Northern Rhodesia
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Flag of Northern Rhodesia. |
Northern Rhodesia was a British
protectorate in
south central Africa, created in
1911 by combining
North-West Rhodesia and
North-East Rhodesia, which were controlled by the
British South Africa Company. (The geographical, as opposed to political, term "Rhodesia" refers to a region generally comprising the areas that are today
Zambia and
Zimbabwe. [
1]) It was administered by the
British government after
1923, eventually becoming independent as the nation of
Zambia on
October 24,
1964.
The name "Rhodesia" was derived from the surname of
Cecil John Rhodes, the British empire-builder who was the most important figure in European expansion into southern Africa. Rhodes pushed British influence into the region by obtaining mineral rights from local chiefs under questionable circumstances.
Northern Rhodesia joined the
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland when it was created in
1953, but when the Federation dissolved at the end of
1963, Northern Rhodesia reverted to its former status until achieving independence later in 1964. In 1935
Lusaka replaced
Livingstone as the
capital.
The British government issued
postage stamps for Northern Rhodesia beginning on
April 1,
1925, using a design featuring a
giraffe and
elephant, the usual profile of
King George V, and inscribed "NORTHERN RHODESIA". The same design was used in 1938 but with a profile of
George VI, and again in 1953 when
Elizabeth II became Queen.
Northern Rhodesia resumed issuing its own stamps on
December 1,
1963, with a
definitive series all featuring the same design, the colony's
coat of arms and a three-quarter portrait of the Queen. These were superseded by issues by Zambia in the
following year.
Nearly all of the stamps of Northern Rhodesia are inexpensively available, with the exception of the 7s6d and 20s of 1925, which are now worth about
US$100.
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Rhodesia*
Southern Rhodesia*
The Great North Road: Northern Rhodesians Worldwide.
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Northern Rhodesia and Zambia: Photographs and Information from the Fifties and Sixties.
