Rhodesia & the "wrong side of history" || Historian's Stash Ep 8

[@sideact2044]

Love your videos, Keep them coming, informative and very well done and interesting!

[@stanleyrobson4622]

Cheers. Just learned about your channel through Koos' Legacy channel. Very informative. I defnitely learned a few things I hadn't known before like the fact that Rhodesia didn't enjoy much support from Voster's SA government. I do understand though that among ordinary (white) South Africans and Rhodesians there were defnitely a general sense and show of kinship at the time. Also, I didn't realise that so few Rhodesians were actually willing to show up for military service during those years. In reality we really hardly ever have the luxury of staying neutral when it comes to the making of history, and we are usually forced to pick a side. While an objective perspective of history will always be very valuable, I do feel one can't tell the full story without the subjective accounts of what happened to help us to understand the very motivating factors of what shaped said history.

[@computertechnician120]

Nice work. Good summary. Thanks.

[@OdCzapyZestaw]

Hello, very interesting video, congrats. However I've got doubts regarding opinions of mentioned scholars at 20:10. As you mentioned earlier Soviet Union supplied weapon to black guerrilla army, so I belive that soviet intelligence had huge influance there. In in late 70's Soviet Union begins their struggle with economy, estern block (mainly Poland) was hot ground plus soviet invasion on Afghanistan seems to be factors that did not allow Kremlin to focus so much on Africa. Perhaps if this process begin earlier when Soviets were at their peak (60's and early 70's) we could see similar proceses as in post war estern europe(one party state and so on). I just belive that KGB had big influence on black african leaders.

[@ShirleyMasurik-cp4gb]

The Soviets, China and the rest of the Eastern block countries, continued training and arming terrorist right up until the country collapsed. Britain and America did the rest of the back stabbing. One Mad Man Mugabe got into power and murdered everyone in sight, destroying a great country built by the Rhodesians, then no one had anything to say. As the older Rhodesians, both black and white, what a great country Rhodesia was.

[@BASILPANAS]

Enjoyed this video, well done! What are your academic credentials? Thank you.

[@TheHistoriansStash]

Thanks a lot for your comment, Basil! I have my PhD in History and am currently a History lecturer at one of the universities here in South Africa.

[@BASILPANAS]

@The Historian's Stash Thank you fir responding. Consider describing your credentials more fully to make your excellent videos more authoritative. Good luck!

[@TheHistoriansStash]

@@BASILPANAS will do, thank you for your suggestion and for your support!

[@SteveMrW]

Very informative and interesting.................

[@TheHistoriansStash]

Thank you very much, Steve!

[@riddler576]

Leo’s accent was amazing

[@TheHistoriansStash]

It's said that he sat in South African bars and listened to "ou toppies" tell their tales while downing their brannewyn and Coke...

[@Eusouafisica]

Very cool

[@TheHistoriansStash]

Thanks so much, Tuck!

[@jasonedwardblood]

My great great grandfather was Sir Bindon Blood . Enough said. Rhodesia was the balls. I wish I was there to fight

[@Dierevriendelik]

Well done

[@threatz7589]

Great analysis

[@TheHistoriansStash]

Thank you so much for the support! Be assured there's more to come...

[@gordonlumbert9861]

I'm not too fond of the Rhodesian leader but the President (nearly for life) of Zimbabwe was no prize either. The country has been in trouble since independence.

[@TheHistoriansStash]

Howzit Gordon, yes exactly. Neither one of them did their country any favours, though I think at least one of them tried to do what they thought was best.

[@gordonlumbert9861]

@@TheHistoriansStash I think they both did. Just both were only worried about their own group and not too concerned about any others. When the Mugabe decided that he could ignore the Supreme Court (early 90s?) there was a total loss of the rule of law at this point. Also his desire to print his way out of financial trouble was nuts. Feel free to buy a Zimbabwean dollar (Billions?) its worth more as a reminder than it ever was as money.

[@nathanolson3135]

@@gordonlumbert9861 so you’re ignoring the Sanctions applied by United state

[@mazambane286]

Clearly none of you understand Smith's policies.

[@s.wvazim6517]

​@@nathanolson3135to political leaders and there companies if you private you can do business no issues don't belive the zanu hogwash

[@PentaRaus]

You shall know them by their fruits and each is pretty clear.

[@mikestone9129]

Long live Rhodesia, it will always be Rhodesia to me, never Zimbabwe. TIA.

[@windsofwaste]

😂😂😂

[@youpeopleareinsane1285]

Cope white boy

[@neehgao]

Good thing you are a powerless nobody, then.

[@evem620]

Hahahaha

[@The_universal_cynic]

Cope.

[@marvinrosenau8491]

"Well, off the record..." over the years I have known a modest number of "Zimbos" (as they call themselves in Canada) ex-pats. These, that I have known, having emigrated to NZ and here in Canada. They are all, to a person, a resourceful, tough, good-humored and somewhat cynical group of folks. I have great affection for them all. A number of them hop-scotched their way to the West via the RSA. I have, displayed in my china cabinet at home, a crisp, unfolded and brand-new 10 Trillion dollar bill given to me as a gift by a former Rhodesian/Zimbabwean girlfriend. TIA, oeyh?

[@clem5474]

You are now a wealthy man. I was once a trillionaire myself back in 2007 when I was still a teenager back in Zimbabwe.

[@JamesWilliams-w3t]

They where sold out

[@babasimba2457]

Go watch the victims of Gukurahundi, learn history from them instead

[@TheHistoriansStash]

The Gukurahundi is only one aspect of this episode so I don't go into a lot of detail. Perhaps in future, once I've done sufficient research on it, there may come an episode entirely dedicated to the massacres of Ndebeleland.

[@badgerbusiness9059]

It is Occupied Rhodesia.

[@badgerbusiness9059]

I will not stop fighting Communism, never! How's that wrong...I am a Humanitarian who fights for Human Rights!

[@clem5474]

😂😂😂. Good touch finishing up with the Zimbabwean National Anthem..

[@nickhockings443]

It is worth noting that before UDI, all Rhodesians of all races had the vote and were represented in parliament. They were split into A and B roll voters, and the B roll had about 25% of seats in parliament. The A roll was _not_ purely white. Rhodesians of other races could and some did become A roll voters, by level of education, or property. Until Ian Smith's RF party government, Rhodesian governments had at least one cabinet minister from the B roll seats. Also, the motivation for UDI was the reality of "black rule" = "one man dictatorship" + kleptocracy & varying degrees of economic collapse, in all the neighboring countries (except Botswana).

[@clem5474]

What a well-balanced analysis of the Rhodesia-Zimbabwe history. Bravo Bravo. I am a black Zimbabwean born way after the independence (1994), and all the video analyses I have come across until your video has been heavily one-sided. Usually very prejudiced and outright racist towards black Zimbabweans like we are all Sons and Daughters of Mugabe. Thanks for your fairness, it's really hard to come by these days.

[@buddyacesmxbc1055]

That was a hood counter by Gibbs the only man to show political awareness and that was a fast ball almost got by till he pulls the option goes Rouge but it looked like they knew he'd have a hard choice to make get the support or walk away.

[@TheHistoriansStash]

Howzit Buddy, I agree!

[@highchamp1]

Zamunda! Ian Smith could see it, and it happened. Watching all the old Ian Smith interviews is interesting. Also the reporting of the times. (How "hopeful" reporters were.)

[@evem620]

Ian smith was dumb

[@Spillers72]

Technically blacks were not prohibited from voting or holding office like in South Africa. Rodesia had property and or education standards to vote that only a few blacks could meet. There were some blacks in parliament.

[@0rangedrink]

Declaring independence without British consent is based. Doing it to maintain your racist apartheid hold on a country is cringe. Idolizing the people who did and painting your rifle to look just like them is cringe.

[@pamberinehondo9447]

I disagree, I thought Leo did a great Rhodesian accent………should still be Zimbabwe Rhodesia with shared power. Can you imagine how envious the rest of Africa would be. What a waste. Thanks Britain and South Africa. Daddy went to fight for the Green and White ☠️🪂🚁

[@TravellingVineyard]

Had the pleasure of meeting Smith at a dinner party in Bulawayo in 1995. I had a 4 hour conversation with him, ranging in topics from the 2nd WW to the New South Africa. He certainly was just as he was portrayed. Racist, unrepentant, stubborn, bitter, wise, loyal to Queen and country, sharp. He spoke about being shot down during the war and his injuries. Churchills funeral, back stabbing political life, Voster, Bob, Thatcher, Zimbabwe and its people. But most surprising was his thoughts on Mandela. He was full of praise towards Mandela, in fact it was almost over the top. This was 1995 and Mandela had only just started on his path to Sainthood. Yet, Smith already believed it and was totally convinced that he was everything Mugabe wasn't. How right he was. You point about left or right is so apt. Never more so than today. Social media seems to have brought tribalism into the public realm, and you have to choose one side. The world isnt binary and neither should our beliefs be.

[@evem620]

No he wasn’t right, don’t be dumb

[@badgerbusiness9059]

You didn't say Communist not once! You realize that Communism destroyed Rhodesia and not Colonialism. And the US and Britain sided against Rhodesia and with the Communists. And no mention of the North Koreans eh...pretty biased if you ask me!

[@RoofKoreanInTheWild]

Now, everyone is equally poor

[@badgerbusiness9059]

Your insane, there was no apartheid like in South Africa, there was far more opportunity for Blacks to integrate, you didn't mention that the Army was 80% black, all volunteers, and that White's faced mandatory conscription! That they could be NCO's and be BSAP, Or how over 400 Americans, unoficially named the Crippled Eagles, came there from Vietnam, so did Aussies, Brits, Irish, and South Africans, also the Romanians! and many foreigners fought for Rhodesia. The Us and Britain, and even South Africa betrayed them to the Communists! Stop revising history!

[@evem620]

Oh shut up!

[@ShirleyMasurik-cp4gb]

I am proudly Rhodesian.

[@johncollins5796]

Mr Smith to you. Not Ian