 The term was initially applied to all white Zimbabweans.After independence, the term began to be applied increasingly to those whites who were nostalgic for the past.The nostalgia a "Rhodie" feels relates particularly to the UDI era (1965 to 1979), during which the predominantly white government, headed by the Prime Minister Ian Smith, declared independence from Britain in an attempt to prevent any commitment to a set timetable regarding black majority rule.