The impact of the Second World War on Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), 1939-1953

English: The thesis explores the impact of the Second World War on colonial Zambia. The situation faced by the British government during the hostilities required a collective effort to fight a total war against the Axis powers. A supreme effort was demanded not only by Britain and her Allies, but also of Britain in partnership with her Empire. This is a study of how the colony of Northern Rhodesia went about the process of organising its human and natural resources on behalf of the imperial government. Thematically-organised, the thesis begins with the recruitment of personnel for the Northern Rhodesia Regiment. It explores the role of traditional authority and government propaganda but also brings to the fore African agency. It also argues that some sections of the African and European populations were opposed to the colony’s war effort. The colony’s contribution to the Allied war effort was also extended to the supply of base metals to the Allies. Its mining industry came to operate like an appendage of the British war economy, with the imperial government buying the commodity at a controlled price. Furthermore, Northern Rhodesia supplied rubber and beeswax following the fall of Allied-controlled South-east Asian colonies at the hands of the invading Japanese in early 1942. Just as the colony’s mining industry had become important to the Allies in wartime, the mines came to play an even more significant role in the reconstruction of the battered British economy post-war. The new relationship was based on the need for Britain to have access to the very valuable copper industry’s dollar-earnings, especially following the devaluation of sterling. As the City of London lost its importance as the world’s financial centre, the copper companies also shifted their offices to central Africa. This movement was accompanied by growing settler political influence which eventually led to the creation of the Central African Federation. Just as the war affected the British home front, so too, it did that of Northern Rhodesia. The war impacted the lives of ordinary people through commodity shortages, profiteering, inflation, hoarding, and the black market. The colonial government responded by taking an active role never before witnessed in the history of the colony to control these vices. The thesis ends with a discussion on the demobilization process in which African servicemen felt cheated by an Empire-wide system of racial hierarchy. Although expanded government propaganda machinery contributed to the growth of an African political voice, most ex-servicemen remained concerned about personal affairs, and directed their frustration at their traditional leaders who were active in the recruitment process. Contrary to older arguments, African servicemen did not play an active role in nationalist politics. On a wider historical plane, through a detailed examination of the economic, political, military, social, and agricultural sectors of Northern Rhodesia this thesis is the first major study of the impact of the Second World War on the colony. In so doing, this thesis significantly modifies a number of historiographies and opens up space for creating a more comprehensive history of the Second World War in Africa. Lastly, this thesis also helps to broaden imperial historical debates by its examination of the “second colonial occupation” of Northern Rhodesia after the war.