Company rule in Rhodesia: Difference between revisions
From Chalo Chatu, Zambia online encyclopedia
| Line 198: | Line 198: | ||
==End of Company rule== | ==End of Company rule== | ||
===1922 Southern Rhodesian government referendum=== | |||
[[File:Sir Charles Coghlan, circa 1925.jpg|thumb|upright|Sir Charles Coghlan led the Responsible Government Association's campaign for self-government.]] | |||
In 1917, the Responsible Government Association (RGA) was formed. This party sought self-government for Southern Rhodesia within the Empire, just as Britain had previously granted "responsible government" to its colonies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa as a precursor to full dominion status. Sir Charles Coghlan, a lawyer based in Bulawayo, led the RGA from 1919.<ref>{{Harvnb | |||
|Blake | |||
|1977 | |||
|p=179}}</ref> The RGA opposed the proposed integration of Southern Rhodesia into the Union of South Africa, which had been formed in 1910 by the [[South Africa Act 1909]], Section 150 of which explicitly provisioned for the accession of territories governed by the British South Africa Company. The Company originally stood against Southern Rhodesia's addition, fearing the territory might become dominated by Afrikaners,<ref name=wood8>{{Harvnb | |||
|Wood | |||
|2005 | |||
|p=8}}</ref> but abruptly changed its stance when, in 1918, the Privy Council in London ruled that unalienated land in the Rhodesias belonged to the British Crown rather than to the Company. This removed the longstanding stream of Company revenue created by the sale of land.<ref name=wood8/> | |||
The loss of this source of income hampered the Company's ability to pay dividends to its shareholders, and caused its development of the Rhodesias to slow. The Company now backed Southern Rhodesia's incorporation into South Africa,<ref name=okoth123>{{Harvnb | |||
|Okoth | |||
|2006 | |||
|p=123}}</ref> hoping its membership in the union could help solve both problems.<ref name=wood8/> However, this prospect proved largely unpopular in Southern Rhodesia, where most of the settlers wanted self-government rather than rule from Pretoria, and came to vote for the RGA in large numbers.<ref name=wood8/> In the 1920 Legislative Council election, the RGA won ten of the 13 seats contested.<ref>{{Harvnb | |||
|Willson | |||
|1963 | |||
|p=111}}</ref> A referendum on the colony's future was held on 27 October 1922—at the suggestion of Winston Churchill, then Britain's Colonial Secretary, continuing the initiative of his preprocessor Lord Milner—and responsible government won the day. Just under 60% of voters backed responsible government from a turnout of 18,810; Marandellas was the only district to favour the union option, doing so by 443 votes to 433.<ref>{{Harvnb | |||
|Willson | |||
|1963 | |||
|p=115}}</ref> | |||
===Self-government vs. direct rule=== | ===Self-government vs. direct rule=== | ||
{{main|Northern Rhodesia}} | {{main|Northern Rhodesia}} | ||
Southern Rhodesia was duly annexed by the Empire on 12 September 1923, and granted full self-government on 1 October the same year.<ref>{{Harvnb | Southern Rhodesia was duly annexed by the Empire on 12 September 1923, and granted full self-government on 1 October the same year.<ref>{{Harvnb | ||
|Willson | |Willson | ||
