THE FEDERATION OF RHODESIA AND NYASALAND

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00825R000100330001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 26, 2002
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: February 14, 1961
• Content Type: IM

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CONFIDENTIAL
Copy No.
GEOGRAPHIC
INTELLIGENCE
MEMORANDUM
CIA/RR GM 61-1
14 February 1961
THE FEDERATION OF
RHODESIA AND NYASALAND
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
WARNING
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within
the meaning of the espionage laws, Title 18, USC, Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or
revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
CONFIDENTIAL
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FEDER AiPPeril Foopiealra.cmg: 1/91kIRDPA4f4M951NPV 91?9fit?0_79k N D
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LAKE
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International or intorcolonial
boundary
? ? ? Territorial boundary
snozpt.e. National capital
WPa.... Territorial capital
Towns In the Federation
O Over 100,000
O 20,000-100,000
? 10,000-20,000
? Under 10,000
o Other towns
Mein road
Secondary road
-(--w Railroad (3(6, gauge)
AIRFIELDS
* Paved surface
o Unpaved (grass, gravel or laMrit.
4,?Longest runway to nearest hundred feet
Elevationa hundreds of feet
MAJOR MINERALS
Areas
Copparbelt
Said field
Mines
? Asbestos
Cr C.o..
e Coal
Cs
Co Cobalt
Capper (Southern Rhodesia)
Pb-Zn Lead-Zinc
Mn Manganese
elSethir.
MOZAMBIQ UE
29718 1-61
CONFIDENTIAL
I. The Federation as a Whole
A. The Federation Today
With its formation on 4 September 1953, the Federation of Rhodesia and
Nyasaland became an important representative of the Commonwealth of Nations in
southern Africa. The expectation at the time was that the union would become
a model in race relations. Today, however, conflict between African nation-
alists and the European leaders, particularly in Southern Rhodesia, threatens
to create upheaval in the Federation. The units comprising the Federation are
the Protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland and the self-governing
Colony of Southern Rhodesia. Together they form an irregular block that lies
between 8010' South and 22?25' South and covers an area of approximately one-
half million square miles -- an area slightly larger than that of the Union of
South Africa but only about one-half the size of the Congo. The land-locked
Federation is bordered on the northwest by the Congo, on the northeast by
Tanganyika (British), on the east by Mozambique (Portuguese), on the south by
the Union of South Africa, on the southwest by Bechuanaland (British), and on
the west by Angola (Portuguese).
Africans comprise approximately 95 percent of the population of the Feder-
ation, which totals some 8,000,000 people. More than 170 tribes live within
the Federation, all of whom are of Bantu origin. Among the larger groups are
the Shona and Matabele of Southern Rhodesia, the Bemba and Lozi of Northern
Rhodesia, and the Tao of Nyasaland. Although most of these people still
live in the bush an a subsistence basis, many have been drawn to the towns,
factories, and mines and have become participants in the money economy. At
present, slightly more than 1,000,000 Africans are wage earners. More than
half of them are employed as unskilled labor in Southern Rhodesia.
The 300,000 Europeans in the Federation are largely of British origin, about
65 percent of them having arrived from the United Kingdom or the Union of South
Africa since 1946. More than 215,000 of the Europeans reside in Southern
Rhodesia, but the Colony still has 12 Africans for each White person. In North-
ern Rhodesia, where some 75,000 Europeans live, the ratio between Africans and
Europeans is 31 to 1; and the 9,000 Europeans in Nyasaland are outnumbered 300
to 1. Although the total population of the Federation is divided relatively
evenly among the three members of the Federation, the population density varies
greatly. Northern Rhodesia, with about 60 percent of the total area, has a
density of only 8 persons per square mile; Southern Rhodesia, comprising approx-
imately 30 percent of the area, has 19 persons per square mile; but Nyasaland,
with only 10 percent of the area of the Federation, has a density of 73 persons
per square mile.
In Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia, most of the country is rolling
plains and rounded hills between 3,000 and 5,000 feet above sea level, but
peaks in the eastern part of both areas rise to more than 7,000 feet. Nyasaland,
by contrast, is dominated by a deep depression -- the southern end of the Afri-
can Rift Valley -- that crosses the Protectorate from end to end. Southern
Nyasaland is little more than 200 feet above sea level, but much of the Pro-
tectorate is more than 3,000 feet in elevation and some of the highest land in
the southeast and northwest exceeds 8,000 feet.
In spite of its tropical location, generally high average elevations give
the Federation a more desirable climate than that of the low-lying neighboring
countries to the east, north, and west. Mean maximum temperatures for the sum-
mer months (October-April) range from the high 70's to the low 90's throughout
much of the area, and the nearest approach to winter is the occasional occur-
rence of ground frost during a somewhat cooler season (May-September), when mean
minimum temperatures range in the 40's and 50's. Midwinter temperatures for
Salisbury (July mean, 560) approximate those of January at San Diego, California;
and midsummer temperatures (January mean, 680) are similar to those of July at
Cody, Wyoming, near Yellowstone National Park. The seasonal contrast in rain-
fall is much sharper. Most of the rain falls during the months between September
and May, with very little in the remainder of the year. Throughout much of the
Federation, precipitation averages between 20 and 45 indhes a year, but the ex-
treme south receives less than 12 inches and the highlands of eastern Northern
and Southern Rhodesia and of Nyasaland have more than 60 inches. By the end of
the wet season, the larger rivers frequently overflow their banks; and, during
the long dry season, many of the smaller streams become completely dry.
The natural vegetation of the rolling plains is chiefly savanna-type grass-
land spotted with open hardwood forests or open parkland. On the flat land
bordering the Zambezi River and in some areas of Northern Rhodesia, this cover
gives way either to denser forest of Rhodesian teak and mahogany or to thick
jungle; and at higher elevations in Nyasaland the hardwoods are replaced in
many places by meadowlike vegetation or coniferous woodlands. Much of the
native vegetation has disappeared before the combined attacks of the African
bush burner, the European farmer, and the mining-company timber crews, but
large areas of unbroken bush remain. Much of Northern Rhodesia is still rel-
atively undisturbed because of tsetse-fly infestation, which is a hazard to
both man and cattle. In sharp contrast to the scorched lands of the native
farmers are the modern ranches and neat farmsteads of the European settlers,
the larger cities of Southern Rhodesia with their tall buildings and spacious
suburban homes, and the bustling industrial centers.
B. Resources
The physical setting of the Federation provides a wide range of opportu-
nity for agricultural and mining activity. With irrigation, arops can be grown
for 12 months of the year in most parts of the Federation, and the climate of
the higher areas of the Rhodesias and the mountain slopes of Nyasaland is mod-
erate enough to support nontropical crops such as hay and potatoes. Except in
some parts of Nyasaland and Southern Rhodesia, the farmer has plenty of land
to work. Most European farms include large areas of undeveloped land, and
enough vacant land remains to permit the bush-burning African farmer to move
on to fresh land when the plot he is cultivating becomes depleted.
Several negative elements, however, must be overcame before the full poten-
tial of agriculture can be realized. Because the soil is generally poor and
rapidly becomes exhausted, European farming is dependent on fertilizers to main-
tain crop yields; but production under the primitive shifting agriculture of the
Africans is consistently low, and the new land," he customarily moves to when
the soil is depleted will someday be exhausted. The long dry season makes irri-
gation a necessity on European farms; but for the African farmer the dry season
means 6 idle months. Extensive areas of the land with a good supply of water
cannot be used because they are heavily infested with the tsetse fly. In some
parts of the Federation, wild game plays havoc with domestic animals, and much
potential farmland is too far removed from established routes of transportation
or centers of population to be of interest to other than subsistence farmers.
Mineral reserves are the most important resource of the Federation. In
addition to the major revenue-producing minerals -- copper, asbestos, coal,
chrome, and cobalt -- many other mineral products are extracted in commercial
quantities. Development of mineral resources has advanced in rapid strides in
the last 15 years, most notably in the Copperbelt of Northern Rhodesia, and has
been the major attraction for investment capital. The mineral industry cur-
rently consumes about 1/3 of the available coal and coke, pays approximately
50 percent of all direct taxes, provides more than 50 percent of all tonnage
moved by rail, consumes 65 percent of the electricity produced, and provides
more than 65 percent of the total exports. Mineral production is concentrated
in Southern Rhodesia and in the Northern Rhodesian Copperbelt, but exploration
for new mineral deposits has been actively undertaken in all three Farts of
the Federation.
The great hydroelectric power potential of the Zambezi River has now been
tapped by the Kariba hydroelectric plant. However, much of the power for the
Federation's industry is still supplied by thermal plants, using coal from
the Wankie mines of Southern Rhodesia, or by scattered small hydroelectric
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installations. The first flow of energy from the Kariba project early in 1960
introduced a new era in electric power supply. The first stages of the Kariba
plant now provide a portion of the energy requirement of the industry of South-
ern Rhodesia and the Copperbelt, and during the height of the Congo emergency
in the summer of 1960, Kariba power was even exported to the Congo to replace
the output of plants that customarily not only supply the Watauga but also
export electricity to the Copperbelt. Present plans for Kariba anticipate an
installed capacity of 1,800 megawatts by 1972 -- more than 4 times the total
installed generating capacity of the entire Federation in 1956. The Kariba
dam will create the largest man-made lake in the world -- 175 miles long and
2,000 square miles in area.
Three smaller hydroelectric projects in the northern part of Northern
Rhodesia have recently been completed -- at Abercorn, Kasama, and Fort
Rosebery. Another project, at Nkulu Falls on the Shire River some 22 miles
northeast of Blantyre, Nyasaland, is now under consideration and could pro-
vide enough additional electric power for the expansion of commercial and
industrial activity in an area that will not be served by the Kariba hydro-
electric system.
C. Transportation
The Federation is highly dependent upon a system of railroads operated
by the federal government. Almost all import and export freight is moved by
rail, and agricultural and commercial activity of any significance is con-
fined to areas served by rail lines. The 2,700 miles of track of the
Rhodesian Railways serve Northern and Southern Rhodesia and provide inter-
national connections with Lobito, Angola, on the Atlantic Ocean; Beira and
Lourengo Marques, Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean; and South African ports.
A single north-south line links Northern Rhodesia's Copperbelt with Southern
Rhodesia, where it connects with a line that continues east and through Wankie,
Bulawayo, Gwelo, Salisbury, and Uetali. Nyasaland is served by the Nyasaland.
Railways, a system that extends for about 500 miles from Salina, on the western
shore of Lake Nyasa, to the Port of Beira in Mozambique. The only rail con-
nection between Nyasaland and other parts of the Federation is a circuitous
route to Southern Rhodesia by way of Dondo, Mozambique, situated only 20 miles
north of the port of Beira.
Road, water, and air transport do not compete.with the railroads. Only
a small proportion of the main roads have all-weather surfaces and adequate
bridges or can be considered safe for two-lane traffic. Water service on
Lake Nyasa is well organized and ties in effectively with rail and road trans-
portation. The only river service on a commercial scale is the government
operated Zambesi River Transport, Which provides a regularly scheduled truck
and barge system between Livingstone and Mongu on the Zambesi River in east-
ern Northern Rhodesia. The government airline, Central African Airways
Corporation, provides rapid transportation, chiefly for European travelers,
between cities and to remote parts of the Federation. More than 30 com-
munities are served regularly by light or medium aircraft; and Salisbury,
Southern Rhodesia, the hub of international air traffic, appears on the
schedules of seven international airlines that offer flights in aircraft
ranging fram DC-3's to Comet jets.
II. Status of the Constituent Parts
A. Northern Rhodesia
The mineral wealth of Northern Rhodesia plays a leading role in the eco-
nomic life of the Federation. The Copperbelt contributes out of all propor-
tion to its size to the budgets of the Protectorate and the Federation. Rev-
enue from mineral production of the Copperbelt, alone, has made it possible
for the Federal administration to accept financial deficits built up in both
Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland and to finance development in all three of
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the constituent areas. Manufacturing and agriculture contribute relatively
little to the welfare of the Protectorate.
The Copperbelt is part of a rich mineral field 200 miles long by 25 miles
wide that extends from Luanshya, Northern Rhodesia, northward into the Katanga
Province of the Congo. Ore from the Copperbelt has made the Federation the
second greatest copper producer in the world, second only to the United States.
On an average, production is more than enough to meet the United Kingdom's
need for new copper and is an immense asset to the sterling area. In 1959 the
Copperbelt contributed 15 percent of the Federation's revenue, 18 percent of
the net domestic output, and 59 percent of the total value of all exports.
Although copper contributes 90 percent of all income derived from minerals in
the Protectorate, significant tonnages of cobalt are produced in the Copper-
belt; and lead and zinc are mined 100 miles farther south in the Broken Hill
area.
At present, power for the mineral industry is supplied from Kariba, pur-
chased from the Katanga, and supplemented by steam generating plants. Within
the next 10 years, however, Kariba will become the major source of power.
Most of the ores of the Copperbelt -- 85 percent in 1959 -- are carried by the
Rhodesian Railways across Southern Rhodesia and Mozambique to the Indian Ocean.
Before July 1960, significant tonnages were also exported by rail through the
southern part of the Congo and across Angola to the port of Lobito on the
Atlantic Ocean.
The white population of Northern Rhodesia is only 3 percent of the total,
which numbers approximately 75,000 Europeans, 2,700,000 Africans, and 8,800
persons of other races, largely Asian. More than half of the Europeans live
in the mining centers of the Copperbelt, and over 400,000, or slightly less
than hal/ of the employed African population of the Federation, are found in
the same area. Concentrations of Europeans are also located along the rail line
that joins the Copperbelt with Southern Rhodesia, chiefly at cities such as
Broken Hill, the administrative capital at Lusaka, and Livingstone.
In Northern Rhodesia the European population is not a large land-holding
class and is not basically concerned with agriculture. Only about 5 percent
of the land is owned by Europeans. Flue-cured tobacco and corn are the most
important cash crops of the European farm. Most of the African population,
on the other hand, is dependent upon agriculture for a living. In African
areas, much of the land is still held by the tribes, and the people live in
small villages surrounded by tribally owned patches of cultivation. Peanuts
are the Chief source of cash income for the African farmer, but wheat is also
an income crop in good years. Production of burley and Turkish tobacco on
African farms is increasing, and these crops give promise of becoming impor-
tant in areas not readily accessible for production of food crops.
B. Nyasaland
Nyasaland, the least developed and most densely populated member of the Fed-
eration, has a strong agricultural orientation. The Protectorate has fared well
under the Federation, 60 percent of its budget being contributed from Federation
funds. One of the major sources of income in Nyasaland has been the remittances
from the more than 165,000 Nyasa workers who, because of the lack of economic
opportunity at home, have sought employment in the Copperbelt or in the indus-
tries of Southern Rhodesia and South Africa. To date, manufacturing and mining
are insignificant; but, with access to cheap electric power, these activities
could make significant contributions to the economy of the Protectorate.
Although Nyasaland is the smallest member of the Federation, with an area
only 25 percent the size of that of Southern Rhodesia, the African population
is larger than that of Southern Rhodesia. The total population of more than
2,800,000 is overwhelmingly African. In addition to the 9,000 European resi-
dents, the non-African population includes about 12,000 persons of other races,
largely Asians who dominate the merchandising field. Population is most densely
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concentrated in the vicinity of Blantyre, the commercial center of the Protec-
torate. The municipality of Blantyre has a population of about 30,000 of whom
10 percent are European and 10 percent Asian. Most of the Europeans, who own
only 4 percent of the land of Nyasaland, live within 50 miles of Blantyre; many
of them on the slopes of Mlanje Mountain and Zomba Mountain. Zomba, the ad-
ministrative capital of the Protectorate, has a population of approximately
5,000 persons.
Agriculture is the most important element in the economy of Nyasaland. The
most Important exports and major contributors of territorial revenue are pro-
ducts of European agriculture -- tea from the southern and eastern slopes of
Mianje Mountain and tobacco from the Lilongwe area. Although much of the native
production is still on a subsistence level, the African agricultural contrib-
ution to the territory is growing steadily. Significant quantities of corn,
cotton, peanuts, and rice are grown by African farmers exclusively as cash crops
in addition to a variety of subsistence crops. Cattle are poor and are valued
chiefly as an indication of wealth rather than as sources of food. Nyasaland
once possessed more forested land than either Northern or Southern Rhodesia, but
only about 20 percent of the area can be considered forested today. The cedars
of the Nlanje Mountain forest reserve and the Misuku Hills are the most valuable
stands of commercial timber remaining.
Manufacturing and mining play insignificant roles in the economy. Process-
ing operations are limited to preparation of tobacco, tung oil, and tea for
market; and a number of small plants are concerned with milling, brick making,
clothing manufacture, and wood processing. Although there are many Mown
mineral deposits in Nyasaland, extraction of iron ore and stone quarrying have
been the only mining activities in recent years. In 1959, an aerial survey was
conducted to locate mineral deposits that could be worked economically, partic-
ularly radio-active minerals and additional deposits of iron ore.
C. Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia, a self-governing colony, has the largest white population
of any entity south of the Sahara with the exception of the Union of South
Africa. The European population, originally attracted by gold, has increased
rapidly in recent years and plays the dominant role in all aspects of activity
in the Colony. Manufacturing, mining, and agriculture are more nearly in bal-
ance than in either of the Protectorates. At present the European population
has a firm grasp on the government and on the productive elements of industry
and agriculture and is determined to remain in control.
The. European population of Southern Rhodesia -- more than 220,000 -- is 3
times that of Northern Rhodesia and nearly 25 times that of Nyasaland. Unlike
Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, where the African population controls all but
a small portion of the land, the 2,280,000 Africans of Southern Rhodesia con-
trol only 50 percent of the land. Most of the European population is concen-
trated in the vicinity of commercial centers such as Salisbury, Bulawayo,
Untali, Gwelo, and Wankie.
Southern Rhodesia is the only member of the Federation that has a diver-
sified manufacturing structure. With the aid of an early start in manufacturing
and with the technical skills represented within its larger European population,
manufacturing has expanded rapidly in recent years and now includes facilities
for processing foodstuffs, tobacco, industrial crops, forest products, and min-
erals. Although some of these activities are carried on at a small scale in
Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the only blast furnaces and rolling mills in
the Federation are at Redcliff near Que QUB in Southern Rhodesia. Other plants
that contribute to the Colony's industrial status include the assembly plant of
the British Motor Company at Untali, the Rhodesian Alloy plant at Gwelo, the
paper plant at Umtali, and the Portland cement plants at Bulawayo and Colleen
Hawn.
The most important minerals of Southern Rhodesia in terms of value pro-
duced are asbestos, gold, Chrome, and coal. In response to increasing world
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demand and steady prices, asbestos production has increased rapidly. The
high quality of the long-fiber asbestos from large plants at Shabani and
Mashaba has reduced small operations in other parts of the Colony to a mar-
ginal level. Nearly all of the gold of the Federation is produced in South-
ern Rhodesia from 170 small, widely scattered mines. The only chrome produced
in the Federation is mined at Selukme, near Gwelo, and coal for the Rhodesian
Railways and power stations comes from two collieries near Wankie. Both ex-
cellent dolomitic limestone and good-grade iron ore are being worked near the
site of the steel plant at Redcliff.
Early in the 1920's Southern Rhodesia was an important copper producer,
but it has been eclipsed by Northern Rhodesia, with its rich copper deposits.
Renewed emphasis on copper production, however, has resulted from high prices
during the late 1950's, and two mines near Harley, that had been closed for
25 years, have been reopened; near Sinoia, in the north, the development of a
large new deposit has been started. Other minerals of importance include
tungsten, beryllium, and lithium. As is the case with Northern Rhodesia, most
of the mineral production is exported, and the success of the domestic mining
industry is dependent on favorable world prices.
European agriculture ranks third in the economy of Southern Rhodesia.
Flue-cured tobacco is the major cash crop; corn, sugar, potatoes, citrus
fruit, cotton, and vegetables are grown on a smaller scale. Although most
native agriculture is concerned with subsistence crops -- manioc, millet,
kaf fir corn, and rice -- the African is becoming increasingly aware of cash
crops. In good years the African-produced corn crop is nearly half the size
of that from European farms; peanuts are overwhelmingly a product of the
African farmer; and Africans raise significant portions of the bean and cotton
crops. Because of the greater capital outlay and the greater skill required
in curing and grading flue-cured tobacco, most Africans produce fire-cured and
sun-cured (Turkish) tobacco.
The Kyle Dam, completed in November 1960, will add significantly to the
irrigated acreage of Southern Rhodesia. The project, which is located ap-
proximately 26 miles southeast of Fort Victoria near the confluence of the
Mtilikwe and Umshagashi Rivers, will provide a reliable source of irrigation
water for a large concentration of citrus and sugar plantings.
III. The Future of the Federation
The future of the Federation is closely associated with the political and
economic relationships between the European settler and the native African.
Whatever the outcome of the current debates over the Federal Constitution and
the constitutions of Northern and Southern Rhodesia, the Federation and its
members face multiple problems in the years ahead. Opportunities for employment
are needed for an African population that is increasing more rapidly than it can
be gainfully employed under current conditions. The conservative and super-
stitious native farmer is hampered by his uneconomically low crop yield, and
the unskilled African laborer has few chances of advancement. Europeans cur-
rently enjoy a high level of living, but European productivity is low by
western European standards. An increasing productivity in both African and
European labor and a continued flow of investment capital for industry and
development projects are essential for a sound future economy. An immediate
issue in Federation affairs is the role of the African in a nation in which
he forms the majority but has a small voice in government and industry. The
European cannot long prosper without African support; without European sup-
port the African will find it difficult to achieve the productivity and ad-
ministrative skill that are prerequisite to economic advancement and orderly
government.
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