Tag: Rhodesia stamp

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Southern Rhodesia 1953, The golden leaf from the high velts gets the colony beyond gold

Tobacco requires many things to be able to be a cash crop. Proper temperature and rainfall so only certain land, the leaves need curing which requires energy and access to transport for export. Then perhaps a devalueation to make the profits flow. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your fir sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

There was just a short window when Queen Elizabeth II appears on a Southern Rhodesia stamp as shortly after her Assentation Southern Rhodesia entered into a federation with Northern Rhodesia, (Zambia) and Nyasaland, (Malawi). Notice also that the tobacco farmer is white. That was a period truth as well as one of the reasons tobacco farming took off in Rhodesia and the lands that were useful for tobacco had not been allocated by previous generations as native reservations.

Todays stamp is issue A19, a one penny stamp issued by the Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1953. It was a five stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

Even in modern Zimbabwe tobacco is known as the golden leaf not just for it’s color but because the export revenue of the crop rivals that of the gold mines. In the 1920s and 1930s it was realized that the belt of high velts was ideal for tobacco. The 3000 to 4000 feet elevation moderated temperatures and allowed  rainfall in the ideal range. The land was both owned by white settlers but close enough to ample black contract labour. The preexisting railroads would allow for export from the landlocked country and the tobacco leaves were cured on site. A big bonus to the industry happened when the pound was devalued after the war making the product more competitive. Starting in 1945, tobacco surpassed gold as Rhodesia’s chief export.

The transfer to black rule did not mean the end of tobacco cultivation. The first years of Zimbabwe saw the tobacco planters as the Rhodesians most likely to stay. As recently as 2000, there were 1500 active tobacco growers. In 2019 there were 171,000 and most whites have been pressured into leaving. In some countries after land reform, there is a large boost in output. This has been the case in Zimbabwe with production nearly four times the level of 1950. The end of the necessity of white ownership or ideal land has seen a dramatic increase in area under cultivation. Zimbabwe is the fourth largest tobacco exporter in the world, the largest in Africa.

There has been a down side. There is a great deal of slash and burn cultivation with much accompanying deforestation. I mentioned above that cultivation requires curing. The requires heat mostly generated by burning firewood. The government started a new tax of 1.5 percent gross to counteract deforestation. This has not solved the problem, as the programs main goal is to raise awareness instead of planting trees. Zimbabwe technological expertise might now be offering a solution. The government has been promoting the use of a coregated tin “twin turbo barn” for fast tobacco curing. It allows the switching to natural gas when available as a heat source. Exciting stuff.

High Zimbabwe tech Twin Turbo Barn for tobacco curing

Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait till  when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1959, Trying a more liberal path to maintaining minority rule

Trying to maintain a prosperous colonial life when the home country wants out and your race is less than 10% of the population is difficult. The apartheid system in South Africa was one but a more liberal method was also tried for about 10 years to the north. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The stamp today is attractive and very representative of the last years of British colony status. It also displays the seeds of the failure of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Between the Queen and the grave of Cecil Rhodes, it was just all about what the whites wanted. Under the distant but benign auspices of Britain with Cecil Rhodes as the father of the country. That aspiration was not what the 96% of the population that was black was interested in, namely majority rule.

Todays stamp is issue A20, a three penny stamp issued by the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1959. It was part of a 15 stamp issue in various denominations over a four year period. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. The stamp to look out for in this issue is the 1 pound stamp showing the coat of arms of the territory. It is worth $47 mint.

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland comprises the territory of modern day Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi. These were territories that were claimed for Britain by adventurer, diamond miner, and proponent of empire Cecil Rhodes in the 19th century. It was his intention that British colonists build a self ruled country that was still a subject of the British empire. However, the European settlers never were more than 10 percent of the population and lived at a level 10 times their African neighbors.

In 1953, in preparation for the end of colonial status a federation of the colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British Protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland was established. A federation was chosen as to limit the power of economically and militarily dominant Southern Rhodesia. It was thought that this unit would work economically and it did so with rapidly rising incomes for Europeans and indeed Africans. Institutions were opened up to allow more African participation. However Britain saw the federation as a vehicle to transition to majority rule and independence. The leader locally Roy Welensky saw things differently. He did not feel that blacks were ready for rule and that the Europeans could not stay post black rule.

The flag of the Federation. The rising sun is for Nyasaland,(Malawi), the lion for Rhodesia(Zimbabwe), and the wavy zebra lines are for Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)

Britain began separate contacts with independence proponents in Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia. Welensky considered unilaterally declaring independence from Britain but could not bring himself to do it. The Congo to the north had gone independent and within a month had descended into chaos. Thousands of whites fled south but Welensky was not allowed to help them escape by Britain. They favored a UN solution and Daj Hammerjold, the UN Secretary General flew to Northern Rhodesia to start negotiations. When his plane crashed, The Communist and African world blamed Welensky although there is no evidence that he had any responsibility.

Meanwhile in Southern Rhodesia, many whites thought Welensky too accommodating to England and a new party formed with a more radical racialist agenda. Welensky was mocked for being a Jew and a Socialist and the new party came to power. In 1963 the Federation was disbanded. In 1964, now black ruled Northern Rhodesia became independent Zambia and Nyasaland became black ruled independent Malawi. Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence that was not recognized by Britain or the UN and fell into civil war. The war dragged on for 15 years until Rhodesia recognized Britain’s right to install a majority black government and grant independence as Zimbabwe. All of the countries economically underperformed post independence and succumbed to one party, president for life corruption. Upon independence in 1980, Welensky relocated to Britain for his final years.

Prime Minister Roy, ne Raphael, Welensky. He didn’t believe whites could continue under black rule, so after the federation ended he moved first to Salisbury,(Harare) and then London which to date as kept it’s name.

To date Cecil Rhodes grave as yet to be desecrated in Zimbabwe. It is a lucrative tourist draw in the poor country and foreigners are charged four times the local admissions price, despite being in a UN supported national park. There is the usual talk of him being an interloper disturbing the spirits of real Zimbabwe heroes whose names nobody can remember.

Cecil Rhodes grave in more modern times. The rock formations make visits more dramatic at sunrise and sunset

Well my drink is empty. I wonder if the federation had been granted more time to integrate blacks in the institutions if the outcome would have been better. The three countries together would have been a much bigger power, but I really can’t see a modern country in Africa named for Cecil Rhodes. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Zimbabwe 1984, Suggesting Walls and Banana as check and balance

Britain put a lot of effort into the turnover to black rule at the begining of the 1980s. The transitions 20 years before had been mostly bungled, but lessons were learned. The newly elected rebel force would be guided by a non political President named Canaan Banana and leaving Rhodesean General Peter Walls in charge of the newly integrated army. What could go wrong? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your smoking jacket, and sit back in your most comfortable chair, Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Two interesting things to note about the appearance of this stamp. First note that the black eagle on the stamp has nothing whatever to do with Zimbabwe. They are native to Asia and are the national bird of The Philippines. So Zimbabwe was doing that old post colonial tradition of having printed topical stamps for money that are meaningless in telling people about the new country. At least it was them doing it, in 2015 the Zimbabwe Postal Authority declared over 80 different souvinier sheets of topical stamps frauds. Don’t worry ladybug fans, the four stamp issue from 2018 was real. Also notice that four years after the transition, 17 cents would still mail a letter. Quite a bargain for all the future trillionaires of Zimbabwe. It takes a while for everything to fall apart.

Todays stamp is issue A86, a 17 cent stamp issued by Zimbabwe on October 10th, 1984. It was a six stamp issue in various denominations with the top value given the African hawk eagle. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 90 cents whether used or unused.

In late 1979 a deal was struck at Lancaster House in London that specified the structure of the post independence government. Rhodesian General Peter Walls would remain head of the Zimbabwe Army and be tasked with integrating the rebel forces into the Army and maintaining the professionalism of the force. Canaan Banana, a Methodist Reverend and leader of the old Rhodesean legal black party would be the new Presidential Head of State.

There was some reason for optimism. Rhodesia blacks had a much higher standard of living than others. Though the country had a foreign debt left from the Bush war, Britain, Nigeria and others promised aid over three times that amount over the next decade. At first, there was some progress. During the 1980s, life expectancy rose 5 years thanks in part to new health clinics. The average amount of schooling available to blacks rose and there was a slight uptick in their literacy.

I mentioned that the role of Walls and Banana was was to operate as a check on the excesses of Mugabe who remember had never ruled a country before. Walls tried to do his job. He reported personally to Margaret Thatcher that the election carried out in the last days of colony was unfair because of Mugabe intimidation gangs. When Britain had no response he made his report publicly on the BBC. Mugabe was already nervous about Walls asking him soon after independence, “Why are your people trying to kill me?” Walls responded that if his people were trying to kill you, you would be dead. Walls was fired from his position after the interview and forced into exile in South Africa. For the rest of his life he lead a quiet life but there were constant stories that this or that rival to Mugabe was scheming with Walls.

Rhodesia/Zimbabwe General Peter Walls M.B.E.

Reverend Canaan Banana also worked to balance out Mugabe. He was fully anti colonial though less radical and always working within the system in Rhodesia. He had wrote a book aiming to bring Christianity to the poor called “The Gospel according to the Ghetto”. He also rewrote the Lord’s Prayer. in his version it began “Our Father who art in the Ghetto, degraded be Thy Name”. I am not kidding. This may have been someone who could work with Mugabe. Indeed he tried. The two rebel armies against Rhodesia were now rival political parties. This sounds okay except there were a series of massacres between them known as the Gukuruhundi. Banana was able to get the two parties to merge which helped Mugabe by creating a united party still under him. That was not good enough for Mugabe and the constitution was changed making the Prime Minister the President. Banana continued to serve as a diplomat but was arrested in 1996 on charges of sodomy and sentenced to 10 years in jail. His homosexuality had came out when two of his bodyguards faced assault charges when one accused the other of being Banana’s gay wife as well as his bodyguard.

Zimbabwe President Canaan Banana before his fall

Well my drink is empty and we are talking of Zimbabwe so of course no toast. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Zambia 2000, How did we get here

I have done a fair number of 19th century stamps lately. So to change it up a little lets move forward to the 21st century. Some things change, but most stay the same. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This is an interesting stamp visually. It was part of a series depicting African legends on the creation of the earth. This is probably too sectarian and divisive a subject for a western stamp. The drawings though are well executed and aimed at children. One issue that crops up being in the modern time is that it is evident that the stamp is more of a curiosity rather than something to use for postage.

Todays stamp is issue A179, a 600 Kwacha stamp issued by the Republic of Zambia on November 10th 2000. It was part of a three stamp issue. The Scott catalog seems to only view the stamps as a sheet together. The three stamps together are worth $1.60 whether mint or canceled to order. I only possess the one stamp featured today so I will guestimate its value at 53 cents.

Zambia was granted independence from Britain in 1964 after a white led federation with Zimbabwe and Malawi could not be sustained. It was originally intended to be a democracy but the first President Kenneth Kaunda ruled for over a quarter of a century with no legal opposition. Originally whites were given a voice in the legislature but this was withdrawn and most left. At independence, Zambia only processed 100 black college graduates. It did have the revenue from all the newly nationalized industries but the educational system required massive investment. Kaunda became a leader in the non aligned movement and a major supporter  of majority rebel movements in the still white lead countries around Zambia. This lead to increased security risks and even clashes with Rhodesia and South Africa.

Kaunda sought and received aid from East and West but much was squandered on corruption and useless military equipment like MIG 21 fighters, that Zambia could not properly maintain or operate. The economy was heavily dependent on copper exports but when price levels of copper dropped the only replacement was debt. The economy contracted 30 percent in the last years of Kaunda’s rule. Eventually the economic distress lead to strikes and coup attempts and Kaunda allowed a real election with labor leader Fredrick Chiluba winning and becoming the second President of Zambia.

The styles of the two men were quite different. Kaunda was famous for his khaki safari suits. In Southern Africa the suit is known as a kaunda suit. President Chiluba was only 5 feet tall and wore high heeled shoes and fancy business suits. The two men were still rivals and sniped at each other. Chiluba tried to have Kaunda’s citizenship revoked for having parents from then federated Nyasaland. Kaunda in turn accused Chiluba of being a thieving, cross dressing, dwarf. Chiluba was accused of stealing 50 million dollars from the government by having the intelligence service wire it to London. Chiluba said it was for foreign missions and was cleared by a friendly local court. Over 60 million was recovered from him after he left office. Kaunda is still around in retirement in his 90s and Zambia still stagnates.

Well my drink is empty and I will now depressingly contemplate what a country is to do when there is no one competent to run it. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.