1939: Rhodesia, Northern

Northern Rhodesia, a British protectorate in South Africa, is situated in the continental interior, bounded north by Belgian Congo and Tanganyika, west by Nyasaland, south by Mozambique, Southern Rhodesia, and Southwest Africa, and east by Angola. The territory has an area of 290,320 sq. mi. The population in 1937 was estimated at 1,377,346 inhabitants, of whom 1,366,425 were native Africans and 10,500 were Europeans. The capital is Lusaka.

Maize, wheat, coffee, citrus fruits, and tobacco are the principal crops. Cattle and other livestock are raised in the high plateau regions. The most valuable minerals are copper, gold, vanadium, zinc, cobalt, and silver. The most important timber is Rhodesian teak. Total exports in 1937 were valued at £12,751,014; total imports at £4,004,402. The protectorate is administered by a Governor appointed by the Crown, assisted by an executive council and a legislative council.

During the National Socialist movement initiated in Northern Rhodesia on April 19, 1939, immediately after Germany's seizure of Czechoslovakia, the Northern Rhodesian Government called up a special constabulary to guard vital points in the copper belt mines. No incidents occurred. The movement to combine Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia, together with Nyasaland, under one government awaits the report of the Bledisloe Commission, which was sent in 1938 to investigate the possibilities of such an arrangement.