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This book explores concepts of decolonisation, identity, and nation in the white settler society of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) between 1964 and 1979. It considers how white settlers used the past to make claims of authority in the present. It investigates the white Rhodesian state's attempts to assert its independence from Britain and develop a Rhodesian national identity by changing Rhodesia's old colonial symbols, and examines how the meaning of these national symbols changed over time. Finally, the book offers insights into the role of race in Rhodesian national identity, showing how portrayals of a 'timeless' black population were highly dependent upon circumstance and reflective of white settler anxieties. Using a comparative approach, the book shows parallels between Rhodesia and other settler societies, as well as other post-colonial nation-states and even metropoles, as themes and narratives of decolonisation travelled around the world.
List of contents
1 Introduction.- 2 White Rhodesian Society ca. 1950s-1980.- 3 Blood and Referendums: Nationalist History and the Case for a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.- 4 These Colours Don't Fade: Changing the Rhodesian Flag, 1967-1968.- 5 Sovereign Independence? Rhodesians and the Monarchy, 1965-1970.- 6 'The Last Word in Rhodesian': Visions of the Nation in White Rhodesian Music.- 7 'Now as Then?': Race, Rembrance and the Rhodesian Nation in the 1970s.- 8 Conclusion.-
About the author
David Kenrick is an independent scholar. He received his D.Phil in History from St John's College, Oxford. He has published work in the
Journal for Southern African Studies and regularly reviews books on imperial history, decolonisation and settler colonialism.
