For more information on Rhodesia, visit Britannica.com.

Rhodesia was the name given to an irregularly shaped region of southern Africa, bounded by Bechuanaland, the Congo, German East Africa (Tanganyika), and Mozambique, first exploited by Rhodes's British South Africa Company in the 1890s. In 1964 the northern part became the independent nation of Zambia, leaving the white minority in Southern Rhodesia to mount a rearguard action against black rule, through a ‘Unilateral Declaration ofIndependence’—independence, that is, from British suzerainty—issued in 1965. Eventually the native peoples won their own battle, helped by international sanctions; and Rhodesia achieved independence as the majority-ruled state of Zimbabwe in 1980.

(roh-dee-zhuh)

Former name of Zimbabwe, a nation in southeastern Africa.

• Rhodesia was named for Cecil Rhodes, the English industrialist whose British South Africa Company colonized the region at the end of the nineteenth century. He also founded the Rhodes Scholarships for study at Oxford University.

Once a column came a-marching
In the long, long, long ago,
And they came to found a country
That the world would come to know;
It was built on toil and courage
Out of what was wilderness-
So they gave us this our country
To preserve and ever bless.

The early fathers of our land
Have left their trust in us,
On guard for all they won we stand
As those who follow must,
Rhodesia, our homeland
We stand on guard for thee,
Rhodesia our homeland
We'll ever cherish thee.

Once a column came a-marching
In the long, long, long ago,
And they came to found a country
That the world would come to know;
We who follow will remember
That to them this land we owe-
And to others who will follow
When it's time for us to go.

The early fathers of our land
Have left their trust in us,
On guard for all they won we stand
As those who follow must,
Rhodesia, our homeland
We stand on guard for thee,
Rhodesia our homeland
We'll ever cherish thee.

by Jack Watson

Dansk (Danish)
n. - Rhodesia

Français (French)
n. - Rhodésie

Deutsch (German)
n. - Rhodesien

Português (Portuguese)
n. - Rodésia

Español (Spanish)
n. - Rhodesia

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
罗德西亚

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 羅德西亞

한국어 (Korean)
로디지아 (아프리카 남부의 중앙부 지역; 북로디지아의 잠비아(Zambia) 공화국 및 남로디지아의 짐바브웨 공화국으로 나뉨)

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮רודזיה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.