''Rhodie'' is a
colloquial term typically applied to a
white Zimbabwean
White Zimbabweans are people in Zimbabwe who are of Europeans, European descent. In Natural language, linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, these Zimbabweans of European ethnic groups, European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking w ...
or expatriate
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
n.
Origins of the term
The term ''Rhodie'' was first used by British Army and civil service personnel in
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
(renamed Zimbabwe in 1980) during the period between the
Lancaster House Agreement of December 1979 and the formal independence of Zimbabwe in April 1980. The term was initially applied to all
white Zimbabweans. After independence, the term began to be applied increasingly to those whites who were nostalgic for the past. The nostalgia a ''Rhodie'' feels relates particularly to the
UDI era (1965 to 1979), during which the predominantly white government, headed by the Prime Minister
Ian Smith, declared independence from Britain in an attempt to prevent any commitment to a set timetable regarding black majority rule. The UDI project ended in the
Bush War of the 1970s, fought between the
Rhodesian Security Forces and the communist-backed black nationalist insurgents of the
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA).
[ Review: ''Scribbling the Cat'' by Alexandra Fuller.]
Current usage of the term
Implications of racism and violence
Usage of the term ''Rhodie'' changed further in post-independence Zimbabwe. It began to be applied to a white Zimbabwean regardless of ethnic descent or country of origin. An image published in ''
The Sunday Times Magazine'' in 1984 showed a poster near Harare reading "Private Party Invitation Only No Drugs No Rhodies No Racists No Troublemakers Allowed on These Premises".
Rhodie bar
A Rhodie bar is an establishment frequented by ''Rhodies'' and is often decorated with memorabilia of the UDI era and the
Rhodesian Bush War.
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]
See also
* List of regional nicknames
References
{{Rhodesian topics
Class-related slurs
Pejorative terms for white people
Rhodesian diaspora
South African English
Stereotypes of the working class
Zimbabwean culture