From 20th century
Central Africa
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was a Central African federation comprising Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland. Created in 1953 against the wishes of virtually all articulated African opinion, it was associated with settler efforts to maximize local control. African nationalists in its territories consequently favoured separate independence rather than federation.
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The Story
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland united Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland in Central Africa. It was created in 1953 despite opposition from virtually all articulated African opinion, making it a highly contested model of regional organization from its foundation.
For African nationalists, federation was historically associated with settler pressures to maximize local control. This political meaning sharply limited the appeal of federalism among the African populations of the three territories. Rather than treating federation as a route toward broader African unity, nationalist forces generally chose the objective of separate independence.
The federation illustrates the ambiguity of regionalism in late colonial Africa. A formally regional structure could serve the consolidation of settler authority rather than anti-colonial solidarity, and its institutional form therefore became inseparable from the unequal political order in which it had been created.
From 20th century
Central Africa
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was a Central African federation comprising Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland. Created in 1953 against the wishes of virtually all articulated African opinion, it was associated with settler efforts to maximize local control. African nationalists in its territories consequently favoured separate independence rather than federation.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland united Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland in Central Africa. It was created in 1953 despite opposition from virtually all articulated African opinion, making it a highly contested model of regional organization from its foundation.
For African nationalists, federation was historically associated with settler pressures to maximize local control. This political meaning sharply limited the appeal of federalism among the African populations of the three territories. Rather than treating federation as a route toward broader African unity, nationalist forces generally chose the objective of separate independence.
The federation illustrates the ambiguity of regionalism in late colonial Africa. A formally regional structure could serve the consolidation of settler authority rather than anti-colonial solidarity, and its institutional form therefore became inseparable from the unequal political order in which it had been created.