1923–1966: (Southern Rhodesia — Self-Government for Settlers Since 1923, the Central African Federation of 1953 Amalgamating the Copper Belt Under White Cont…

1923–1966: (Southern Rhodesia — Self-Government for Settlers Since 1923, the Central African Federation of 1953 Amalgamating the Copper Belt Under White Control, African Nationalists Bitterly Opposed, the 1948 General Strike, the ANC Founded in 1957 Under Nkomo Becoming ZAPU in 1962, and the ZANU Split of 1963 Under Sithole and Mugabe Reflecting Ndebele-Shona Ethnic Divisions): Settlers in Southern Rhodesia had even more power than those in Kenya, with self-government since 1923. Until 1953 a series of white governments pursued segregation taking their cue from South Africa; in 1953 the territory became part of the Central African Federation including Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The aim — total amalgamation of regional economic resources under white control, especially the Northern Rhodesian copper belt — was not lost on African nationalists who bitterly opposed it as ensuring their complete exclusion from power. Organized protest was well developed: the late 1940s saw workers’ movements instrumental in organizing a crippling 1948 general strike, while radical peasant consciousness was heightened by massive expansion in white farming. In 1957 the African National Congress was founded under trade union leader Joshua Nkomo, becoming ZAPU in 1962. As the settler government entrenched itself, splits appeared in the nationalist camp: Nkomo was reluctant to countenance strident tactics, and in 1963 prominent figures including Ndabaningi Sithole and Robert Mugabe broke away to form ZANU. The split partly reflected ethnic divisions — Nkomo’s support came from the Ndebele, while ZANU was rooted in the Shona population. Only after the white government in Salisbury declared unilateral independence from Britain in 1965 did ZANU embrace violence, launching the first guerrilla attacks the following year.