L. Ron Hubbard feared atomic war between the world powers in the northern hemisphere and so looked for a safe haven in the southern hemisphere to establish a Scientology base. Unwelcome in Australian, he turned to southern Africa. He was attracted to the area because of his admiration for Cecil Rhodes (for whom Rhodesia was named) and, undoubtedly, because he thought he was Rhodes in a previous life.
He chose Rhodesia firstly because he thought he could create a favourable climate by helping to solve the UDI
crisis and secondly because he believed he had been Cecil Rhodes in a previous life. He told Reg Sharpe that he hoped to be able to recover gold and diamonds he was convinced Rhodes had buried somewhere in Rhodesia.
-Russell Miller, Chapter 15
He regarded his visit to Rhodesia as a homecoming for, so he told his personal assistant Reg Sharpe, he had been Cecil Rhodes in a previous life and hoped to return with the hidden fortune in gold and diamonds which he remembered having buried as Rhodes. Hubbard even went around wearing Rhodes' favourite kind of hat, presumably in the hope of "restimulating" people's memories of the late founder of their country.
-Chris Owen, "The Rhodesian Gambit
He told me a lot about his previous lives, about being Cecil John Rhodes. Having come from Rhodesia I knew Rhodes was gay and wondered why he [Hubbard] should associate himself, he who was so morally strict on how disgusting gays were, why he should associate himself with someone who was definitely that way inclined.
-Kima Douglas, interview with Kima Douglas
Hubbard quietly assured his lieutenants that he had been Cecil Rhodes in his last lifetime…, so he saw his visit to Rhodesia as a homecoming.
-Jon Atack, Part 4: "The Sea Organization 1966-1976", Chapter 1
In 1966, Hubbard journeyed to Rhodesia, having "discovered" in auditing that in one of his past lives he had lived as Cecil Rhodes, the British financier and administrator of that country. Hubbard had for some time been looking for a more accommodating country in which to establish the world headquarters of Scientology, and it was perhaps with this in mind that he made his journey to Rhodesia.
-Margery Wakefield, Chapter 1
… he was certain that he was Cecil Rhodes, in an earlier life from 1853 until 1902. From 1902 to 1911 he was a little boy, who drowned. In 1911 L. Ron Hubbard was born. He was so certain that he had been Rhodes, that, during his stay in Rhodesia, he carried on just as if he was the rightful owner of the country, who had returned. He also like to sport the kind of hat worn by Rhodes.
-Knud Eriksen, "The Past Lives of L. Ron Hubbard and what can be learned from them", International Viewpoints (IVy), Issue 2, August 1991
In Hubbard's previous life as Cecil Rhodes, he originated the racist "land grabs" in South Africa, removing the indiginous peoples from their lands to make way for industrial development. His policies contributed significantly to British imperialism: "I contend that we are the first race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race." In order to "make the world English", he suggested that "we must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labour that is available from the natives of the colonies." Exploiting the human resources was justifiable because "the native is to be treated as a child…. We must adopt a system of despotism in our relations with the barbarians of South Africa."
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