Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia was the name of the self-governing British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. The area it occupied has been called Zimbabwe since 1980. Following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, it was known as "Rhodesia" until 1979, when it reconstituted itself under majority rule as the unrecognised state of "Zimbabwe Rhodesia", headed by Bishop Abel Muzorewa. It reverted to colonial status with the Lancaster House Agreement of December 1979, and became the recognised state of Zimbabwe in April 1980, with Robert Mugabe elected as prime minister. A policy of Africanization was soon adopted, with the goal of replacing traces of former British, Rhodesian and white rule, laws, property and nomenclature with alternatives regarded as more indigenous.