Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence

Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence edit

This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page.

The result was: scheduled for Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 11, 2015 by Brianboulton (talk) 15:32, 25 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe), highlighted on a map of Africa

Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) was adopted by the mostly white minority government of Prime Minister Ian Smith on 11 November 1965. It announced that the British colony of Rhodesia, self-governed since 1923, now regarded itself as a sovereign state. The culmination of a protracted dispute between the British and Rhodesian governments, it was the first unilateral break away by a British colony since the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was largely motivated by the perception among white Rhodesians that they were due independence following four decades' self-government and that Britain was betraying them by insisting on majority rule as a condition; the white minority of about 5% was loath to transfer power to black nationalists because of racial tensions, anti-communism and reservations about the country's future stability. Britain, the Commonwealth and the United Nations deemed Rhodesia's UDI illegal, and economic sanctions, the first in the UN's history, were imposed on the breakaway colony. Rhodesia continued as an unrecognised state until the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, and became Zimbabwe in 1980. (Full article...)

Most recent similar article(s): Most recent political article would be Gateway Protection Programme on 1 October. Most recent Zimbabwe/Rhodesia article would be Caesar Hull on 7 September.
Main editors: Cliftonian
Promoted: 11 August 2013
Reasons for nomination: 50th anniversary of UDI on 11 November 1965.
Support as nominator. — Cliftonian (talk) 14:21, 7 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support, my recollection of last year's discussion being that Wehwalt (with his typical grace and generosity) was prepared to yield this date to this article even though it would also be a good date match for 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Plus it's not always easy to find an appropriate military article for 11th November, and the big anniversary for that will be the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day in 2018. Bencherlite ^Talk 21:18, 11 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

If I recall correctly the compromise agreed upon was that the 1975 Australian crisis would run on 10 November, as the time difference would mean it would still be on for quite a while on 11 November in Australia. (Zimbabwe is two hours ahead of the UK.) — Cliftonian (talk) 16:37, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

~~Comment~~Support - the opening sentence is trying to say too much and should be cut in two. What; when. Why, by whom. Whole hearldly otherwise. Ceoil (talk) 11:05, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've had a go at splitting up the opening sentence. An improvement, d'you think? — Cliftonian (talk) 16:10, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I do, thanks. Ceoil (talk) 18:05, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

First link in a TFA blurb has to be to the TFA, otherwise the bots that help maintain TFA (by automatically adding edit notices on TFA day) get confused, so I've rejigged the opening link. Bencherlite ^Talk 21:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Bencherlite. — Cliftonian (talk) 17:24, 24 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]