August 31, 1977 - End White Rule - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Pledge to end white rule wins Rhodesia Prime Minister Ian Smith a landslide victory. White rule of Rhodesia started in 1889 with British colonization by businessman Cecil John Rhodes. Eventually, internal struggles and international pressure caught up with the country’s racist system. White citizens finally became open to change, and when Prime Minister Ian Smith pledged to end white rule in what is now called Zimbabwe, he won a landslide victory on August 31, 1977. The 85,000 white voters elected 50 members of parliament and Smith’s Rhodesian Front party took all 50. The six million black voters were only given eight MPs to represent them. Smith agreed to end white rule and in 1979 he honoured his pledge. In 1980 Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union Party (ZANU) won a large majority of the seats in parliament, making him their first black Prime Minister. Years later he took on the role of Executive President, abolishing the role of Prime Minister and concentrating more powers into his hands.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Further episodes of Human Rights a Day

Further podcasts by Stephen Hammond

Website of Stephen Hammond