South Africa and the Cape Colony , the 6th
Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and founder of the
De Beers diamond company Although there were small British colonies along the
West African coast from the 18th century onwards, mostly consisting of trading posts and castles, British colonisation of Africa began in earnest only at the end of the 18th century, in the
Cape of Good Hope. It gained momentum following British annexation of the Cape from the Dutch East India Company, and the subsequent encouragement of
migrating colonists in the
Eastern Cape in an effort to consolidate the colony's eastern border. In the late 19th century, the discovery of
gold and
diamonds further encouraged colonisation of South Africa by the British. The search for gold drove expansion north into the
Rhodesias (now Zimbabwe,
Zambia, and
Malawi). Simultaneously, British colonists began expansion into the fertile uplands (often called the "
White Highlands") of
British East Africa (in Kenya). Most of these colonies were not planned by the British government, with many colonial officials concluding they upset the balance of power in the region and left the long-established British interests vulnerable.
Cecil Rhodes utilized his wealth and connections towards organizing this ad hoc movement and colonisation into a unified British policy. This policy had as its general aim the securing of a
Cairo to Cape Town railway system, and colonising the upper highlands of
East Africa and the whole of
Southern Africa south of the Zambezi with British colonies in a manner akin to that of
North America and
Australasia. However, prioritization of British power around the globe in the years before World War I, initially reduced the resources appropriated toward colonisation. World War I and the
Great Depression and the general decline of British and European birthrates further hobbled the expected colonist numbers. Nonetheless, thousands of colonists arrived each year during the decades preceding World War II, mostly in South Africa, where the birthrates of British Africans increased suddenly. Despite a general change in British policy against supporting the establishment of European colonies in Africa, and a slow abandonment in the overall British ruling and common classes for a separate European identity, large colonial appendages of European
separatist supporters of continued colonial rule were well entrenched in South Africa, Rhodesia, and Kenya. In keeping with the general trend toward non-European rule evident throughout most of the globe during the
Cold War and the abandonment of colonial possessions in the face of American and Soviet pressure, the vestigial remnants of
Cecil Rhodes' vision was abruptly ended, leaving British colonists in an exposed, isolated, and weak position. Black Nationalist guerrilla forces aided by Soviet expertise and weapons soon drove the colonists into a fortress mentality which led to the break-off of ties with perceived collaborationist governments in the
United Kingdom and
Commonwealth. The result was a series of conflicts which eventually led to a reduced presence of White Africans due to
emigration and natural death.
Since 1994 Hundreds of thousands of British-South Africans left the nation to start new lives abroad, settling in the United Kingdom,
Australia,
New Zealand,
United States,
Canada, and the Netherlands. In spite of the high emigration rates, a large number of white foreign immigrants from countries such as United Kingdom and
Zimbabwe have settled in the country. For example, by 2005, an estimated 212,000 British citizens were residing in South Africa. By 2011, this number may have grown to 500,000. Since 2003, the numbers of British immigrants coming to South Africa has risen by 50%. An estimated 20,000 British immigrants moved to South Africa in 2007. South Africa is ranked as the top destination of British retirees and pensioners in Africa. There was also a significant number of arrivals of
white Zimbabweans of British ancestry, fleeing their home country in light of the economic, political problems which faced the country and persecution at the hands of the ZANU government. As well as recent arrivals, a significant number of white Zimbabweans of British descent emigrated to South Africa after the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980. The greatest white British populations in South Africa are in the
KwaZulu-Natal province and in cities such as
Johannesburg and
Cape Town.
By province Zambia At the brink of the country's independence in 1964, there were roughly 70,000 Europeans (mostly British) in
Zambia (
Northern Rhodesia before independence), making up roughly 2.3% of the 3 million inhabitants at the time. Zambia had a different situation compared to other African countries. It included segregation, similar to
South Africa,
Rhodesia (
Zimbabwe) and
South-West Africa (
Namibia); but as the Europeans constituted a smaller fraction of the population they did not dominate politics. There were a few cities in Northern Rhodesia that had British place names, but all except one (
Livingstone) were changed when the country became independent or soon after. These included: • Abercorn →
Mbala (1964) • Bancroft →
Chililabombwe • Broken Hill →
Kabwe (1966) • Feira →
Luangwa (1964) • Fort Jameson →
Chipata • Fort Rosebery →
Mansa Vice President
Guy Scott served as acting president of Zambia after the death of
Michael Sata, the first (and so far only) white head of state of an African country since
FW de Klerk in 1994, and the first outside South Africa since
Henry Everard in 1979.
Livingstone A good example of segregation in Zambia before independence was in the city of
Livingstone, on the border with Zimbabwe. This featured a white town, with black townships, which were also found in South Africa and Namibia. In Zambia, however, Livingstone was one of the few places in the country that used this system and was close to the Rhodesian border. British influence was reflected in town and city names. Livingstone (which is currently the only town left with a British name) was nearly changed to
Maramba, but the decision was later dismissed. When Zambia became independent in 1964, the majority of white colonists left for Rhodesia, just by crossing the border. An almost identical town of
Victoria Falls lies on the other side.
Kenya There were 60,000 mostly Anglophone
white people living in
Kenya in 1965. However, encouraged by the fear brought by the
Mau Mau Uprising, nearly half of Kenya's European population emigrated out of the country after Kenya's independence from colonial rule. Today, they are estimated to be around 30,000. Well known white people born in Kenya include
road racing cyclist Chris Froome, biologist
Richard Dawkins, singer
Roger Whittaker, and
evolutionary scientist
Richard Leakey.
Zimbabwe In contrast to the rest of Central Africa,
Zimbabwe (formerly
Rhodesia) was once intended to become a "white man's country" – to be settled and ruled by European colonists who would remain there permanently. Until Zimbabwean independence in 1980, White Rhodesians prevailed over the nation politically, socially, and economically. They numbered some 240,000 by late-1979. Most were fairly recent immigrants, particularly blue collar workers attracted by the promise Rhodesia's economic opportunities offered. Throughout the 1960s they were joined by White South Africans and white colonists fleeing independent colonies elsewhere.
Nigeria, and
Botswana. In addition, nearly 10,000 white
Ugandans of British extraction were living under the regime of
Idi Amin as recorded by
Time Magazine in 1972. Due to the subsequent deterioration of conditions under Amin (including the constant threat of forced expulsion), most of the local British diaspora emigrated to the United Kingdom and South Africa. In 2006, approximately 2,500 Britons lived in
Uganda.
Scots in Africa Nyasaland (Malawi) The
Scots played an enormous part in
British overseas
colonisation, alongside the
English and
Welsh. Scotland supplied colonial troops,
administrators,
governors,
prospectors,
architects, and
engineers to help construct the colonies all over the world. From the 1870s, Scottish churches began
missionary work in
Nyasaland/
Malawi, in the wake of their illustrious predecessor,
David Livingstone. Their pressure on the
British Government resulted in Nyasaland being declared a
British Protectorate. A small Scottish community was established here, and other Scots immigration occurred in Southern Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Northern Rhodesia/Zambia, and South Africa. The table below represents how small their numbers were compared to other sections of the future
Central African Federation. The largest city and commercial capital of the country,
Blantyre, is named after
a town in Scotland and birthplace of David Livingstone. The reason for the small number of Europeans was mainly the lack of
mineral resources (Northern Rhodesia had
copper and Southern Rhodesia has
gold). After Nyasaland became independent (and upon adopting a new name, Malawi), many Scots returned to Scotland or moved to South Africa or
Rhodesia (formerly
Southern Rhodesia and later known as
Zimbabwe). Despite this, Scots had an enormous South African community (compared to that of Nyasaland). To this day most Scots in Africa reside in South Africa and until the 21st century, also in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). Most Scottish colonists from Rhodesia left for South Africa after Rhodesia's independence and after economic and political problems in 2001. Evidence of the continued Scottish influence is seen in the continuing traditions of
Highland games and
pipe bands, especially in
Natal. Ties between Scotland and Malawi also remain strong. ==French in Africa==