A secret history of African decolonisation.

ZIMBABWEAN politics & government, 1965-1979; DECOLONIZATION; FRENCH foreign relations; BRITISH colonies; WHITE people; SECRECY; SMITH, Ian Douglas, 1919-2007; HISTORY of political autonomy; TWENTIETH century; HISTORY; 20TH century French history; COLONIAL Africa

The article discusses the decolonisation of British colonies in Africa, with a particular focus on France's support of the British colony Southern Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965 by its white minority government under Southern Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith. The secretive aspect of the French support for Southern Rhodesia's UDI is discussed.