Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, semiautonomous British dependency in southern Africa. A colonial creation, it was formed in 1953 of the protectorates of Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi) and the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The federation, however, was opposed by black African leaders and was dissolved at the end of 1963. See Malawi; Zambia; Zimbabwe.