AHC: The Knights of Rhodesia.
- Thread starter Purrangzeb
- Start date
I know you're probably not insisting that "knights" be in the name, but just for the record, I'm not really aware of that being a name for any monastic group. I believe the Knights Of Malta are basically a lay order, with chivalric pretensions, and the Knights Of Columbus are a Catholic men's club, loosely aping the more plebian manifestations of Freemasonry.
So, is that what you're after, or do you want actual monks? And do they need to be Catholic?
So, is that what you're after, or do you want actual monks? And do they need to be Catholic?
Both the Catholic and Anglican churches had monastic orders with presence in British Southern Africa. Still do across SA, Zim, Lesotho and probably more
yeah, essentially
any denomination, so long as they're loosely militaristic christians.
Sorry, but "Knights of Rhodesia" sounds more like some KKK-inspired group springing up from the most reactionary of the white settlers post-independence, rather than a religious order 
Weird, I thought about a song from a Glam rock band.Sorry, but "Knights of Rhodesia" sounds more like some KKK-inspired group springing up from the most reactionary of the white settlers post-independence, rather than a religious order
The difficulty is, groups like the Knights Of Malta and the Knights Of Columbus have imagery rooted in the canonical history of Catholic Europe. But even English Catholics living in southern Africa probably didn't consider the region central to the grand sweep of Christendom. So getting a Knights Of Rhodesia or a Knights Of Anything Else In Southern Africa might be a pretty tall order.
I think most likely, right-wing Catholics in the region might just join Opus Dei or Tradition Family And Property, if those groups had local franchises, and direct the anti-Communism at left-wing Black groups.
Memoriam Damnatio
Banned
This gonna be a bit weird but it's the best idea I could come up with:
The Unionist government of arthur Balfour was faced with a duel crises as it entered government. In Ireland the home-rule movement was growing more radical by the day, while in the newly conquered territories of the Boer republics and Rhodesia British control held on by a thread. Deciding to kill both birds with the same stone the British began deporting many radical fenians to south africa and the Rhodesia territories. The British believed that the radically catholic fenians and the devoutly protestant Boers would spend more time fighting each other allowing the British to divide and conquer. While the most of the Fenians would return home after independence a large minority would remain in Rhodesia. Due to the struggles associated with the predominantly anglo frontier the Rhodesian fenians would form their own fraternity modeled on the knights of Columbus. Eventually the order would become militarised after UDI to better meet the demands of the bush war. The order would officially be incorporated into the military as a civil militia in charge of interior defense following the decolonisation of Angola and mozambique. The order would be the last instance of a catholic military fraternity.
The Unionist government of arthur Balfour was faced with a duel crises as it entered government. In Ireland the home-rule movement was growing more radical by the day, while in the newly conquered territories of the Boer republics and Rhodesia British control held on by a thread. Deciding to kill both birds with the same stone the British began deporting many radical fenians to south africa and the Rhodesia territories. The British believed that the radically catholic fenians and the devoutly protestant Boers would spend more time fighting each other allowing the British to divide and conquer. While the most of the Fenians would return home after independence a large minority would remain in Rhodesia. Due to the struggles associated with the predominantly anglo frontier the Rhodesian fenians would form their own fraternity modeled on the knights of Columbus. Eventually the order would become militarised after UDI to better meet the demands of the bush war. The order would officially be incorporated into the military as a civil militia in charge of interior defense following the decolonisation of Angola and mozambique. The order would be the last instance of a catholic military fraternity.
@Memoriam Damnatio
Not bad, actually. But I think you need a more plausible reason besides false-flag population transfers to get the fenians into Africa.
Maybe have a faction of Irish Catholics who are very pro-British and anti-republican, roughly analagous to the ultramontane clergy in Quebec. Except unlike the Quebeckers, the Irish are more enthusiastic about the UK's overseas imperial endeavours, and volunteer to send a contingent of the devout down to Rhodesia and South Africa, where they are allowed to run their own mission schools for the indigenous people, etc.
They wouldn't be actively hostile to the Boers or the English, but keep a respectful distance, occassionally teaming up to fight the black commies. (Think Israel and the Lebanese Falange, from a later era.)
Not bad, actually. But I think you need a more plausible reason besides false-flag population transfers to get the fenians into Africa.
Maybe have a faction of Irish Catholics who are very pro-British and anti-republican, roughly analagous to the ultramontane clergy in Quebec. Except unlike the Quebeckers, the Irish are more enthusiastic about the UK's overseas imperial endeavours, and volunteer to send a contingent of the devout down to Rhodesia and South Africa, where they are allowed to run their own mission schools for the indigenous people, etc.
They wouldn't be actively hostile to the Boers or the English, but keep a respectful distance, occassionally teaming up to fight the black commies. (Think Israel and the Lebanese Falange, from a later era.)
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