Rhodesia (name)

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The name "Rhodesia" first entered official use in 1895, when it was adopted by the British South Africa Company to refer to the land-locked country it controlled in southern Africa, an area today which is Zambia and Zimbabwe. It had already been in informal use among white settlers in the territory for about five years, who named their new home after Cecil Rhodes, the company's founder and managing director.

The land was bisected by a natural border, the Zambezi; the area to the north, officially designated "Northern Rhodesia" in 1911, has been Zambia since 1964, while the area to the south, dubbed "Southern Rhodesia" in 1901, became Zimbabwe in 1980. To confuse matters, self-governing Southern Rhodesia referred to itself simply as "Rhodesia" from 1964 to 1979, and in 1965 issued the Unilateral Declaration of Independence under that name. It then briefly renamed itself "Zimbabwe Rhodesia" in 1979.

During their existence, Northern and Southern Rhodesia were sometimes informally called "the Rhodesias". This usage fell from prominence after Northern Rhodesia became Zambia in 1964; until 1980, "Rhodesia" commonly referred to Southern Rhodesia alone. The name has not been in general use since 1980, aside from in a historical context.

Origin of the name[edit]



Although "Northern Rhodesia" was not an official name until 1911 when North-Western and North-Eastern Rhodesia were combined, the name was used informally from 1895 onwards when referring to those two territories collectively.

Evolution of use[edit]

Present-day Zambia[edit]

Present-day Zimbabwe[edit]


General reference for names and dates of territories