Northern Rhodesia was intensely unpopular among the vast African majority and its formation hastened calls for majority rule. As a result of this pressure, the country became independent in 1964 as Zambia. The geographical, as opposed to political, term "Rhodesia" referred to a region generally comprising the areas that are today Zambia and Zimbabwe. From 1964, it only referred to the former Southern Rhodesia. The name "Rhodesia" was derived from Cecil John Rhodes, the British capitalist and empire-builder who was a guiding figure in British expansion north of the Limpopo River into south-central Africa. Rhodes pushed British influence into the region by
Flag of Rhodesia Flag of Rhodesia The flag of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) changed many times as a result of political changes in the country. Before 1953, the then Colony of Southern Rhodesia followed British colonial practice, by using a Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and the shield from the colony's coat of arms in the fly. In 1953, Southern Rhodesia federated with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The federal flag was used between September 1953 and 31 December 1963 when the federation was dissolved. Less than a year after the break-up of