tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968338.post3811219093752677370..comments2023-08-11T09:56:34.039+01:00Comments on timrollpickering: The death of Ian SmithTim Roll-Pickeringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12589024696145675963noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968338.post-64062599825745449962007-11-23T03:49:00.000+00:002007-11-23T03:49:00.000+00:00The different social origins of the white settlers...The different social origins of the white settlers may help explain the divergent histories of Rhodesia and Kenya.The white settlers in Kenya were more middle class and thus had less worries if they had to return to Britain.Manfaranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16672026288937285646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968338.post-40509207318287957112007-11-21T18:58:00.000+00:002007-11-21T18:58:00.000+00:00I mentioned briefly the external factors, but they...I mentioned briefly the external factors, but they don't absolve Smith from failing to make real moves to prepare Rhodesia for mass democracy. It's true that external forces made his position untennable, but I don't subscribe to Smith's "Everyone Else Is To Blame" line of argument. Yes there were powers willing to fund ZANU/ZAPU but ultimately funding would have been found from one source or another.<BR/><BR/>And by the 1970s Smith had left it to late for the limited moves he did make. He had no control of external factors but in those he did have control over he failed to even try sufficiently. Would Rhodesia have really lasted to the present? Whatever advantages Rhodesia had in the 1960s and 1970s over other African countries, that's not good enough if the state was ultimately unsustainable.Tim Roll-Pickeringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12589024696145675963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968338.post-32983964106891138012007-11-21T18:33:00.000+00:002007-11-21T18:33:00.000+00:00You fail to mention the roll that both the UK and ...You fail to mention the roll that both the UK and US governments played in bringing Mugabe and his ilk to power, specifically President Jimmy Carter & UN Ambassador Andrew Young. <BR/><BR/>You also failed to mentioned the support Mugabe/ZANU/ZAPU received from the USSR, The PRC and other Communist block nations.<BR/><BR/>Smith was no saint, to be sure. But it is unfair to him to not mention the role that the Cold War played in bringing down Rhodesia.<BR/><BR/>Given a choice, I'd take Smith over Mugabe, Idi Amin, Mobtu, etc. anyday.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968338.post-16395928276796468252007-11-21T13:31:00.000+00:002007-11-21T13:31:00.000+00:00Mau-Mau was a very complicated affair and in many ...Mau-Mau was a very complicated affair and in many ways much more a social and economic driven rebellion than a racial conflict, although sweeping generalisations don't clarify things fully. Seeing it in terms of the independence movement is difficult, particularly given the form it took and also that it predated much of the drive for independence. When I wrote that comment I was thinking more of the 1960s when quick independence was on the cards (in 1960 the Colonial Office was predicting independence in 1975, not 1963 as it turned out).Tim Roll-Pickeringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12589024696145675963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968338.post-63205685219615623482007-11-21T11:49:00.000+00:002007-11-21T11:49:00.000+00:00Interesting article - thanks. One point though:>I ...Interesting article - thanks. One point though:<BR/><BR/>>I was struck by the similarities of concerns between the white settlers in Kenya and Southern Rhodesia, and how in the former country independence was achieved without major conflict between the white settlers and indigenous population, in stark contrast to the latter.<BR/><BR/>Mau-Mau rebellion, anyone?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10968338.post-87738941358824873632007-11-21T07:56:00.000+00:002007-11-21T07:56:00.000+00:00When a minority is in power with the threat of bei...When a minority is in power with the threat of being overthrown in a sunami of the majority -what can you do ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com