The Collapse of Rhodesia
Population Demographics and the Politics of Race
Published on 25. June 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-350-16931-9 (ISBN)
Description
In the years leading up to Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, its small and transient white population was balanced precariously atop a large and fast-growing African population. This unstable political demography was set against the backdrop of continent-wide decolonisation and a parallel rise in African nationalism within Rhodesia. "The Collapse of Rhodesia" provides a controversial reexamination of the final decades of white minority rule. Josiah Brownell argues that racial population demographics and the pressures they produced were a pervasive, but hidden, force behind many of Rhodesia's most dramatic political events, including UDI. He concludes that the UDI rebellion eventually failed because the state was unable to successfully redress white Rhodesia's fundamental demographic weaknesses. By addressing this vital demographic component of the multifaceted conflict, this book is an important contribution to the historiography of the last years of white rule in Rhodesia.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 288 mm
Width: 244 mm
Thickness: 148 mm
Weight
324 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-16931-9 (9781350169319)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Josiah Brownell received his Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 2009, and has a J.D. from the University Of Virginia School Of Law. His research focuses on Rhodesian history, comparative settler colonialism, and the end of the British Empire.
Content
List of illustrations - ix
List of abbreviations - xi
Acknowledgements - xiii
1. Introduction: The Hidden War of Numbers in Rhodesia - 1
The Course of the Visible War - 4
Racial Numbers and the Nature of the Settler State - 7
The War of Numbers and the Nature of Rhodesia's Racial Divisions - 14
The Hidden Ubiquity of Population Pressures - 16
The Historiography of Demographic Engineering - 20
Chapter Overview - 22
2. The Rationalism of Racial Population Imbalances: 'A Matter of Political Consequences' - 25
The Impact of the 1962 Census - 26
Counting, Controlling, and Regulating the African Population - 30
Proposed Solutions to the Population Problem - 35
The Casus Belli for the War of Numbers: the 1969 Census - 38
Control over the Numbers - 41
Conclusion - 42
3. The African Population Explosion: 'The Greatest Problem' - 45
Wealthy Populations, Poor Populations, and Neo=Malthusianism - 47
Historicising White Population Anxieties in Rhodesia - 50
The Origins of the State's Population Policy - 56
The Failure of the State's Population Policy - 63
Measuring the State's Success - 66
Conclusion - 68
4. White Emigration: 'There's a Hole in the Bucket' - 71
White Demography Reconsidered - 72
Exit, Voice, and Loyalty among White Rhodesians - 76
White Transience Explored - 79
The Economic Effects of White Emigration - 79
White Emigration and the Military Conflict - 81
The Political Consequences of White Emigration - 85
Engineering Emigration - 87
Conclusion - 94
5. Rhodesia's Immigration Policy: 'To Save Civilisation in this Country' - 97
The Migration Market - 98
Discourses Concerning Immigration - 107
Economic Aspects of Immigration - 114
The Formation and Evolution of the State's Immigration Policy - 116
Analysing the Post-UDI Immigration Yields - 124
Tensions and Contradictions in Rhodesia's White Migration Policies - 128
Conclusion - 130
6. African Agency in the War of Numbers: 'Nature is on Our Side' - 131
White and African Perspectives on Population Matters - 132
The Politicisation of 'Natural' Growth Rates - 135
The Nexus between Population and Land - 137
Nationalist Propaganda - 141
African Influence on White Migration Patterns - 146
African Influence on the Rate of White Natural Increase - 149
Nationalist Resistance to the State's Family Planning Initiatives - 154
Conclusion - 163
7. Conclusion - 165
Conundrums, Conflicts, and Contradictions within the State's Population Policies - 169
The Timing of Rhodeisa's Collapse - 173
Who was the Rhodesian Rebellion For? - 174
How Unique was Rhodesia's Fate? - 177
Notes - 179
Bibliography - 223
Index - 233
List of abbreviations - xi
Acknowledgements - xiii
1. Introduction: The Hidden War of Numbers in Rhodesia - 1
The Course of the Visible War - 4
Racial Numbers and the Nature of the Settler State - 7
The War of Numbers and the Nature of Rhodesia's Racial Divisions - 14
The Hidden Ubiquity of Population Pressures - 16
The Historiography of Demographic Engineering - 20
Chapter Overview - 22
2. The Rationalism of Racial Population Imbalances: 'A Matter of Political Consequences' - 25
The Impact of the 1962 Census - 26
Counting, Controlling, and Regulating the African Population - 30
Proposed Solutions to the Population Problem - 35
The Casus Belli for the War of Numbers: the 1969 Census - 38
Control over the Numbers - 41
Conclusion - 42
3. The African Population Explosion: 'The Greatest Problem' - 45
Wealthy Populations, Poor Populations, and Neo=Malthusianism - 47
Historicising White Population Anxieties in Rhodesia - 50
The Origins of the State's Population Policy - 56
The Failure of the State's Population Policy - 63
Measuring the State's Success - 66
Conclusion - 68
4. White Emigration: 'There's a Hole in the Bucket' - 71
White Demography Reconsidered - 72
Exit, Voice, and Loyalty among White Rhodesians - 76
White Transience Explored - 79
The Economic Effects of White Emigration - 79
White Emigration and the Military Conflict - 81
The Political Consequences of White Emigration - 85
Engineering Emigration - 87
Conclusion - 94
5. Rhodesia's Immigration Policy: 'To Save Civilisation in this Country' - 97
The Migration Market - 98
Discourses Concerning Immigration - 107
Economic Aspects of Immigration - 114
The Formation and Evolution of the State's Immigration Policy - 116
Analysing the Post-UDI Immigration Yields - 124
Tensions and Contradictions in Rhodesia's White Migration Policies - 128
Conclusion - 130
6. African Agency in the War of Numbers: 'Nature is on Our Side' - 131
White and African Perspectives on Population Matters - 132
The Politicisation of 'Natural' Growth Rates - 135
The Nexus between Population and Land - 137
Nationalist Propaganda - 141
African Influence on White Migration Patterns - 146
African Influence on the Rate of White Natural Increase - 149
Nationalist Resistance to the State's Family Planning Initiatives - 154
Conclusion - 163
7. Conclusion - 165
Conundrums, Conflicts, and Contradictions within the State's Population Policies - 169
The Timing of Rhodeisa's Collapse - 173
Who was the Rhodesian Rebellion For? - 174
How Unique was Rhodesia's Fate? - 177
Notes - 179
Bibliography - 223
Index - 233