Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland - Dissolution

Dissolution

By the early 1960s, Macmillan went on his famous African tour leading to his Wind of Change speech in the parliament of the Cape. Change was well underway. By 1960, French African colonies had already become independent. Belgium more hastily vacated its colony and thousands of European refugees fled the Belgian Congo from the brutalities of the civil war and into Southern Rhodesia.

During the Congolese crisis, Africans increasingly viewed CAF Prime Minister, Sir Roy Welensky, as an arch-reactionary and his support for Katanga separatism added to this. Ironically, a few years later, in his by-election campaign against Ian Smith’s Rhodesian Front, RF supporters heckled the comparatively moderate Welensky with cries of 'bloody Jew,' 'Communist,' and 'traitor'.

The new Commonwealth Secretary, Duncan Sandys, negotiated the '1961 Constitution', a new constitution for the CAF which greatly reduced Britain's powers over it. But by 1962, the British and the CAF cabinet had agreed that Nyasaland should be allowed to secede, though Southern Rhodesian Premier Sir Edgar Whitehead committed the British to keep this secret until after the 1962 election in the territory. A year later, the same status was given to Northern Rhodesia, decisively ending the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the immediate future.

In 1963, the Victoria Falls conference was held, partly as a last effort to save the CAF, and partly as a forum to dissolve it. After nearly collapsing several times, it ended by 5 July 1963, and the state was virtually dissolved. Only the appropriation of its assets remained as a formality.

By 31 December, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was formally dissolved and its assets distributed among the territorial governments. Southern Rhodesia obtained the vast majority of these including the assets of the Federal army, to which it had overwhelmingly contributed. In 1964, Northern Rhodesia gained independence as the Republic of Zambia, obtaining majority rule and led by Kenneth Kaunda. The same year, the Nyasaland Protectorate became the Republic of Malawi led by Hastings Banda.

On 11 November 1965 Southern Rhodesia made a unilateral declaration of independence from the United Kingdom proposed by the Rhodesian Front government led by Prime Minister Ian Smith. This attracted the world's attention and created outrage in Britain. In time, Zambia and Malawi became single-party states and later democratised.