Rhodesia differed from other former British colonies and protectorates in that the transfer of power did not occur as Britain had desired. The powerful white minority were unwilling to accept the notion of majority rule as espoused by Britain and Zimbabwean nationalist figures such as Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe.

Rhodesia’s decision went against the ‘wind of change’ sweeping across Africa. The Zimbabwe African People’s Union, led by Nkomo and the Zimbabwe African National Union, entered a guerilla war against the government known as the Rhodesian Bush War. Fighting throughout the 1960s and 1970s forced the government into negotiations with African leaders in 1978. The government conceded on the matter of African involvement in government under the terms of ‘Internal Settlement’. Elections were held in the following year which returned a United African National Council majority. This ultimately paved the way for Rhodesia to return to the international community.

At the end of 1979, a formal agreement was reached to officially end armed hostilities between African guerilla fighters and the government. Rhodesia briefly became a British colony, international sanctions were lifted, and elections were held in 1980. The Zimbabwe African National Union under the leadership of Robert Mugabe won an overwhelming majority and a month later Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe.

See below, an interview with leader of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union in 1979: