Cambridge Imperial & Post-Colonial Studies The White Redoubt, the Great Powers and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1960–1980 Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses, Robert McNamara Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series Series Editors Richard Drayton Department of History King’s College London London, UK Saul Dubow Magdalene College University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK The Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies series is a collection of studies on empires in world history and on the societies and cultures which emerged from colonialism. It includes both transnational, compar- ative and connective studies, and studies which address where particu- lar regions or nations participate in global phenomena. While in the past the series focused on the British Empire and Commonwealth, in its cur- rent incarnation there is no imperial system, period of human history or part of the world which lies outside of its compass. While we particularly welcome the first monographs of young researchers, we also seek major studies by more senior scholars, and welcome collections of essays with a strong thematic focus. The series includes work on politics, econom- ics, culture, literature, science, art, medicine, and war. Our aim is to col- lect the most exciting new scholarship on world history with an imperial theme. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13937 Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses Robert McNamara The White Redoubt, the Great Powers and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1960–1980 Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses Robert McNamara Department of History School of English and History Maynooth University Ulster University Maynooth, Co. Kildare Coleraine, Northern Ireland Ireland UK Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series ISBN 978-1-137-44757-9 ISBN 978-1-137-44758-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-44758-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017950398 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover image © Shaun Higson/Alamy Stock Photo Cover design by Samantha Johnson Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom To our friends and families for their unwavering support A cknowledgements This project was made possible by funding from a number of entities. The greatest single contribution was made by the Irish Research Council (in its former guise as IRCHSS), without whose generous funding the enterprise would not have been possible. Additional financial contribu- tions were made by the British Academy and the Instituto Camões. To all three bodies our sincere thanks. We were helped in our research by a number of individuals. Mel Farrell provided excellent support as an IRCHSS-funded research assistant: for a whole year we were able to count on his competence, his organizational skills and his good humour. We are in his debt. Maynooth University’s Summer Programme for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) allowed us to employ Ms Siomha Connolly as a research assistant, working in the Irish National Archives. She too did excellent work, for which we are very grateful. Leez de Preez’s assistance in Pretoria was most valuable. We would especially like to thank Neels Muller at the Department of Foreign Affairs, who allowed access to the department’s archives at very short notice. Some of the research that underpins this volume was turned into university modules, taught at Brown University in 2012–2013 and Maynooth University ever since. Our thanks to the students who attended them; their input made a significant contribution to this work. It is also the case that we were supported by a number of colleagues, to whom we are grateful: in Maynooth, Marian Lyons, David Lederer and vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS John Paul Newman; at Ulster University, Alan Sharp, Donald MacRaild, Ian Thatcher and Stanley Black; at Rhodes University, Gary Baines, who provided us with access to important documentation; and‚ elsewhere‚ John Horne, Onésimo T. Almeida, William Roger Louis, António Costa Pinto, Sylvia Ellis, Francisco Bethencourt, Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo, Sue Onslow and Pedro Aires Oliveira. c ontents Part I White States of Emergency 1 Defying the Wind of Change 3 A Solid White Monolith? 3 White States of Emergency (1): Nyasaland 14 White States of Emergency (2): South Africa 20 White States of Emergency (3): Angola 25 2 Rhodesia: Rise of the Rebel State 33 The Break-Up of the Federation 33 Verwoerd, Salazar and the Road to the UDI 43 Saving Rhodesia from Sanctions 56 South Africa, Portugal and the Efforts to End the UDI 1966–1972 62 3 Portuguese Africa: Rebellion and Resilience 75 The Liberation Movements and Their Challenges 75 The First Battleground: Angola 81 Engagement and Confrontation with Black Africa 89 War Comes to Mozambique 99 American Engagement 105 ix x CONTENTS Part II The Rise and Fall of an Unholy Alliance 4 Building the ‘White Redoubt’ 111 The Origins of Military Cooperation 111 The Rhodesian Dimension 121 The Emergence of Exercise ALCORA 126 5 Brothers-in-Arms: ALCORA in Action 137 Threat Estimates 1970–1979 137 Intelligence Cooperation 146 Success in Angola … 151 … and Growing Failure in Mozambique 154 6 First to Fall: Portugal from Coup to Revolution 161 The Indecision of Marcelo Caetano 161 The Carnation Revolution 168 Part III Towards a Constellation of One 7 Decolonization and Détente in Southern Africa: Mozambique and Rhodesia, 1974–1975 183 Mozambique’s Road to Independence 183 Rhodesia’s New Challenges 200 Hell-Bent on Détente 205 Victoria Falls 216 8 Debacle and Détente Redux: South Africa in Angola and Rhodesia, 1975–1977 219 Angola Before and After the Alvor Agreement 219 The End of White Angola 225 South African Decision-Making 229 The American Dimension 236 Détente Redux 239 Towards an Internal Settlement 249