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75 3 From the Second World War to UDI, 1940–1965 A. S. Mlambo Introduction The period between the outbreak of the Second World War and the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) by Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Douglas Smith in 1965 was a significant one in Zimbabwe’s history. In these years, Rhodesia experienced far-reaching economic, demographic, social and political changes, and a gradual process of transformation in the political consciousness and self-perception of the African population was reflected in a change of attitude towards white colonial rule – from an earlier position of asking for fair governance to one of wanting self-rule. This period has attracted the attention of many scholars, who have written on a variety of topics ranging from the history of the labour movement, the growth of African nationalism, the rise of an educated African middle-class, the quest for respectability and gender, to economic relations and political developments leading to UDI.1 This chapter will highlight some of the major themes and debates that have emerged from such scholarship in order to contextualise the historical forces that helped shape the trajectory of Zimbabwe’s experience. 1 Among the numerous studies focusing on this period are: T. Barnes, ‘We Women Worked So Hard’: Gender, Urbanization, and Social Reproduction in Colonial Harare, Zimbabwe, 19301956 (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1999); N. Bhebe, Benjamin Burombo: African Politics in Colonial Zimbabwe, 1945-1958 (Harare: College Press, 1989); A. S. Mlambo, E. S. Pangeti and I. Phimister, Zimbabwe: A History of Manufacturing, 1890-1995 (Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications, 2000); B. Raftopoulos and T. Yoshikuni, Sites of Struggle (Harare: Weaver Press, 1999); I. Phimister and B. Raftopoulos, ‘“Kana sora ratswa ngaritswe”: African nationalists and black workers: The 1948 general strike in colonial Zimbabwe’, Journal of Historical Sociology, 13(3), 2000, pp. 289-324; B. Raftopoulos, ‘Gender, nationalist politics and the fight for the city: Harare 1940-1950s’, Safere: Southern African Feminist Review, 1(2), 1995, pp. 30-45; T. Scarnecchia, ‘Poor women and nationalist politics: Alliances and fissures in the formation of a nationalist political movement in Salisbury, Rhodesia, 1950-56’, Journal of African History, 37(3), 1996, pp. 283-310; M. O. West, The Rise of an African Middle Class: Colonial Zimbabwe 1898-1965 (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2002); A. S. Mlambo, White Immigration into Rhodesia: From Occupation to Federation (Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications, 2002); Eshmael Mlambo, Rhodesia: The Struggle for a Birthright (London: C. Hurst, 1972); T. H. Mothibe, ‘Zimbabwe: African working class nationalism, 1957-1963’, Zambezia, 23(2), 1996, pp. 157-80; Iden Wetherell, ‘Settler expansionism in central Africa: The imperial response of 1931 and subsequent implications’, African Affairs, 78, 1979, pp. 210-27. There are many others. 76 A. S. Mlambo Overview TheSecondWorldWaranditsimpactontheRhodesianeconomy,incombination with specific economic policies and strategies adopted by the colonial state to deal with the economic challenges posed by the war, resulted in the relatively rapid growth of the country’s manufacturing sector, which transformed the economy from heavy dependency on agriculture and mining to a diversified one.2 Industrial expansion during and after the Second World War was fuelled by a combination of import-substitution, war needs and increasing domestic demand. On the heels of the war-time boom came the establishment of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which expanded the domestic market, improved the creditworthiness of the three countries, and encouraged considerable inflows of foreign currency. The immediate post-war years also witnessed a large influx of white immigrants,3 considerably boosting the country’s settler population, and providing the economy with the necessary skilled labour and a larger domestic market. White immigration, however, also fuelled inter-racial tensions and hastened the rise of militant African nationalism, especially since the arrival of large numbers of white settlers resulted in the displacement of African communities from the so-called ‘European areas’. According to Nyambara, some of the people who were affected by this policy were the Rhodesdale inhabitants who were to be moved to Gokwe and Sanyati. About 7 to 10 thousand Africans lived on Rhodesdale but ex-servicemen were taking up farms there under the Government Settlement Scheme. The new white land owners strongly resented the continued residence of Africans on Rhodesdale and they wanted them evicted immediately.4 Meanwhile, because of its relatively strong industrial base, Southern Rhodesia became the industrial heartland of the Federation and benefited most from both the investments and enlarged market, as well as...

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