In Defence of White Rule in Southern Africa: Portuguese–Rhodesian Economic Relations to 1974

Abstract

The paper examines Luso-Rhodesian economic relations at the twilight of colonialism in Africa. Despite the spread of independence across the continent from the mid-1950s onwards, there was a spirited defence of white rule in Southern Africa from South Africa, Rhodesia and Portugal. The Pretoria-Lisbon-Salisbury axis justified their autocracy as the last frontier for the defence against communism in the region which they argued to be rooted in African Nationalism. This led to the Alcora military exercise and financial cooperation agreements. While all of this is well covered in the literature, what remains to be exhaustively explored are the economic relations in the Lisbon - Salisbury part of the axis. This paper historicises Luso-Rhodesian relations and then unpacks the economic alliance between the two countries to 1974, particularly the ways in which this sustained white rule. Where much emphasis has hitherto been placed on the role Pretoria played, this article brings into context the neglected aspect of the two other partners whose cooperation was crucial to the suppression of the African Nationalist Struggle and the defence of white rule in Southern Africa until the 1970s.