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Politics of Rhodesia
Political history — Overview 1890–1923  BSA Company rule 1923–1980  Southern Rhodesia 1953–1963  Rhodesia–Nyasaland Federation 1965–1979  Rhodesia under UDI  1979  Zimbabwe Rhodesia (under UDI)
Government Governor / Queen / President Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister Cabinet
Legislature 1899–1923  Legislative Council 1924–1970  Legislative Assembly 1970–1979  Parliament Leader of the Opposition
Elections General 1924 1928 1933 1934 1939 1946 1948 1954 1958 1962 1965 1970 1974 1977 1979 1980 Legislative Council 1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 Referendums 1922 1934 1953 1961 1964 1969 1979
Political parties African National Congress Communist Party Labour Party Liberal Party Rhodesia Party Rhodesian Action Party Rhodesian Front United African National Council United Federal Party Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU)
Foreign relations Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) Ministry of External Affairs Mission in Lisbon Centre in Sydney Passport
National symbols Flag (other flags) Anthem
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The Lisbon Appointment, or Reedman Appointment, was the decision in 1965 by Britain's self-governing colony in Rhodesia to open its own diplomatic mission in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, with Harry Reedman at its head as an accredited representative. This mission would operate independently of Britain's embassy in Lisbon. Whitehall refused to endorse this when asked on 9 June, but Rhodesia continued nonetheless, officially confirming Reedman's appointment 17 days later. The British government attempted to block this unilateral act—Rhodesia's first—for months afterwards, but these efforts proved fruitless. Portugal's Foreign Ministry accepted Reedman's letter of accreditation in September, officially recognising him as "Chief of the Rhodesian Mission".

The affair came amidst the larger dispute between Whitehall and Salisbury regarding the terms under which Rhodesia could be granted sovereign independence. Rhodesia's mostly white government insisted that statehood should come under the constitution introduced with Britain's approval in 1961, while Whitehall insisted that, per its recent change in policy, there could be no independence before majority rule, and black politicians would have to run the country before it could be fully independent. The Rhodesian government's stance on this matter caused it to become isolated within the Commonwealth of Nations, which from 1964 excluded it from most of its internal bodies, while the Rhodesian military became unofficially embargoed by its established British and American suppliers.

Rhodesia's disillusionment regarding Britain and staunch opposition to immediate black rule propelled it towards Portugal, which governed Angola and Mozambique, neighbouring territories respectively to the west and east of Rhodesia. Hoping to find new arms suppliers in continental Europe, the Rhodesian government informed Britain of its intent to open an independent mission in Lisbon in June 1965. The legitimacy of this action was disputed. Rhodesia had run itself as a self-governing colony since 1923, but ultimate responsibility for foreign affairs had never left Britain. In their attempt to prove that an independent Lisbon mission was legal, the Rhodesians presented an argument based on previous British legislation conferring on the colonial government the right to appoint its own "diplomatic agents, or consular or trade representatives, in countries which are willing to receive them". The British counter-argued that ultimate purview over Rhodesian foreign affairs still lay with Whitehall, so Rhodesian appointments without prior British assent were illegal. They proposed that Reedman be integrated into the British Embassy in Lisbon as a Rhodesian consul, but Rhodesia refused to accept a lesser post for Reedman than that enjoyed by the independent Rhodesian representatives in Pretoria, South Africa, and Lourenço Marques, Mozambique.

Following months of abortive Anglo-Rhodesian talks and unsuccessful attempts by Britain to deter Portugal diplomatically, Reedman travelled to Lisbon in September 1965 to take up his post at the head of an independent Rhodesian mission. The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which insisted it was neutral regarding Rhodesia, accepted his letter of accreditation, much to Whitehall's consternation, though Lisbon was careful to avoid provoking Britain, omitting the word "diplomatic" from the titles given to both Reedman and his mission. The Rhodesians still regarded themselves as victorious, saying they had set out to gain an independent diplomatic representative in Lisbon, and now had one. Historian J. R. T. Wood writes that this was "Rhodesia's first independent and indeed unilateral act – the veritable straw in the wind." Less than two months after Reedman's investiture, Salisbury went one further, unilaterally declaring independence from Britain on 11 November 1965.

Background

Responsible government and Federation

Having been governed and developed by the British South Africa Company since the 1890s, Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing colony within the British Empire in 1923, when it was granted responsible government by Whitehall. This formed a new seat of government in the Southern Rhodesian capital, Salisbury, which was henceforth empowered to run its own affairs in almost all matters, including self-defence. Only foreign affairs were reserved by the British government. As the Empire's lone self-governing colony, Southern Rhodesia was considered a sui generis case, almost on a par with a Dominion. Starting in 1930, Imperial Conferences included the Southern Rhodesian prime minister alongside those from the Dominions, a situation which continued after Imperial Conferences were superseded by Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences in 1944. In both cases, Salisbury's prime minister was the only non-Dominion leader invited to attend. Separate Southern Rhodesian citizenship was introduced by the Southern Rhodesian Citizenship and British Nationality Act 1949.

As the Southern Rhodesians saw it, they were as good as independent; if full autonomy were granted in the form of Dominionship, the only practical difference would be a rise in expenses for foreign representation, as Salisbury would have to maintain its own embassies abroad. "We can have our Dominion status tomorrow," Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins declared, when pressed in parliament by the Liberals soon after the Second World War; "the British government has assured me, after our exemplary record, it is there for the asking." Believing this would always remain the case, Huggins regarded independence as a non-issue, and made few moves towards it. When Britain offered full Dominion status during the Second World War, Huggins turned it down, saying the Empire should ensure victory first. This offer was repeated in 1952, but Huggins again refused it, in line with the results of a referendum, in favour of pursuing an initially semi-independent Federation with the directly administered British colonies of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Federation began in August 1953, with Southern Rhodesia, the most developed of the three territories, at its head. Salisbury doubled as Federal capital.

The new Federal government was granted several privileges by Britain during its earlier years; for example, a 1957 British Act of Parliament empowered it to appoint its own "diplomatic agents, or consular or trade representatives, in countries which are willing to receive them" so long as it informed Britain when it was doing so. The most prominent of these appointments was made in 1961, when the Union of South Africa split from the Commonwealth of Nations and became a republic. An accredited representative of Salisbury was set up in Pretoria soon after, independent of Britain's embassy there. An independent office representing the Federation was also set up in Lourenço Marques, the capital of Portuguese Mozambique, while further afield Federal officials were set up within the British embassies in West Germany, Japan and the United States.

The Federation ultimately failed because of the shifting international attitudes and rising black nationalist ambitions of the late 1950s and early 1960s, often collectively called the Wind of Change. Starting with the independence of Ghana (previously the Gold Coast colony) in 1957, control over Whitehall's colonial policy pivoted away from the Colonial Office and towards the Cabinet itself, which was more inclined to dismantle the Empire quickly. Historian Robert H. Jackson writes that Britain's stance on decolonisation, particularly in Africa, thereupon became one of "increasing and even unseemly haste". Britain adopted a policy of "no independence before majority rule" as it vastly accelerated its withdrawal from the continent. Alan Lennox-Boyd, who served as Britain's Secretary of State for the Colonies between 1954 and 1959, left office with Tanganyika and Kenya earmarked for independence in 1970 and 1975 respectively, but they instead became sovereign in 1961 and 1963, both under black majority rule. In 1963, with the Federation in its constitutional death throes amidst Nyasaland's clamours for secession and immediate rule by the majority, Federal Prime Minister Roy Welensky was horrified and outraged to be told by Britain's Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, Duncan Sandys, that "we British have lost the will to govern." "But we haven't," retorted Julian Greenfield, Welensky's law minister.

Southern Rhodesia revised its constitution in 1961 as the result of a referendum; the new order split the heretofore non-racial (though qualified) electoral roll into graduated "A" and "B" rolls, the latter of which had lower qualifications, intended to enfranchise previously nonqualified black voters, and help them to gradually increase their share of the electorate. This plan was given assent by the Southern Rhodesian and British governments, and was initially accepted by the leading black nationalists Joshua Nkomo and the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, but they soon reversed their stance under pressure from contemporaries in the nationalist movement, including Robert Mugabe, who believed that the changes did not go far enough. Some government members opposed this partitioning of the electorate, which essentially divided it along ethnic lines; the United Federal Party's chief whip in the Federal assembly, Ian Smith, resigned in protest, saying the new system was "racialist". Smith was a founding member of the pro-independence Rhodesian Front (RF) in 1962, and became deputy prime minister in November when the new party, led by Winston Field, won that month's general election, in a shock result.

Federal dissolution; Salisbury pushes for independence

The Southern Rhodesians presumed that in the event of Federal dissolution, they would be first in line for independence. The 1961 constitution had been devised for precisely that, they thought. Intergovernmental correspondence during early 1963 led Salisbury to believe that dissolution would bring sovereignty quickly, with no major adjustments to the 1961 constitution. According to several Southern Rhodesian politicians, British Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State Rab Butler promised "independence no later than, if not before, the other two territories" in return for Salisbury's help in winding up the Federation, but Butler denied having said this. While Federal break-up talks progressed, Sandys issued a letter of intent in which he said that powers conferred on the Federal government by British legislation would transfer to Southern Rhodesia at the end of Federation. It was agreed that Salisbury would keep the Federal overseas missions in Pretoria and Lourenço Marques, as well as the British Embassy desks in Bonn, Tokyo and Washington. Arrangements for Federal dissolution concluded in mid-1963, and the Federation formally ended on 31 December that year.

Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland became independent during 1964, respectively renamed Zambia and Malawi, and under black majority governments. Southern Rhodesia was denied the same under the no independence before majority rule policy, prompting indignation and fury from the RF and its supporters. Prime Minister Field's failure to secure independence from Britain during early 1964 led to his forced resignation and replacement by Smith in April that year. Two months into his prime ministership, Smith was deeply offended when Whitehall informed him that, for the first time since 1930, Southern Rhodesia would not be represented at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. No reason was given. The quarrel over the terms for independence caused the Southern Rhodesian military's traditional British and American suppliers to impose an informal embargo, and motivated Britain to cut off financial aid to Salisbury around the same time. The United States promptly followed suit. When Northern Rhodesia became Zambia in October 1964, Southern Rhodesia dropped "Southern" from its name, and initiated legislation to this effect, but Britain refused assent, saying that the colony could not legally rename itself. Salisbury continued using the shortened name anyway, without consequence.

The Rhodesian government was ardently anti-communist, and opposed immediate black rule, which Smith said would cause "the destruction of our country", pointing to ongoing events such as the Congo Crisis as evidence. Parliament remained mostly white, but Salisbury contended it had close to unanimous support from all races in pursuing independence under the 1961 constitution, citing various tests of opinion it conducted in late 1964. The prime minister stood obdurately against any constitutional change he believed was too radical, regarding this as a matter of national and regional security. According to his memoirs, he worked to prevent a "mad rush into one man, one vote with all the resultant corruption, nepotism, chaos and economic disaster which we had witnessed in all the countries around us." The Labour Cabinet of British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, which replaced the previous Conservative administration in October 1964, did not give credence to the Rhodesian tests of opinion, and insisted on majority rule before independence. The Commonwealth repeatedly urged Britain to intervene directly should Rhodesian defiance continue, while British liberals worried that if left unchecked Salisbury might drift towards South African-style apartheid.

Britain, Portugal and Rhodesia

British policy-makers regarded Portugal as a traditional friend—the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance dated back to 1386, and both countries were in NATO and the European Free Trade Association—but the combined strength of the Communist bloc and the Afro-Asian lobby in the United Nations forced the British to peel back their support for the pluricontinental Estado Novo ("New State") during the early 1960s. Portugal's Colonial War, starting in Angola in 1961, pitted it against a number of guerrilla factions in its African territories, most of which subscribed to communist political thinking. Britain opposed communist encroachment into southern Africa, but knew it would become an international pariah if it publicly opposed general consensus at the UN, which roundly condemned colonialism in all forms and supported communist-backed insurgencies across the region, regarding them as racial liberation movements. It therefore attempted an awkward balancing act whereby it would appear to oppose Portugal without meaningfully doing so.

Britain's stance towards Rhodesia was influenced in a similar way, with Whitehall unable to back down on the policy of no independence before majority rule without causing international uproar. Also contributory was the disproportionate sway over Britain's African policy held by Julius Nyerere, the president of Tanzania, who was a fervent proponent for majority rule across Africa without delay, implemented by military force if need be. British politicians deferred to Nyerere on almost every proposal they made regarding Rhodesia during the 1960s and 1970s. In the immediate post-Federal period, Britain forlornly tried to stifle Rhodesia's further alignment with South Africa and Portugal, realising that British influence in the region was severely limited while the three remained so closely linked. A 1965 British government memorandum described the trio as "a defiant and mutually sustaining bloc".

Great personal rapport developed between Smith and his Portuguese counterpart, António de Oliveira Salazar. On first meeting in Portugal in September 1964, the two prime ministers found they shared many common views regarding race relations in their respective countries, Britain's handling of the Commonwealth, and what Smith called the "complacency of the major powers of the free world" in the face of what the pair saw as inexorable communist expansionism. After hearing Smith's argument in favour of Rhodesian independence, Salazar privately pledged Portugal's complete support. The RF called a new general election for May 1965 and, campaigning on an election promise of independence, won a clean sweep of all 50 "A"-roll seats. A week later, Wilson met with Portuguese Foreign Minister Alberto Franco Nogueira, whom he pressed on alleged secret dealings with Rhodesia. Nogueria categorically denied anything of the sort.

Rhodesia seeks British endorsement for a Lisbon mission

Gibbs' speech on 9 June

Following the Rhodesian Front's decisive May 1965 election victory, parliament was opened by the British-appointed governor, Sir Humphrey Gibbs, on 9 June. For the first time, Rhodesia had an official leader of the opposition who was black: Josiah Gondo, leader of the United Peoples' Party, now sat opposite Smith and the all-white RF in the House of Assembly. Though Gibbs represented the British Crown in Rhodesia, he had been a local resident most of his life, and had feet in both camps, regarding himself as loyal both to Rhodesia and to the faraway monarch. While opening parliament, he startled Whitehall by professing marked support for the government's ambitions. He told the House of Assembly that the RF's strengthened majority amounted to "a mandate to lead the country to its full independence" – later in the speech he referred to this as "our independence", much to Britain's surprise.

Gibbs then said that Rhodesia wished to have the best possible relations with its neighbours, and again shocked British observers by saying the government had informed him that it would follow recommendations made by Portugal during recent talks, and would open its own diplomatic mission in the Portuguese capital Lisbon as soon as was practical. Evan Campbell, Rhodesia's High Commissioner in London, asked Whitehall the same day to endorse the appointment of Harry Reedman as Rhodesia's "accredited representative" to Portugal, reasoning that the 1957 act allowing the Federation to do so still covered Rhodesia under the principle of national succession. The 1963 letter of intent from Sandys confirmed this in Rhodesia's eyes. Historian J. R. T. Wood calls this "Rhodesia's first independent and indeed unilateral act – the veritable straw in the wind."

Rhodesian motivations

Aside from reinforcing Luso-Rhodesian relations, the Lisbon Appointment (as it became called) was designed to secure the African nation a diplomatic foothold in Europe outside of Britain's reach and to help Salisbury find new trading partners and diplomatic allies on the continent. Among other things, the Rhodesians intended to make up the shortfalls in military equipment caused by the undeclared Anglo-American arms embargo. Reedman, the former minister for immigration and tourism, was also a retired officer of the British Royal Air Force (where he had been involved in bomber research), and an experienced engineer and businessman: all the right ingredients, the government thought, for someone in the position to source European aircraft, weapons and other equipment, while also representing Rhodesian interests in mainland Europe.

Lord Brockway, head of the Movement for Colonial Freedom, believed that Rhodesia was attempting to assert de facto independence in the eyes of the international community by deliberately defying Britain over the Lisbon issue. "If Salisbury is permitted to claim diplomatic rights in foreign capitals, its assertion of sovereignty is accepted," he wrote in an article for the British democratic socialist weekly Tribune.

Britain refuses

Britain was caught unprepared by Campbell's request, and issued no response for over a week. In the meantime Campbell, whose retirement was due, was relieved by the Rhodesian government on 10 June. His replacement, Brigadier Andrew Skeen, took over Campbell's London office at Rhodesia House, 429 Strand six days later.

Bent on securing Reedman's investiture quickly, the Rhodesian government made it publicly known on 19 June that, pursuant to British and Portuguese approval, Reedman would be appointed within seven days. Whitehall still took no action. Wilson and his Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, Arthur Bottomley, were occupied at Chequers, the official country residence of the British prime minister, where they were entertaining the Commonwealth heads of state.

In Bottomley's absence, his office explored the issue and resolved that Rhodesia could retain its representative in South Africa, but should not be allowed to appoint another in Lisbon; a consul was acceptable, they concluded, but only as part of the British Embassy staff. Bottomley remained unaware of this progress until a call from his office on 25 June, whereupon he still did nothing. Unwilling to wait, Rhodesia confirmed Reedman's appointment the next day, much to Wilson's fury. Only now was Bottomley finally jolted into action; he informed Salisbury of his ministry's findings on 29 June, offering them the consul within the embassy, but refusing to sanction an independent office.

Early negotiations

Rhodesian disillusionment; Britain adopts delaying tactics

Independence talks between Britain and Rhodesia continued for a fortnight without major reference to the Reedman Appointment, with Britain more concerned with discussing a possible Rhodesian unilateral declaration of independence (UDI). Smith delivered an openly defiant speech to his parliament on 31 June, attacking Britain for its handling of the Commonwealth's newer members, which he said were unduly influencing British policy in Africa. Britain was desperate to avoid the international humiliation that would accompany the organisation's break-up, he reasoned, and was therefore attempting to hold it together by appeasing the less prominent members. While making clear his disdain, the prime minister pledged to go on with negotiations, saying that he did not believe Britain truly endorsed its professed line.

In dealing with the immovable Smith, Wilson's ministers adopted a programme of deliberate frustration and delay: Britain would interminably stonewall the Rhodesian prime minister, maintaining the facade of continued negotiation by very occasionally repeating their stance, in the hope that either Smith would cave, or his Cabinet would eventually lose faith in his negotiating prowess and replace him with somebody more malleable. Wood writes that Wilson, Bottomley and their Labour contemporaries were "distracted by their own political agendas", and did not understand the extent of Rhodesia's considerable disillusionment with Britain by this time. Effectively "kicked ... out of the Commonwealth", as Huggins later commented, Salisbury's resolve for UDI was quickly steeling as a fortress mentality set in. Wood concludes that Britain's maintenance of this stonewalling tactic was misjudged, and only exacerbated the Rhodesian government's feeling of alienation.

In the British House of Lords on 26 July, Brockway pressed Lord Taylor, the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, on Rhodesia's claims, arguing that failure to block the Lisbon Appointment would amount to conceding de facto recognition to Rhodesia as an independent state. Taylor's response was that Britain remained committed to upholding its ultimate purview over Rhodesian overseas relations. Brockway then asked how Rhodesia had attained its independent office in Pretoria; surely, he said, this provided "a precedent which was rather dangerous?" Taylor replied that Pretoria and Salisbury had exchanged High Commissioners before South Africa left the Commonwealth in 1961, and that Britain had granted Rhodesia special dispensation to retain the Pretoria mission thereafter. He stressed that in Britain's eyes this was no precedent for Lisbon.

Britain despatches Cledwyn Hughes to Rhodesia, 22–27 July

The British decided to despatch one of their Commonwealth ministers to Rhodesia for talks during early July, but debated for a while over whether it should be Bottomley or his deputy, Cledwyn Hughes, who should be sent. Wilson considered this a matter of urgency as he had heard a rumour that Rhodesia might make UDI on its main national holiday, Rhodes' Day (that year 12 July), but this proved false. On 15 July, Britain's High Commissioner to Rhodesia, John Baines Johnston, was instructed to propose a week-long round of talks between Smith and Hughes in Salisbury. Johnston was given permission to cave if the Rhodesian prime minister insisted on meeting with Bottomley, but this did not prove necessary: Smith cabled back on the 18th accepting Hughes' visit. The British delegation arrived in Salisbury four days later.

Discussions proceeded rapidly during the week, but did not touch on the issue of Lisbon until the fifth day, 26 July, when Hughes and Johnston met with Smith, Deputy Prime Minister Clifford Dupont, and Trade and Industry Minister George Rudland. Dupont opened the discussion by referring to Sandys' statement from 1963, which said the Rhodesian government would retain any rights previously granted to the Federation, which Dupont reasoned surely included the ability given in 1957 to appoint its own overseas agents if it informed Britain. As Portugal had indicated its willingness to accept a Rhodesian diplomat, Dupont said, the Rhodesian government was acting perfectly within its rights.

Hughes countered that he did not believe the wording of the 1957 document gave Rhodesia the right to devise its own representation overseas without first gaining assent from Britain. The Reedman Appointment would probably be seen internationally as a major rise in Rhodesian diplomatic profile, he said, and might damage Britain's reputation, which would in turn make the ongoing negotiations for independence more difficult for both sides. He repeated Bottomley's previous offer of a consul on the British Embassy staff, adding that the official would not have to be physically located within the embassy, and could set up his own office elsewhere so long as he remained nominally affiliated to it.

Smith stoically replied that in his interpretation Rhodesia was required to keep Whitehall informed, but prior British concurrence was not necessary; if Britain contested this, the prime minister said, then surely the 1957 entrustment had never meant anything. Dupont then spoke again, rejecting the idea that the Rhodesian mission should be a mere subsidiary consulate of the British Embassy. Hughes replied firmly that the 1957 despatch did not give the Rhodesians free rein over external matters, and warned them to be more flexible if they intended to find common ground. Eager to avoid open confrontation, Smith told Dupont to reconsider his tone, and changed the subject.

Hughes met with several other Rhodesian figures before leaving late on 27 July, but Lisbon remained off the programme most of the time. Just before Hughes departed, Dupont released a statement saying that Reedman would take office in Lisbon on 1 August, and would be "warmly welcomed" by the Portuguese government. Hughes decried this in a brief telephone call to Smith, but could do little more before leaving Rhodesia that evening. On 29 July, Smith fielded questions from the press, commenting on both Lisbon and the independence talks in general. He expressed the belief that Rhodesia had made more progress towards independence talking with Hughes than it ever had before, but qualified this by saying only Wilson's reply to the proposals given to Hughes would show if this were indeed true. He said that although he thought Whitehall was keen to resolve the independence issue, he did not believe their line had changed. He declared that he and the RF would not change their stance in any way. Moving to the subject of Lisbon, Smith stressed that this was separate from the independence dispute, then overruled Dupont's announcement of two days before: Reedman's appointment would remain provisional until further notice, he said.

Anglo-Rhodesian animosity deepens

Bottomley tours West Africa, arousing Rhodesian suspicion

Bottomley toured West Africa during early August, and, in Ghana and Nigeria, gave several speeches reassuring his hosts that immediate majority rule was an unconditional requirement for Rhodesian independence. He ruled out the use of military force in the event of a Rhodesian UDI, and pledged to instead end such a rebellion through economic sanctions. Bottomley's dismissal of the use of force drew damning criticism from Nkomo, now leader of the Warsaw Pact-aligned Zimbabwe African People's Union, who said this showed Britain was not serious about decolonising Rhodesia as it had its other African possessions. Meanwhile, Bottomley's comments caused anti-British sentiment to redouble amongst the Rhodesian hierarchy. In his memoirs, Smith describes the mood in forthright terms, accusing Britain of "resorting to politics of convenience and appeasement". "We waited and waited ... the British were not prepared to make a clear decision," he writes; "they were consulting the bankrupt and communist dictatorships before replying to us." Becoming exasperated by the lack of progress, even the more hesitant members of the Rhodesian government began to see the road leading towards UDI as the only one viable for them. Lisbon, however, remained the immediate bone of contention, and on this issue the Rhodesians became yet more determined not to give an inch.

Meeting between Johnston and Smith on 18 August

Smith organised a meeting with Johnston, starting at 09:00 on 18 August, where he informed the British High Commissioner that he had considered the Lisbon Appointment extensively, with the help of Dupont, several legal advisers, and a judge of the Rhodesian High Court. The judge had examined the relevant documents, and had come to the conclusion that Dupont's interpretation of them was correct. Smith therefore felt certain that Reedman's appointment was legitimate so long as Portugal agreed. A long argument ensued, with neither man willing to budge. Smith said that he had always tried to be flexible and civil, but that he and his government felt they had to make a stand. By making clear to Lisbon the exact nature of their proposed representative, and informing Britain of their intent, Smith said the Rhodesians had filled every legal obligation.

Johnston dismissed Smith's argument, asserting that neither the Federation nor Rhodesia had ever made such an appointment (this was actually false; the Federal government had opened independent diplomatic missions in South Africa and Portuguese Mozambique, and Rhodesia retained them both). Johnston concluded that Rhodesia was trying to prematurely advance its international standing. The previous entrustments, he said, had been made to allow Britain and Rhodesia to cooperate subject to Whitehall's ultimate authority, and did not entitle Rhodesia to do as it liked in the field of external affairs, especially if its chosen line ran counter to Britain's. In an attempt to intimidate Smith, Johnston sternly asked why the Rhodesian prime minister would risk causing a major international incident by deliberately defying Britain. Smith remained calm, unmoved by Johnston's change in tact, and replied that following Britain's several slights against Rhodesia over the previous year and a half, Salisbury would not accept another. The conversation continued in this manner for some time afterwards. Smith proposed that the relevant documents be examined jointly by two judges, one British and one Rhodesian, but Johnston refused this. The meeting ended without agreement.

Bottomley returns to Britain

The Rhodesian press reported extensively on the Lisbon controversy during the second half of August, generally predicting that neither Britain, Portugal nor Rhodesia would cave. While most reporters believed that Whitehall would take a strong line, few could see any way it could actually stop Reedman from taking office. On 20 August, Bottomley spoke at his final conference in Lagos, and repeated all he had previously said regarding Britain's stance on Rhodesia. Back in London three days later, he reaffirmed his previous stance regarding Lisbon, saying that he would be pleased to have a Rhodesian on the staff of the British Embassy there, but would allow no more. In the same interview, he expressed the belief that Wilson had averted a Rhodesian UDI in October the previous year by warning Salisbury of the economic consequences. Speaking in Gwelo on 27 August, Smith derided this statement, calling it "incredible". His administration had not even considered UDI then, he said, but it was contemplated now, and he believed Anglo-Rhodesian relations were at their all-time lowest ebb. He urged Britain to return to the bargaining table quickly.

Britain attempts to block the appointment

Wilson resolves to challenge Portugal

The British continued their policy of stalling Smith. At the end of August 1965, they did not consider a Rhodesian UDI an immediate threat, and therefore focussed on the colony's maintained defiance of the mother country regarding Reedman and Lisbon. On 30 August, Johnston summarised Britain's stand on the issue for Bottomley's Commonwealth Relations Office. According to his understanding, he said, Rhodesia had been told just before Federal dissolution that it would retain the Federation's former powers regarding external affairs, but that this entrustment was subject to British discretion, and could not be exercised without extensive prior consultation and conformity to Britain's line.

Johnston rued bitterly that the Rhodesians had apparently made practical arrangements for an independent office in Lisbon anyway, even going to the trouble of renting the prospective mission premises. He repeated the claim he had made in the meeting with Smith on 18 August, saying once more that the Federal government had not made appointments off its own bat. He accepted that there was an independent Rhodesian envoy in Pretoria, but argued that this was the result of South Africa's enforced withdrawal from the Commonwealth. He did not mention the Rhodesian (formerly Federal) office in Lourenço Marques, which Wood comments could be considered "precedent for Portugal".

On 5 September, the Salisbury Sunday Mail reported that Smith was standing firm on Reedman's absolute independence in Lisbon, and that Portugal had accepted the envoy. British Foreign Secretary Michael Stewart reacted with alarm, convening an urgent meeting the same day with Hughes and Sir Archibald Ross, Britain's ambassador to Portugal. Here Hughes proposed hauling Portugal over the coals, insisting that the Lisbon mission represented "creeping independence" for Rhodesia, and therefore had to be stopped.

Ross disagreed, reasoning this would only damage relations between Britain and Portugal, an undesirable prospect given the countries' common membership in NATO, the European Free Trade Association and more. There was much at stake; Britain enjoyed an annual £48 million trade surplus with Portugal, and Portuguese Railways was in the process of buying 50 diesel locomotives from English Electric. In the Azores archipelago, Portugal provided NATO with a strategically key air base, which was unprotected by treaty; given the inclination, Lisbon might close it.

Hughes blustered that there was nothing more they could do to deter Rhodesia directly; they had already threatened to expel Rhodesia's representative from the British Embassy in Washington, with no effect. The only open course therefore had to be to take a firmer line with Portugal. Two days later, on 7 September, Wilson discussed the matter with Hughes and Stewart, and agreed with their conclusions, telling them to proceed.

Meeting between Johnston and Smith on 8 September; the appointment is confirmed

The same day, Bottomley wrote to Smith, saying that he and Wilson were disheartened by the lack of progress regarding both independence and the Lisbon Appointment. He was willing to visit Rhodesia personally, but could not come until October because he had to be in Blackpool to attend the Labour Party Conference, which started on 26 September. The next morning, on 8 September, Johnston told Smith that if Reedman proceeded to Portugal in open disregard for Britain's wishes, it would negatively affect future independence negotiations. Rhodesia's delay in justifying the appointment was also having a detrimental affect, Johnston asserted. Finally, he threatened to evict the Rhodesian envoys from Washington, Bonn and Tokyo if Rhodesia did not desist. Smith was yet again unmoved. Any procrastination regarding Lisbon was Britain's fault, he insisted. He told Johnston to wait for the afternoon session in Rhodesia's Legislative Assembly to hear Dupont's official announcement of Reedman's appointment, as well as the full Rhodesian explanation behind it.

Smith said he understood this would irk the British, but insisted that he and his government were no longer willing to wait. He had repeatedly offered to respect the judgement of an impartial arbitration team, he reminded Johnston, but the British had shot this idea down each time. He therefore felt compelled to follow the advice given by his own legal team, which was that the appointment was legitimate. His government would not accept a lesser appointment in Lisbon than in Pretoria and Lourenço Marques. He dismissed Johnston's threat to expel the Rhodesian representatives in West Germany, Japan and America; relations with Portugal and South Africa were far more important, he said, as they were Rhodesia's two closest neighbours geographically.

Johnston protested that the British government could not take part in the kind of judicial enquiry Smith described, as its sovereignty could not be subject to any outside judgement. There was nothing to arbitrate anyway, he insisted. Smith was again resolute: why, he queried, was Whitehall so adamant to avoid legal arbitration if its ministers were so sure they were right? He promised to drop the matter if such a panel ruled against him, but to no avail. Johnston said only that he would telegraph Whitehall to inform them that Reedman's appointment was imminent. Dupont confirmed it that afternoon, telling the Rhodesian Legislative Assembly that the mission had been accepted by Portugal.

Britain tries to browbeat Portugal, but Lisbon insists it is neutral

Meanwhile, Stewart and Ross argued with Nogueira and the Portuguese chargé d'affaires in London, José Manuel de Villas-Boas de Vasconcellos Faria. On 8 September, Nogueira said the Portuguese were accepting Reedman as a Rhodesian representative, but were not defining his status as they wished to remain neutral in what they regarded as an exclusively Anglo-Rhodesian problem. So far as he could see, Nogueira said, Portugal had done no harm to British interests. Stewart firmly told Nogueira that Britain expected Portugal to make a statement within 24 hours saying that it would not deal with Reedman while he remained off the British Embassy staff. Nogueira replied that his government was not going to accord official diplomatic recognition to Reedman, and that Dupont understood this. Ross now threatened to involve NATO if Portugal did not thoroughly explain its conduct. Unmoved, Nogueira said this surprised him; if the British were so keen to have Reedman on the staff at their embassy, he answered, that was down to them. Portugal was totally neutral in the affair, he insisted.

Britain vigorously rallied other NATO countries to take a stand against Portugal over Reedman. France warned that NATO pressure was unlikely to yield results in his matter, but Belgium's NATO representative, André de Staercke, agreed to challenge Salazar on 11 September. At his meeting with de Staercke, Salazar denied that Portugal was giving Rhodesia its own diplomatic representation, and said there had been some misunderstanding. Portugal would not obstruct Reedman's entry should he arrive, Salazar said, as he was travelling on a (Rhodesian-issued) British passport. On 14 September, Nogueira's ministry released a statement saying that if Britain challenged Portugal over Rhodesia at NATO, Lisbon would "use the greatest firmness to repel any attempt to attribute particular responsibilities or to make criticism of Portugal's position".

Britain raised the issue formally in the North Atlantic Council, NATO's most senior political governing body, the same day. Here Portugal's delegate, Vasco da Cunha, argued that given the standing existence of independent Rhodesian offices in Lourenço Marques, Pretoria and London, the matter was between Britain and Rhodesia, and not Portugal's business. Rhodesia had simply asked to have Reedman head a representative office in Lisbon, and he would not present a letter of accreditation. If Rhodesia exaggerated this, da Cunha said, that was not Portugal's concern. The Italian, Belgian, Danish, French and U.S. delegates in turn sided with Britain, and collectively asked da Cunha to tell his government to publicly declare its non-acceptance of Reedman while he lacked British approval. Da Cunha refused, saying this would only irritate his compatriots "because of the neglect by their allies of their interests in the past". The meeting broke up without agreement. The British were pleased with the pro-British sentiment displayed therein, while the Portuguese remained unmoved.

The Lisbon Appointment

Reedman arrives in Lisbon and receives Portuguese approval

Having spent the previous week in London, Reedman flew into Lisbon Portela Airport on 15 September 1965. He was met there by the Portuguese Foreign Ministry's assistant chief of protocol, Luis Quartim Bastos, and three Rhodesian officials, who had arrived a fortnight before. Nobody from the British Embassy was present. Bastos told a reporter that he was at the airport on Nogueira's behalf to accord Reedman "the classic welcome for the arrival of heads of mission". Speaking the next day, Reedman appeared genial and optimistic. "We have everything in common," he said, "including the will for survival, an awareness of the true situation overseas, and a greater feeling towards what we are doing."

Two days later, Dupont announced that he had issued a letter of accreditation to Reedman for presentation to Nogueira. The envoy would not present credentials, Dupont explained, as he was representing the Rhodesian government, and not its head of state, Queen Elizabeth II. The deputy prime minister expressed confusion regarding the appointment's discussion at NATO, saying that Rhodesia was far outside the organisation's geographical area of responsibility. He said that the letter of accreditation would confer on Reedman the title of "Accredited Diplomatic Representative", and that Reedman would thereafter head the "Rhodesian Diplomatic Mission" in Lisbon, which would operate on the same level as the Rhodesian office in Pretoria. The Portuguese Foreign Ministry quickly issued a statement correcting Dupont's wording, saying that Reedman would lead the "Rhodesian Mission", with no reference to diplomatic status.

To Britain's alarm and indignation, the Portuguese government announced on 21 September that Nogueira had accepted "a letter of introduction" from Reedman, conferring upon him the title "Chief of the Rhodesian Mission", with powers to deal with the Portuguese Foreign Ministry in Luso-Rhodesian matters without British interference. This followed the precedent set by Reedman's counterpart in South Africa, the statement said. Speaking publicly in Salisbury the same evening, Dupont told reporters that there had never been any intention to claim ambassadorial status for Reedman, and that Rhodesia had constantly kept Britain informed of what was happening regarding the appointment. So far as he was concerned, he said, the Rhodesian government had achieved its objective of attaining an independent diplomatic representative in Portugal, and had not exceeded its mandate in any way while doing so. Britain protested furiously, saying Portugal was going back on its word. Portugal insisted that its reception of Reedman and his Lisbon mission did not prejudice Britain's responsibility over Rhodesia, and was justified because of the long-standing ties between Portugal and Rhodesia, as well as their common involvement in many southern African issues.

Rhodesia initiates clandestine arms purchases

Reedman carried instructions from Salisbury to spend up to £3 million on European weapons, aircraft and equipment as soon as he could. The Rhodesian government now believed that UDI was almost inevitable, and, knowing the purchase of materiel would be more difficult following this, wished to have the Rhodesian Security Forces' necessary ammunition, weapons, spare parts and other equipment in place beforehand. Soon after arriving in Portugal, Reedman contacted the Lisbon-based Zoio brothers, José, Luiz and Jean, who had recently supplied the Portuguese Armed Forces in Angola with British-made weapons in direct contravention of NATO's embargo against arming Portugal's African-based troops. The Zoios were interested in stocking Rhodesia's arsenal, and promptly agreed to arrange an order of weapons from a third party on Reedman's behalf in exchange for a letter of credit from the Rhodesian government.

Pretending their client was the government of Pakistan, the Zoio brothers contacted a licensed arms dealer from England, Major W. R. L. Turp MBE of Bexley, Kent, who quickly agreed in principle, requesting a letter of credit from a Geneva bank and appropriate end-user certificates for the weapons. Meanwhile, Reedman's military attaché, Wing Commander John Mussell, travelled to Belgium to buy starter cartridges for the Rolls-Royce Avon 109 jet engines used by the Royal Rhodesian Air Force's English Electric Canberra bombers, as well as engines for Rhodesia's Hawker Hunter jet fighters, which were produced in Belgium under licence from Britain.

Reedman speaks on Portuguese state radio, 24 September

I have a mandate from the Rhodesian government to put our case for independence not only to the people of Portugal, in order to obtain your understanding and support of our just, urgent, and proper claims, but to all those people who are interested in the cause of justice. ... The Afro-Asian bloc has made a mockery of the Commonwealth, but it plans to go further and assault not merely Rhodesia but all other civilised states in Africa. Portugal herself has not escaped such vicious treatment. ... We stand together in a common cause because of civilisation. I speak wholly for my government – we stand together.

On 24 September, Reedman appeared on Portugal's state-owned national radio station, Emissora Nacional de Radiodifusão, addressing the Portuguese nation as the "head of the Rhodesian diplomatic mission to Portugal". He spoke along lines reminiscent of Smith's speech to parliament on 31 June, saying the Afro-Asian element "made a mockery of the Commonwealth" and enabled Chinese-initiated communist encroachment into Africa. More than one Commonwealth member state hosted training facilities for black communist guerrillas, he said, which threatened all "civilised states in Africa". He dismissed one man, one vote as false "trash democracy", and said that in the present geopolitical climate countries run by black Africans inevitably destroyed themselves. "This your Rhodesian neighbour will not in any circumstances allow," he pledged. "We stand together in a common cause because of civilisation."

Ross rebuked Nogueira for allowing the broadcast, saying its content was insidious and goading. Nogueira agreed that Reedman's words were provocative, but said Portugal could not be blamed as it did not censor public broadcasts. Britain considered withdrawing Ross in protest, but its Foreign Office ruled this out, saying Britain could not afford to be without an ambassador in Lisbon to influence Portugal's actions in the event of UDI. British Cabinet Secretary Burke Trend rejected this view, pointing to Lisbon's conduct regarding Reedman, which he said showed the Portuguese "ha very clearly made up their minds" to support a Rhodesian UDI. The British ambassador would not be able to affect matters, he surmised, and British interests would be better served by immediately taking a firm hand against Portugal, in the hope that this would send a strong message to Rhodesia. Ross then protested to the Portuguese about Reedman's calling himself "head of the Rhodesian diplomatic mission" on the radio; Lisbon replied impassively that this was a private expression of views by Reedman, and not Portugal's responsibility.

Aftermath

The final steps to UDI

While the British remained firmly against separate Rhodesian representation in Lisbon, there was little they could do to stop it. Ross was nominally put on extended leave, but not withdrawn. Smith decided in the last week of September that he could no longer wait for Bottomley to fulfil his promise to visit Rhodesia during October, and resolved to meet with Wilson personally in London. He arranged to travel on 3 October, arriving the next day. Meanwhile, pressed strongly by the African Commonwealth members—prominently Ghana, which threatened to withdraw from the organisation if a Rhodesian rebellion was not promptly crushed—Britain busied itself coordinating a prospective course of action against Rhodesia in the event of UDI, and secured the support of the U.S. and the Commonwealth for a programme of economic sanctions. Lord Caradon, Britain's delegate at the UN, warned that a Rhodesian UDI would provoke a yet more vociferous wave of anti-British protest from the Africans, with the communists actively egging them on. At the suggestion of American security adviser McGeorge Bundy, the British and Americans agreed to invoke the UN Security Council to back these sanctions in order to pre-empt any measures the Communist bloc or the Afro-Asian lobby might propose.

While Smith prepared to travel, Britain continued its frantic efforts to curry international anti-Rhodesian sentiment. Realising the proposed actions against Rhodesia would isolate Zambia and disable its valuable copper industry, the British and Americans planned an expensive airlift of supplies. The British government extracted promises from West Germany and Japan that both would clarify their hereto ambiguous stances, and support Anglo-American action following a UDI. Each NATO member government received a British letter urging it not to deal with Reedman. Smith boarded his flight for London late on 3 October, insisting in an interview for foreign television that "there is a way out of this, I believe."

Smith received so much encouragement from ordinary Britons that even the Rhodesians were surprised. A group of Londoners cheered the Salisbury delegates outside 10 Downing Street on 7 and 8 October, and on the 9th, when Smith visited Rhodesia House, Wood writes that "great crowds thronged the Strand to catch a glimpse of him, and pressed forward to grasp his hand when he arrived ... Some people had come especially from the north of England to see him." To Wilson's dismay, the visiting prime minister was invited onto BBC1's 24 Hours evening news and current affairs programme; fearing that Smith's appearance might make him even more popular amongst the British masses, Downing Street ordered the BBC to cancel it at four hours' notice. The two prime ministers' talks were largely unproductive, with both men standing fast. Smith flew home on 12 October with his mind made up that negotiation had failed. Wilson was also sceptical, telling British television that he believed himself and his opponent to be "living in almost different centuries"; all the same, he travelled to Salisbury later that month to meet with Rhodesian Cabinet ministers, businessmen, and black nationalist leaders, including Nkomo and Sithole, both of whom had been imprisoned the previous year for violently intimidating black voters and rival nationalists.

Arriving in Salisbury on 25 October, Wilson proposed to Smith that Britain might safeguard future black representation in parliament by revoking the Rhodesian government's power to enact retrogressive legislation. To do this he would have to strip some of the self-governing powers held by Rhodesia since 1923, a horrific prospect in the eyes of his Rhodesian opponents. Wilson left Rhodesia on 30 October with the matter still in deadlock: Britain remained bent on reducing Salisbury's self-governing status, while Rhodesia felt backed into a corner. This quandary proved the final straw for Smith's government. With the Rhodesian military standing by to repel a potential invasion by British, Commonwealth or UN troops, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence was signed by the Rhodesian Cabinet on 11 November 1965, to almost unanimous international acrimony. As arranged, Britain referred the matter to the UN Security Council, which the next day passed Resolution 216, which condemned the declaration as an illegal one "made by a racist minority", and called on all member states to withhold diplomatic recognition. Resolution 217, instructing all UN countries to end economic relations with Rhodesia, followed on 20 November.

Portugal's role in Rhodesian "sanction-busting"

Though he took care to ensure the army's preparation for UDI, Smith was confident that despite the sabre-rattling of Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda and some of the UK's politicians, the British military would never agree to engage in what he said would be a "fratricidal war" against Rhodesia. He was proven correct when a British Ministry of Defence council, convened by Wilson and headed by Denis Healey, determined such intervention "impossible", citing various logistical problems, the danger of provoking a pre-emptive Rhodesian attack on Zambia, and the psychological issues that would surely accompany any confrontation between British and Rhodesian troops. A discreet probe of junior officers in the British forces described an overwhelming proportion of them as unwilling to attack "kith and kin" in Rhodesia, while a nationwide opinion poll of the time reported 60% of Britons to be against an invasion, with only 27% in favour. Healey took seriously what he called "mutinous mutterings" amongst a group of senior British officers, whom he worried might resign en masse if ordered to invade. Wilson therefore put all his eggs in the sanctions basket, assertively predicting in January 1966 that the embargo would bring Rhodesia to its knees "within a matter of weeks rather than months".

The UN embargo proved ineffective, largely because both Portugal and South Africa refused to participate. Both declared themselves neutral in the Rhodesian affair, and continued to supply Rhodesia with vital resources such as oil, both at a governmental level and privately; many ordinary South Africans bought drums of fuel, loaded them onto their own vehicles and drove them to Rhodesian cities on their own accord. Portugal, meanwhile, helped Rhodesia through its refinery at Lourenço Marques, as well as providing its seaports. Clandestine trade with other nations continued at a reduced level, with Rhodesian tobacco exports enduring through a government-run residual buyer, the Tobacco Corporation. Over the coming years, unsold Rhodesian tobacco was regularly labelled as product of Mozambique, then shipped to Europe or Asia by Portugal for sale on the open market. Salisbury set up a chain of shell holding companies in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg to help it circumvent the embargo, and imports from France, West Germany and Japan gradually replaced those from Britain. Even most African states, while bombarding Rhodesia with vitriolic rhetoric, illicitly bought Rhodesian beef and other produce by the plane-load, with Gabon in particular becoming a key Rhodesian trading partner. The Rhodesians called operations such as this "sanction-busting".

Historians Paul Moorcraft and Peter McLaughlin write that the sanctions were "hardly more than a nuisance" to Rhodesia in practice; if anything, by forcing the unrecognised state to diversify its economy, the embargo helped it to become self-sufficient during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The London Sunday Times was unequivocal in its verdict on 27 February 1966, running the headline "sanctions have failed". Wilson altered his tactics and aimed to directly cut off Rhodesia's oil. The main supply of oil to Rhodesia was controlled by Portugal: it offloaded at Beira in Mozambique, then ran through a pipeline to Rhodesia's easternmost city, Umtali, where it was refined into fuel. Oil could also be disembarked and refined at Lourenço Marques, with the product freighted to Rhodesia by rail. Wilson set up a Royal Navy patrol in the Mozambique Channel in March 1966, intending to prevent tankers serving Rhodesian interests from reaching Mozambique. This became known as the Beira Patrol. The UN endorsed the blockade the next month with Resolution 221, but Portugal refused to recognise it as legal or binding. Lisbon furthermore attempted to absolve itself from potential blame, insisting that any illicit oil would be the responsibility of the country whose flag flew on the tanker. The blockade met with little success because the Royal Navy task force was too small to cover both Lourenço Marques and Beira, and lacked the legal authority to fire on tankers once they were in Portuguese waters. Oil continued to reach Rhodesia via Mozambique and South Africa under various flags, keeping Salisbury comfortably supplied in spite of the Royal Navy patrol.

The Zoios' clandestine transaction with Turp initially progressed well, but fell apart in March 1966, when Turp discovered he would actually be arming Rhodesia rather than Pakistan, reacted with alarm and informed the British government. The British Board of Trade tightened its control over arms transactions, and encouraged its NATO counterparts to do the same, while the Zoios turned their attention to Belgian, Italian and West German arms dealers. In October 1966, a huge consignment of army and air force equipment arrived in Rhodesia from the seaports of Mozambique, with many of the containers bearing metropolitan Portuguese markings. Prominent amongst the European weapons were FN FAL battle rifles from Belgium, which allowed an unofficial Rhodesian trade delegation to operate quietly in spite of the sanctions. Other clandestine shipments of materiel to Rhodesia came from Israel, India, Jordan and "the usual arms bazaars in Europe and America," Moorcraft and McLaughlin say, with South Africa assisting with the transit.

The Carnation Revolution ends Luso-Rhodesian cooperation

The Rhodesian Mission in Lisbon remained open throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, providing a key link between the Rhodesian and Portuguese governments, which remained close. When Rhodesia adopted a republican constitution in 1970, Portugal bowed to British diplomatic pressure and withdrew its consul-general, João de Freitas Cruz, from Salisbury, but the Rhodesian office in Lisbon remained open. With the Carnation Revolution of 1974, Portugal's African policy was suddenly reversed. By contrast to the former right-wing government, which had been committed to a pluricontinental Portugal, the new leftist administration rapidly initiated moves to withdraw from the continent as quickly as possible. Following hurried negotiations between Portugal and the nationalist guerrillas in each territory, both Mozambique and Angola became independent under communist governments in 1975. Lisbon's stance on Rhodesia altered accordingly. The Portuguese government ordered the closure of the Rhodesian Mission in April 1975, and simultaneously withdrew its own remaining officials from Rhodesia. The Rhodesian Mission formally closed on 1 May 1975, ending the affair of the Lisbon Appointment.

Notes and references

Notes

1. Renamed Zimbabwe in 1980
2. This followed the British Nationality Act 1948, which allowed each Commonwealth nation to legislate for its own citizenship while still retaining some elements of shared Commonwealth nationality. As in Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries, a Southern Rhodesian citizen was also concurrently considered a "British subject" and a "Citizen of an Independent Commonwealth Country" (CICC).
3. The act conferred on Salisbury the power "to appoint diplomatic agents, or consular or trade representatives, in countries which are willing to receive them, to deal with matters within the competence of the Federal Government".
4. Soon after Britain ceased its financial assistance, the United States halted its own smaller aid contributions to Rhodesia in June 1964. When pressed on the subject in July 1965 by Rhodesia's finance minister, John Wrathall, Britain's Cledwyn Hughes explained that the resumption of financial assistance would depend on progress towards an independence settlement acceptable to Britain. Neither Whitehall nor the British public would back economic aid to Rhodesia with the independence issue on rocky ground, he said, as Britain had financial difficulties of its own. Wrathall complained to no avail that Britain was still finding room in its tight budget to aid other countries, and Rhodesia resented being excluded.
5. The Rhodesian government convened a national indaba (tribal conference) in October 1964, inviting 622 black chiefs, headmen and other traditional representatives to Domboshawa, near Salisbury. They unanimously backed independence under the 1961 constitution, and the government took this to represent support from the country's tribal population as a whole. A month later a general independence referendum of the mostly white electorate was held, which yielded a 91% "yes" vote for the same.
6. The London office da Cunha refers to here is the Rhodesian High Commission at Rhodesia House.
7. Smith arrived on 4 October, but Wilson did not immediately invite him to 10 Downing Street. The Rhodesian prime minister presented himself at the Commonwealth Relations Office the day he arrived, and spent 5 and 6 October there, meeting with Bottomley and Hughes, with Rhodesian ministers William Harper, Desmond Lardner-Burke and John Wrathall accompanying him. Wilson first received Smith at Downing Street late on 7 October.
8. Despite the patrol's futility—it intercepted only 47 tankers in its first five years, of which 42 were allowed to go on—Britain retained it, gradually reducing it in size, until 1975, when Mozambique became independent and pledged not to transship oil to Rhodesia.

References

1. ^ Wood 2005, p. 319
2. ^ Wood 2005, p. 357
3. ^ Fedorowich & Thomas 2001, pp. 185–186
4. ^ The Glasgow Herald & 1 May 1975
5. Wessels 2010, p. 273
6. Wood 2005, p. 9
7. St Brides 1980
8. Berlyn 1978, pp. 134–142
9. Berlyn 1978, p. 248
10. Hansen 1999, pp. 78–79
11. ^ Smith 1997, p. 32
12. ^ Wood 2005, p. 279
13. Smith 1997, p. 33
14. Wood 2005, pp. 319, 337
15. ^ Wood 2005, p. 344
16. Blake 1977, p. 331; Welensky 1964, p. 64
17. Jackson 1990, pp. 96–97
18. Wood 2005, p. 20
19. Schwarz 2011, p. 370
20. Meredith 1984, p. 131
21. ^ Blake 1977, p. 335
22. Bussey, Chpt. African Nationalists
23. Smith 1997, p. 47
24. ^ Wood 2005, pp. 360–363, 367
25. Wood 2005, p. 371
26. Berlyn 1978, p. 135
27. Bussey, Chpt. The Road to UDI
28. Wood 2005, p. 189
29. Wood 2005, p. 38
30. Berlyn 1978, pp. 131–132; Wessels 2010, pp. 102–104
31. Smith 1997, p. 70
32. Wood 2005, p. 351
33. ^ Wood 2005, p. 335
34. Palley 1966, pp. 742–743
35. ^ Wessels 2010, pp. 89–90, 102–103
36. The Sydney Morning Herald 1964; Harris 1969; Berlyn 1978, pp. 144–146; Wessels 2010, p. 105
37. Smith 1997, p. 153
38. Wood 2005, pp. 418–420, 445; Wessels 2010, p. 105
39. Wood 2005, p. 325
40. ^ Brockway 1965
41. ^ Fedorowich & Thomas 2001, pp. 184–187
42. Fedorowich & Thomas 2001, pp. 172–175, 185–186
43. Duignan & Gann 1994, pp. 12–14
44. Fedorowich & Thomas 2001, p. 177
45. Wood 2005, p. 352
46. Smith 1997, pp. 72–73
47. Gale 1973, pp. 88–89
48. Windrich 1978, p. 37
49. ^ Wood 2008, p. 6
50. Wood 2005, p. 320
51. Wood 2005, p. 323
52. Wood 2005, p. 326
53. Wood 2005, pp. 323–326
54. ^ Wood 2005, pp. 326–327
55. Berlyn 1978, p. 143
56. ^ House of Lords & 26 July 1965
57. Wood 2005, pp. 329–331
58. ^ Wood 2005, p. 334
59. Wood 2005, p. 337
60. Wood 2005, p. 338
61. ^ Wood 2005, pp. 339–340
62. ^ Smith 1997, pp. 90–92
63. ^ Wood 2005, pp. 340–341
64. ^ Wood 2005, p. 343
65. Wood 2005, p. 342
66. Abrams et al. 1990, p. 4
67. ^ Wood 2005, p. 345
68. ^ Wood 2005, p. 347
69. ^ Wood 2005, p. 346
70. Kapungu 1973, p. 10
71. Wessels 2010, pp. 149–152
72. ^ Fedorowich & Thomas 2001, p. 185
73. ^ Wood 2005, p. 353
74. ^ The Glasgow Herald & 16 September 1965
75. Wood 2005, p. 355
76. The Glasgow Herald & 22 September 1965
77. ^ Wood 2008, pp. 73–74
78. ^ Wood 2005, p. 360
79. ^ The Glasgow Herald & 25 September 1965
80. Wood 2005, p. 361
81. Wood 2005, pp. 363–366
82. ^ Wood 2005, pp. 381–383
83. Wood 2005, pp. 367–372
84. Wood 2005, pp. 387–388
85. Schwarz 2011, p. 406
86. Martin & Johnson 1981, pp. 70–71; Wessels 2010, pp. 102–103
87. Wood 2005, pp. 412–414
88. Wood 2005, p. 439
89. Wood 2005, p. 443
90. ^ Wood 2005, pp. 468–470; Wood 2008, p. 10; Wessels 2010, pp. 116–118
91. UN Security Council 1965
92. ^ Smith 1997, pp. 109–116
93. ^ Lowry 1996, pp. 204, 212
94. Wood 2008, p. 47
95. ^ Smith 1997, pp. 13, 118
96. Naylor 1999, p. 138
97. Moorcraft & McLaughlin 2008, p. 120
98. Moorcraft & McLaughlin 2008, p. 119
99. ^ Smith 1997, pp. 116–117
100. ^ Mobley 2002, pp. 66, 71–76, 83 Cite error: The named reference "mobley" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
101. Moorcraft & McLaughlin 2008, p. 122
102. Moorcraft & McLaughlin 2008, p. 126
103. St. Petersburg Times 1970
104. Cilliers 1984, pp. 22–24; Duignan & Gann 1994, pp. 25–29

Newspaper and journal articles

• Lord Brockway (1 October 1965). "Crisis Over Rhodesia". Tribune. London.
• Hansen, Randall (1999). "The Politics of Citizenship in 1940s Britain: The British Nationality Act" (pdf). Twentieth Century British History. 10 (1). Oxford: Oxford University Press: 67–95. Retrieved 22 September 2012. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Harris, P. B. (1969). "The Rhodesian Referendum: June 20th, 1969" (pdf). Parliamentary Affairs. 23. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 72–80. Retrieved 18 October 2011. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Mobley, Richard (2002). "The Beira patrol: Britain's broken blockade against Rhodesia". Naval War College Review. LV (1). Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College: 63–84. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Lord St Brides (1980). "The Lessons of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia". International Security. 4 (4). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press: 177–184. doi:10.2307/2626673. JSTOR 2626673. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• "Britain 'Gets Tough': Warns Rhodesia Of 'Rebellion' Consequences". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 October 1964. p. 3.
• "A 'Classic Welcome' for Reedman". The Glasgow Herald. 16 September 1965. p. 9.
• "Rhodesia's Man in Lisbon: Objective Said To Be Achieved". The Glasgow Herald. 22 September 1965. p. 9.
• "Rhodesian Representative Broadcasts to Portugal". The Glasgow Herald. 25 September 1965. p. 7.
• "Portugal Cuts Rhodesia Tie". St. Petersburg Times. 27 April 1970. p. 3–A.
• "Rhodesians to quit Lisbon". The Glasgow Herald. 1 May 1975. p. 4.

Online sources

• Lord Brockway; Lord Taylor (26 July 1965). "Rhodesian diplomatic representation at Lisbon". London: House of Lords. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
• Bussey, Joanna. "Rhodesia UDI 1965 – Online Exhibition". University of London: Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Retrieved 28 July 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• "UN Security Council, Resolution 216 (1965) of 12 November 1965". New York: UN Security Council. 12 November 1965. UN Document S/RES/216 (1965). Retrieved 30 July 2012.

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• Berlyn, Phillippa (1978). The Quiet Man: A Biography of the Hon. Ian Douglas Smith. Salisbury: M. O. Collins. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Blake, Robert (1977). A History of Rhodesia. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-48068-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Cilliers, Jakkie (1984). Counter-Insurgency in Rhodesia. London, Sydney & Dover, New Hampshire: Croom Helm. ISBN 978-0-7099-3412-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Duignan, Peter; Gann, Lewis H. (1994). Communism in sub-Saharan Africa: a reappraisal. Stanford, California: Hoover Press. ISBN 978-0-8179-3712-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Fedorowich, Kent; Thomas, Martin, eds. (2001). International Diplomacy and Colonial Retreat. London: Frank Cass. ISBN 978-0-7146-5063-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gale, William Daniel (1973). The years between 1923–1973: half a century of responsible government in Rhodesia. Salisbury: H. C. P. Andersen. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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• Meredith, Martin (1984). The First Dance of Freedom: Black Africa in the postwar era. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0-06-430150-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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• Schwarz, Bill (2011). The White Man's World (First ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929691-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Smith, Ian (1997). The Great Betrayal: The Memoirs of Ian Douglas Smith. London: John Blake Publishing. ISBN 1-85782-176-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Welensky, Roy (1964). Welensky's 4000 Days. London: Collins. ASIN B0006DBAJ6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wessels, Hannes (2010). P. K. van der Byl: African Statesman. Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers. ISBN 978-1-920143-49-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Windrich, Elaine (1978). Britain and the Politics of Rhodesian Independence. London, Sydney & Dover, New Hampshire: Croom Helm. ISBN 0-85664-709-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wood, J. R. T. (2005). So far and no further! Rhodesia's bid for independence during the retreat from empire 1959–1965. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4120-4952-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Wood, J. R. T. (2008). A matter of weeks rather than months: The Impasse between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith: Sanctions, Aborted Settlements and War 1965–1969. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4251-4807-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

• Use dmy dates from August 2012
• 1965 in Africa
• 1965 in international relations
• 1965 in Portugal
• 1965 in the United Kingdom
• 1965 in Zimbabwe
• Diplomatic incidents
• Estado Novo (Portugal)
• Foreign relations of Portugal
• Foreign relations of Rhodesia
• Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
• Geopolitical rivalry
• History of Rhodesia
• Political history of Rhodesia
• Political history of the United Kingdom
• Portugal–United Kingdom relations