Abstract
As African states, one by one, broke free from the shackles of colonialism, black Rhodesia’s quest for self-rule encountered an entrenched white establishment. Ian Smith, the stubborn and resourceful leader of the heavily outnumbered whites, unilaterally declared Rhodesia independent of Britain in 1965, effectively tightening the grip of white control. Sanctions by Britain and the United Nations followed, while internally a guerrilla campaign was waged against the government by competing African nationalist factions. The struggle left the nation with a war-ravaged infrastructure, a fragmented opposition, and little hope for a peaceful solution.