport system – oil and arms were particularly affected. Rhodesian exports piled up in South African ports and South African loans came to a halt. If the Mozambique border was still open Rhodesia may have been able to withstand this.

• South Africa financed the first black Rhodesian PM Bishop Muzorewa as they felt he would be more stabilising. South Africa had never recognised Ian Smith’s government.

What was the Lancaster House Agreement? After two failed conferences convened by the United Kingdom in 1976 and 1977 in

Geneva and Malta, increasing international pressure finally led to the 1979 “constitutional conference” at Lancaster House in London. By this time the white minority government had conceded nominal power to Bishop Abel Muzorewa, leading a black civilian government elected in a non-racial election in which the liberation movements did not participate as a result of a combination of self-denial and exclusion. This failed to end the war as the patriotic front felt that Muzorewa was a puppet, but for the UK and the West it created a “recognizable” Rhodesia–Zimbabwe. In these circumstances a constitution was reluctantly accepted and a ceasefire concluded between the liberation movements and the Muzorewa regime on 28 December 1979. (Ironically the UK, under whose ultimate colonial legal authority most of the land had been alienated, was able to cast itself in the role of arbitrator and mediator at Lancaster House. Lord Carrington and his team earned much praise for their use of “dominant third-party mediation”. This enabled Britain to avoid any further formal responsibility for reconciliation in Zimbabwe.) The Lancaster House Agreement created a constitution for an independent Zimbabwe, based on majority rule. However, it granted the white Zimbabweans significant minority rights: 20 seats out of 100 in the first parliament and, even more important, a strict and detailed protection of commercial farmland. Rhodesian perpetrators of human rights violations were allowed to go unpunished. All this came in the name of reconciliation.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsPdBCziyxw

Plan an answer to one of these questions.

• How far do you agree that Rhodesian white minority rule was able to last so long primarily because of divisions amongst African nationalists?

• To what extent was South Africa’s withdrawal of support responsible for the Rhodesian government’s decision to negotiate black majority rule in the years 1976–80?

• How far do you agree that white minority rule persisted in Southern Rhodesia in the years to 1980 mainly because of the influence of the apartheid regime in South Africa?

Homework – due Thursday 12th March Answer one of these questions which you didn’t plan earlier.

• How far do you agree that Rhodesian white minority rule was able to last so long primarily because of divisions amongst African nationalists?

• To what extent was South Africa’s withdrawal of support responsible for the Rhodesian government’s decision to negotiate black majority rule in the years 1976–80?

• How far do you agree that white minority rule persisted in Southern Rhodesia in the years to 1980 mainly because of the influence of the apartheid regime in South Africa?

• Tomorrow’s lesson period 5 – lesson as normal, Mr Johnston is with the year 13s for the day so I will be teaching you.

• Give me the homework on...– 40 marker

Causes Early Unrest

Stage One

Stage Two

Stage Three

Lancaster

House Agreement

Why did it last so long....

South Africa’s involvement....