Tanzania and the Decolonization of Rhodesia

The essay investigates Tanzania’s role in the decolonization of Rhodesia from the proclamation of UDI in November 1965 to the conclusion of the Lancaster House Conference in December 1979. The essay shows that while from 1965 to the early 1970s Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere was a vocal critic of the British government’s Rhodesian policy, during the second half of the 1970s he took actively part in the international efforts aimed to find a negotiated solution to the conflict in Rhodesia and pave the way to the country’s independence. The political and material support Tanzania provided to Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle not only strengthened Nyerere’s political standing at the African and international level, but helped also create solidarity links between Tanzania, the FLS and the Southern African liberation movements, and consolidate Tanzanian national identity.