Rhodesian Independence Bell
{{Short description|Rhodesian replica of the American Liberty Bell}}
{{Infobox monument
| name =
| native_name =
| image = File:Ian Smith rings Independence Bell.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Prime Minister Ian Smith ceremonially rings the bell on 11 November 1966
| location = Salisbury, Rhodesia
| mapframe =
| designer =
| type = Tower Bell
| material = Bronze and mukwa wood
| length =
| width =
| height = {{convert|4|ft|abbr=on}}
| weight = {{convert|250|lb}}
| visitors_num =
| visitors_year =
| begin =
| complete = 1966
| dedicated = 11 November 1966
| open =
| restore =
| dismantled =
| dedicated_to = Rhodesian independence
| map_name =
| map_text =
| map_width =
| map_relief =
| coordinates =
| website =
| extra_label =
| extra =
}}
The Rhodesian Independence Bell, or Rhodesian Liberty Bell, is a replica of the American Liberty Bell which was used in Rhodesia to commemorate their Unilateral Declaration of Independence. It weighed {{convert|250|lb}} and was made in 1966 in the Netherlands and was last rung in 1978.
Description
The Liberty Bell was made in the Netherlands; it is made out of bronze, is {{convert|4|ft}} tall, weighs {{convert|250|lb}} and is supported by Rhodesian mukwa wood.{{cite web |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/142913467/?terms=Rhodesia%20%22Liberty%20Bell%22%20smith&match=1 |title=Smith leads celebration |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |date=1966-11-11 |accessdate=2021-05-23 |archive-date=2021-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523073248/https://www.newspapers.com/image/142913467/?terms=Rhodesia%20%22Liberty%20Bell%22%20smith&match=1 |url-status=live }} It cost £600 ({{Inflation|UK|600|1966|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) to make and was donated by five anonymous Rhodesians. The funding reportedly came from American conservative supporters of Rhodesia.{{cite book |first=Gerald |last=Horne |title=From the Barrel of a Gun |page=45 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780807849033}} The bell was inscribed: "I toll for justice, civilization and Christianity."{{cite web |url=https://projects.kora.matrix.msu.edu/files/210-808-9439/al.sff.document.nusa.pdf |title=UDI - First Anniversary |publisher=Southern Africa News Bulletin |date=1966-11-18 |accessdate=2021-05-23 |journal= |archive-date=2021-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122012117/https://projects.kora.matrix.msu.edu/files/210-808-9439/al.sff.document.nusa.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/12/archives/rhodesians-celebrate-11th-anniversary-of-breakaway-anniversary-of.html |title=Rhodesians Celebrate 11th Anniversary of Breakaway |work=New York Times |date=1976-11-12 |accessdate=2021-05-23 |archive-date=2021-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523073246/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/12/archives/rhodesians-celebrate-11th-anniversary-of-breakaway-anniversary-of.html |url-status=live }}
History
Rhodesia had unilaterally declared its independence as a self-declared Dominion from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965. To commemorate the first anniversary in 1966, Rhodesia held a festival known as "spirit of 76" as a tribute to being the first colony to break away from the British Empire since the Thirteen Colonies in the American War of Independence.{{cite web |first=Michael |last=Kraft |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/501774013/?terms=Rhodesia%20%22Liberty%20Bell%22%20smith&match=1 |title=Rhodesia marks independence |work=The Windsor Star |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |date=1966-11-11 |accessdate=2021-05-23 |archive-date=2021-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523073246/https://www.newspapers.com/image/501774013/?terms=Rhodesia%20%22Liberty%20Bell%22%20smith&match=1 |url-status=live }} Prime Minister Ian Smith unveiled the Liberty Bell and declared "Every time it chimes it will be another nail in the coffin of those who want to interfere in the internal affairs of Rhodesia."{{cite magazine |title=Rhodesia: Kicking the Gong Around |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,828407,00.html |magazine=Time |url-access=subscription |date=1966-11-18 |access-date=2021-05-23 |archive-date=2021-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521195151/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,828407,00.html |url-status=live }} He then ceremonially rang it 12 times at midnight on 11 November. The ritual would be repeated each year at midnight on 11 November at an "Independence Ball" event.{{cite journal |last=Brownell |first=Josiah |title=Out of Time: Global Settlerism, Nostalgia, and the Selling of the Rhodesian Rebellion Overseas |url=https://www.academia.edu/29872386 |journal=Journal of Southern African Studies |volume=43 |issue=4 |date=2017 |page=24 |doi=10.1080/03057070.2017.1325621 |s2cid=149102114 |access-date=2021-05-23 |archive-date=2021-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123103909/https://www.academia.edu/29872386/_Out_of_Time_Global_Settlerism_Nostalgia_and_the_Selling_of_the_Rhodesian_Rebellion_Overseas_The_Journal_of_Southern_African_Studies_Vol_43_No_4_2017_ |url-status=live }} Smith stated that the bell would always be rung 12 times despite reports it rang once for each year of independence; to which Smith said "You can imagine what the position would be when one of my successors, in due time, has to ring the bell 100 times."{{Cite book |last=Pringle |first=Ian |year=2012 |title=Dingo Firestorm |chapter=24 |publisher=Penguin Random House South Africa |isbn=9781770224292}}
In 1979, the bell was not rung for the first time since 1966 after Smith returned to Zimbabwe Rhodesia from negotiations in London for the future Lancaster House Agreement.{{cite web |title=The Union Jack will fly again |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1979/11/26/the-union-jack-will-fly-again |work=MacLean's |date=1979-11-26 |accessdate=2021-05-23 |archive-date=2021-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523073246/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1979/11/26/the-union-jack-will-fly-again |url-status=live }} The bell was retired and stored in the Zimbabwe Rhodesian National Archives.{{cite news |first=Gary |last=Thatcher |title=Rhodesians Scrap 'Independence' festivities this year |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAJJAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22independence+bell%22+rhodesia+zimbabwe&pg=RA19-PA9 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |department=AF Press Clips |date=1979-11-15 |page=9 |via=United States Department of State |access-date=2021-05-23 |archive-date=2021-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704082740/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/AF_Press_Clips/BAJJAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22independence+bell%22+rhodesia+zimbabwe&pg=RA19-PA9&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}