History of rugby union matches between the British and Irish Lions and other countries and 1938 Lions tours, North-Western and North-Eastern Rhodesia had been merged to form the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia; the colony of Southern Rhodesia still existed. For the 1955 and 1962 tours, these two territories had been combined and, along with modern-day Malawi, made up the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1964 Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland were granted independence and became Zambia and Malawi respectively. Southern Rhodesia remained a colony and called itself Rhodesia (between 1964 and 1979) and Zimbabwe-Rhodesia (in 1979), though this name was not accepted by the British government who, until the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980,
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