Causes of the Second Chimurenga and the UDI

Ian Smith signing the UDI.

• Nationalists saw that the use of violence and war could not be avoided
• Many other factors also caused the outbreak of the Chimurenga ranging from reformist pressure politics to armed confrontation
• The grievances of the locals such as land deprivation, cattle keeping restrictions, inequalities in the education and health sector and poor working conditions were not addressed
• The government did not want to put reforms without military force
• Also the arrest and detention of nationalist leaders had escalated as well as the ban of African political parties

The Unilateral Declaration of Independence

• The situation in the country got heated when Ian Smith declared (Illegally) his independence from the British government with the support of settlers on 11 November 1965
• The British government viewed this move as rebellion and did not use force on Smith and this angered Africans the more
• Britain then imposed economic sanction on Smith’s regime in the hope to bring the country down economically as they refused to buy tobacco and sugar produced in Rhodesia
• The United Nations also called for other countries to put trade and oil embargo on Smith’s regime
• South Africa and Mozambique however continued to trade with Smith as they became his allies
• Other countries privately allowed trade between them and Southern Rhodesia, for example, the USA bought chrome and even some British oil companies traded with Smith’s government
• Majority rule therefore could not be achieved without bloodshed and loss of lives of about 30 000 people

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