# Victoria Falls Conference of 1949 (1949)

URL: https://allhistories.com/zimbabwe/timeline/1949-victoria-falls-conference-of-1949
Location: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Themes: main-event

After the Bledisloe Commission rejected amalgamation, settler politicians shifted to the idea of a federation of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, in which each territory would keep its own government for African affairs while a federal government handled defence, economic policy and other common matters. They argued that federation would attract investment and counter both South African Afrikaner nationalism and African nationalism. In February 1949 an unofficial conference was held at the Victoria Falls, attended by Godfrey Huggins and other Southern Rhodesian leaders, Roy Welensky and the elected members of Northern Rhodesia's Legislative Council, and settler representatives from Nyasaland. No Africans were invited. The conference agreed to press the British government for a federation and outlined a constitution dominated by the settler minority. The Labour government in London was initially cautious but, concerned about the rise of the National Party in South Africa after 1948, it agreed to examine the proposal. A conference of officials was held in London in 1951, and the plan moved forward despite strong opposition from African leaders in all three territories, who feared extension of Southern Rhodesia's segregationist policies. At this point in the timeline (February 1949), the Sovereign (British monarch) of Southern Rhodesia was George VI (11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952); the Governor of Southern Rhodesia was John Noble Kennedy (14 January 1947 – 21 November 1953). Government: the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia was Godfrey Huggins (12 September 1933 – 7 September 1953).

## Why it matters
The 1949 conference launched the settler campaign that produced the Central African Federation.

Ruler at the Time: [George VI](https://allhistories.com/zimbabwe/rulers/george-vi)

Governor of Southern Rhodesia: John Noble Kennedy
Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia: Godfrey Huggins (Reform Party / United Party)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Rhodesia_and_Nyasaland)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Federation+of+Rhodesia+and+Nyasaland)
- [Wikipedia — Roy Welensky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Welensky)
- [Wikipedia — Self-Governing Southern Rhodesia (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Rhodesia)