In linguistic , cultural, and historical terms, these people of European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking descendants of British settlers. A small minority are either Afrikaans -speaking descendants of Afrikaners from South Africa or those descended from Greek , Portuguese , Italian , and Jewish immigrants.
In a referendum , the community rejected joining the Union of South Africa , electing instead to establish responsible government. In the Rhodesian independence referendum , the community voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence from Britain, leading to Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence under Prime Minister, Ian Smith. The community was embroiled in the Rhodesian Bush War , as the Smith government sought to maintain white minority rule.
A small number of British migrants had reached the British colony of Southern Rhodesia , later Zimbabwe, as settlers during the late-nineteenth century. A steady migration of European peoples continued for the next 75 years. Emigration after the country gained internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe in resulted in a declining white population: estimated at , in ; 70, in ; [ 14 ] and 30, in Many formerly dispossessed white farmers have formed joint ventures with black landowners.
Early White settlers came in search of mineral resources, hoping to find a second gold-rich Witwatersrand. Zimbabwe lies on a plateau that varies in altitude between and 1, m 2, and 4, ft above sea level. This gives the area a moderate climate which was conducive to European settlement and commercial agriculture. White settlers who assisted in the BSAC takeover of the country were given land grants of 1, hectares 3, acres ; the black people who had long lived on the land were classified legally as tenants.
It reserved areas of high rainfall for White ownership. This resulted in the growth of commercial agriculture in the young colony. Many White farms provided housing, schools and clinics for Black employees and their families.
