The Great Betrayal: The Memoirs of Ian Douglas Smith, Africa's Most Controversial Leader
• First published in June 1997.
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To those who say derogatory things about colonialism, I would say colonialism is a wonderful thing. It spread civilisation to Africa. Before it they had no written language, no wheel as we know it, no schools, no hospitals, not even normal clothing.

— Ian Smith

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "To those who say derogatory things about colonialism, I would say colonialism is a wonderful thing. It spread civilisation to Africa. Before it they had no written language, no wheel as we know it, no schools, no hospitals, not even normal clothing." in the context of "The Great Betrayal: The Memoirs of Ian Douglas Smith, Africa's Most Controversial Leader
• First published in June 1997." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Ian Smith" (Sourced) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Ian Smith

About Ian Smith

Ian Douglas Smith (April 8, 1919 – November 20, 2007) was a farmer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. Smith took the decision to issue a 'Unilateral Declaration of Independence' from the United Kingdom in 1965 and led the rebel unrecognised government for the next fourteen years. He strongly believed that Rhodesia should continue to be ruled by its European-descended minority while the African descended majority became more experienced in politics, but was forced to concede a power-sharing government when support from South Africa and Portugal ended.