![]() ![]() The resistance to the Rhodesian regime was dominated by two black nationalist movements, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). UDI and Rhodesia's racial inequalities led to the outbreak of the Rhodesian Bush War. This ideology attracted support from many mainstream conservative politicians and military veterans in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as from some far right groups in those countries. It took pains to not be seen as racially or politically extreme, and the party's rhetoric was focused on the need to combat the perceived communist threat rather than the goal of sustaining racial superiority. ![]() The historian Donal Lowry has endorsed Evans' views, noting also that "the Rhodesia Front sought to combine the notion that Rhodesia embodied the best of true Britishness, the notion that white Rhodesians were ‘the sort of people who once made the “Great" of Britain’, while turning to America as the only remaining champion of the ‘Free World’. He also noted that the party drew on the ideas and language used by the contemporary radical right movement in the United States to justify UDI. The academic Michael Evans has written that "the Front’s world-struggle ideology was based on a conspiratorial interpretation of modern politics that emphasised virulent forms of Anglophobia, anti-communism, anti-internationalism, and anti-liberalism". The party believed that Rhodesia needed to take a stand against the perceived communist threat to protect western civilisation in Africa. The Rhodesian Front's ideology held that the end of colonial rule in Africa and the development of African nationalism during the 1950s and 1960s had been the result of international communism aided by a policy of appeasement towards African nationalists by the United Kingdom and other western countries. South Africa and Portugal provided Rhodesia with assistance, and it was able to evade the sanctions and covertly trade with many countries. No country ever officially recognised Rhodesia's independence. The scope of these sanctions was increased over time, and included restrictions on support for its military. ![]() Britain and the United Nations Security Council imposed wide-ranging trade and other sanctions on Rhodesia with the objective of forcing it to return to its previous status. UDI was illegal under British law, and was regarded as such by almost all other countries and the United Nations. Accordingly, the government issued Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom in November 1965, with the colony becoming Rhodesia. The party was deeply committed to maintaining the white minority's status, with this motivating a decision to declare independence from the United Kingdom rather than submit to a transition to majority rule. From 1962 its government was led by the Rhodesian Front political party. Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British colony located in southern Africa whose economy and government was dominated by the small white minority of its population. The volunteers were often labelled as mercenaries by opponents of the Rhodesian regime, though the Rhodesian government did not regard or pay them as such.īackground Political situation Ī map showing Rhodesia's location in Africa ![]() The British, United States and several other governments were unable to prevent their citizens fighting for Rhodesia due to difficulties enforcing the relevant laws. In many countries it was illegal to serve with the Rhodesian Security Forces. The volunteers frequently received a hostile response from Rhodesians in the units they were posted to, and many ended their contracts early as a result. They generally joined the Rhodesian Security Forces individually after seeing advertisements or after being contacted by recruiters. The most common motivation was opposition to governments led by black people, but other volunteers were motivated by anti-communism or a desire for adventure. The volunteers had a range of motivations. They generally served alongside Rhodesian personnel in a large number of units, though a group of Frenchmen served together in a separate unit. It is estimated that between 800 and 2,000 foreign volunteers enlisted, with the exact number not being known. The Rhodesian government actively recruited white personnel from other countries from the mid-1970s to address manpower shortages in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. Varied, but included racism, anti-communism and adventure Non-Rhodesian army recruits from 1973 to 1980įoreign volunteers in the Rhodesian Security Forces ![]()
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