Stephen Mitford Goodson

Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith the Debunking of a Myth Stephen Mitford Goodson

Fifty years ago Prime Minister Ian Douglas Smith and the Rhodesian Front party declared independence from Great Britain unilaterally. A decision which was viewed at that time as being both brave and foolish, it gave Rhodesians of all races seven years of peace and prosperity. Thereafter there followed a banker-financed terrorist war for an equivalent number of years. In 1980 Rhodesia became Zimbabwe and experienced twenty years of modest progress before plunging into an abyss, from which it is unlikely to emerge for a very long time. In the 1970s Rhodesia was the second most industrialised country in Africa, the bread basket of the central African region and possessed of one of the most highly educated and trained indigenous people in the less developed world. And then it all went wrong. This book explains the origins of this tragedy, the treachery of the British government, the behind the scenes treason of persons in high places and the insidious role played by Ian Smith in Rhodesia's demise, which has been to the long term detriment of all her people.