History of Zambia - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

the history of Zambia , of the prehistoric era at the medieval era , remains still rather mysterious. If archaeological research contributes to do one of the cradles of humanity of it and also could attest existence of old kingdoms as from the 11th century, the established facts and dated go back only to the years 1820.

Under the British colonial period, the territory was a known Protectorat under the name of Rhodesia of North . The country reached the Indépendance in 1964.

Prehistory

The Bantou era

The bantous controlled a certain technology. They were farmers, had ustensils and weapons in Fer, Cuivre and made pottery. They were mainly sedentary and only the need for surviving had constrained them to emigrate. The majority of the bushmen could not cohabit with these bantous and much of them emigrated in their turn, towards the south where they populated in particular the South-western African.

The introduction of agriculture thus supported the sedentarism and the population increased. Towards, a civilization emerged although the majority of the villages lived in self-sufficiency and that the populations hardly mixed.

The exploitation of the mine S of Cuivre contributed to forge relations between the tribes and of the parts out of copper being used for the trade were then used in the exchanges. The Ivory and the Coton also contributed to develop the commercial relations and to solidify political structures and social often complex.

Between, kingdom S were founded, splitting up the territory in several States. One could distinguish at least five of them:

Kazembe-Lunda in north close to the Luapula river,
Bemba in the North-East,
Chewa in the east
Lozi in the west upstream of the River Zambezi.
Tonga in the south close to the Zambezi

The area was closed the abroads a long time because difficult to reach. Neither the Arab tradesman S nor even the traders Portuguese had been able to go also far in the African continent. At the XVIIIe century, the Portuguese, seeking to connect their territories of Angola and the Mozambique, penetrated in the area via Pombeiros, Métis of Portuguese and African S.

The Traite Blacks had also developed in the area under the control of the Arab merchants of Zanzibar and of the Portuguese who exchanged Esclave S against their goods. The first really known European to put the feet in future the Zambia is the Explorateur English David Livingstone in 1851 where it met the Sebetwane chief. Four years later, Livingstone discovered the water falls which it called Chutes Victoria. It was as in this region as he died in 1873.

In the years 1870, the most important State of the area of the High-Zambezi was the kingdom Barotseland, directed by Lozi. This kingdom had undoubtedly been founded at the XVIIIe century. Lozi had undergone in the years the 1830 invasion of a clan Basotho (Tswana), Makololo, which, under the direction of Sebetwane, had fled the regiments of Shaka Zulu. This clan had become the Aristocratie of Barotseland, and Sebitwane his new " litunga" (king).

Sebetwane his/her Mamochisane daughter had then succeeded who abdicated little time afterwards in favor of her half-brother, Sekeletu. It is under the reign of this one that the empire of Makololo started to crumble and after its death in 1863, the Makololo aristocracy had been reversed by the lozi. Fleeing an unquestionable death, the Makololo survivors had finally emigrated towards the east to be established with the Nyassaland.

The colonization of Rhodesia of north

The era of British South Africa Company

The British South Africa Company (BSAC) founded by Cecil Rhodos to develop and exploit the territories in the north of the river Limpopo had been equipped with a royal Charte in 1889 authorizing it to extend the territories in its possession (Matabeleland and Mashonaland) and to increase its resources.

In 1890, of the north of the River Zambezi, by fear of an attack of the matabeles, the King of Barotse, Lewanika, required itself British protection. Rhodos which had just made, little time before, to annex the Nyassaland, dispatched its emissary Alfred Sharpe, Joseph Thomson and Frank Elliott Lochner near king Lewanika. This last then signed a treated placing its territory under the administration of the BSAC.

The borders of the new territory were not fixed and were hardly distinguished from the territory Congo alluvium of the Katanga whose mines had been discovered by British subjects. Rhodos hoped to annex Katanga with the Zambézie of North but it was a failure. Nevertheless, the girdles of copper near appeared promising. Into 1891, this new territorial conquest of the BSAC, then commonly called Zambézie of north, in fact was divided administratively into two distinct entities which were going to be called starting from 1895, Rhodesia of the North-West and Rhodesia of the North-East, in homage to Cecil Rhodos. This last then dreamed to build transcontinental an energy of the Cape to the Cairo while passing by the territories rhodésiens.

In 1896, the revolt of Bembas is subdued in blood.

In 1905, the Capitale of the territory of Rhodesia of north is fixed at Livingstone in the place of Victoria Falls very close but located in Southern Rhodesia. Livingstone was then quickly connected by a Railroad to the Belgian Congo. However, the BSAC undervalued the exploitation of the mine S, preferring to use indigenous labor for the development of Southern Rhodesia.

In 1911, Rhodesia of North was administratively unified and its definitively delimited borders.

During this period, missionary S Anglican S settled in the various areas of the territory opening there of the church S, the hospitals and the schools, évangélisant the local populations by employing in teaching the local languages. Contrary to Europeans and Asian the bantous did not have a school, the being transmitted knowledge of wire father, those Ci associérent initially the schools and the writing with sorcery.

In 1916, British South Africa Company tried to unify the two Rhodésiens territories administratively. It had to give up vis-a-vis the opposition of the colonists of Southern Rhodesia, definitely more than in Rhodesia of North. These colonists feared in particular that the practice authorizing the use of African in the Public administration, authorized in Rhodesia of North, is not then extended to Southern Rhodesia where this employment until was reserved there for the only white.

The protectorate of Rhodesia of north (1924-1964)

April 1st 1924, Rhodesia of north became a Protectorat within the British colonial Empire. Its institutional system differentiated thus from that decentralized of the Southern Rhodesia where a Gouvernement colonial room had been founded.

A legislative council was established in Rhodesia of north under the presidency of a Gouverneur Britannique. The first members of this Legislative council were all named and no Electoral system in the beginning was designed to indicate them. They did not divide less between those exerting of the executive functions (the official ones) and those which did not have any (the nonofficial ones).

The British practiced in fact the system of the " administration indirecte" while being pressed on the autochtones chiefs.

In 1926, an electoral system was founded to designate 5 members of the legislative council who would sit near the nine designated nonofficial members. The electoral system set up was Censitaire but did not mask the system segregation nist which it set up. The citizen was to be prone of his majesty (British subject), an almost exclusive quality up to that point of the people of white race. Thus, in Rhodesia of North, the Africans were not prone prone British but under British protectorate. The citizen was in addition to control perfectly the English and to have incomes or an inheritance fixed at a minimum amount.

The colonists, very few, were mainly industrialists and technicians. If they were not authorized to buy grounds, the colonists could profit from beams 999 years on the grounds of the Crown whereas the grounds of the indigenous reserves were inalienable. Those were located besides in wild and unhealthy areas.

In 1928, four local principal languages (cibemba, cinyanja, citonga and silozi) were selected to be employed in the public schools as languages of teaching during the first four years of the primary education. In 1930, the courses of English were offered in the Zambian schools, as language of national communication.

In 1931, the belt cuprifière started to be exploited appearing the second layer of Cuivre of the world, except Soviet Union. Copper was going to dominate all the economic life of Rhodesia of north and took part its prosperity. The ore appeared essential for the development of auto industry and the armament. The exploitation of the copper belt was going however to develop and reinforce the Racial segregation. The mines then employed 37.000 African and 6.000 Europeans. Each racial group was organized in a Syndicat, that of the white refusing to integrate that of the blacks. The white minors then had the standard of living of this the highest Socioprofessional category in the world and of excellent living conditions (housing in garden cities, powerful, domestic social services African at low prices). The companies had in fact used the great ways to make come to Rhodesia North (then pejoratively called the " Johannesburg of north-noir") a skilled labor and this one were primarily South-African. In addition, only 20% of the benefit resulting from the exploitation of the mines were actually transferred for the clean needs for Rhodesia of North.

In 1935, the capital of the territory is moved with Lusaka, a city then of less than 50 thousand inhabitants.

In 1938, the legislative council opened with the representation of the Africans by authorizing the nomination of a representative (white) of the black majority. At that time, the Parité between official and nonofficial advisers was reached (8 representatives each one of which a representative black population of Rhodesia of North). It was as into 1938 as Roy Welensky, a Syndicaliste of the Railroads, founder one year earlier of the Workers party of Rhodesia of North, was elected at the Legislative council for the district of Broken Hill.

In 1940, the trade union of the white minors obliged the companies to register in their Work contract a Clause guaranteeing racial discrimination on the work place.

In 1941, the legislative council of Rhodesia of North was composed of new elected officials, nine official and of a representative of African.

In 1946, one counts less than 50 thousand white in Rhodesia of North (either a white for 42 blacks). Half of this white community make up of South-African. Among African, the tribe of Barotsés lived under a specific system of Constitutional monarchy under the terms of an old agreement contracted with the queen Victoria. The king Mwanawina III, wire of Lewanika, thus continued to reign in the Barotseland, on the most important tribe of Rhodesia of North.

In 1949, the northern trade union of the African minors of Rhodesia of North was organized to make fall industrial discrimination.

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953-1963)

See also: Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

In the Fifties, Harry Nkumbula represented the African nationalist movement. It then directed the National congress of Rhodesia of north (Northern Rhodesia African Congress). It had tried to organize a side-African conference with Ndola with the nationalist representatives of the Kenya, of the Tanganyika, the Uganda, Zanzibar, Southern Rhodesia and of the Nyassaland but that had been a failure owing to the fact that the British authorities had driven back the African representatives as of their arrival in Rhodesia of North.

The nationalist movement had developed in the copper mines and had gained all the territory in particular because of the introduction of the federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. This one caused a sharp opposition on behalf of the indigenous population of the protectorate, which indeed feared to see to extend on the territory north-rhodésien, the mode of racial segregation into force in Southern Rhodesia. It also estimated that the federation was simply only one means for the white of maintaining and to extend to them Suprématie in Southern Africa and that their evolution towards political independence is not compromised. Nkumbula then organized peaceful steps and boycotts against the federation and the segregation, by taking for model the passive resistance of the Mahatma Gandhi.

The federation was also décrié by the White, in particular those of Southern Rhodesia as F. Mr. Van Eeden who proposed without success that the federation is divided and that the copper belt of Rhodesia of north is integrated into Southern Rhodesia and is melted in a white Dominion while the remainder of the territories would turn over under the supervision of the Colonial office.

The raison d'être first of the federation was to however make counterweight with the Union of South Africa whose government was directed by nationalists afrikaner S. the multiracial State under consideration by the British government was to also allow to safeguard the interests of the British colonial Empire. The white of Rhodesia of North were most enthusiastic with the idea of this federation because they feared that protectorate is not given up by the Crown and that the Colonial office does not impose autonomy to them then independence on the model of the political evolution of the Ghana. Rhodésiens of the South saw them there especially a means of cleansing their overdrawn economy.

A provisional constitution project (revisable at the end of 7 years) was published in June 1952 and was adopted by the British Parlement in the name of Rhodesia of North and Nyassaland (whereas the white of Southern Rhodesia were consulted by Référendum)

The federal constitution provided that the Africans are associated with the decisions of the government to allow them to acquire the experiment of the management of the businesses. The blacks could vote but still according to an uneven system Censitaire. Thus, six of the 35 members of the federal Parliament was blacks and three additional white were to take care of the respect of the interests of African. A committee of the African businesses was established besides which could call some with the British government if it estimated that the rights of African were not respected. The first 1st minister of the federation was Sir Godfrey Huggins (anobli under the title of Lord Malvern) and former Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. The federal government endeavoured to develop the Industrie, monopoly of the white colonists and the Agriculture, particularly the plantations of tobacco but it could not prevent the Paupérisation however rural areas. One of its headlights projects (and historical heritage) were the construction of the hydro-electric stopping of the Lac Kariba 200 km long and broad from 30 to 50 km, also being used as border between Rhodesia of the North and Southern Rhodesia. The supplied energy was to be used to feed the big cities and the industrial parks as the mines of the copper belt of Rhodesia of north. In 1955, north-rhodésien Roy Welensky succeeded Lord Malvern with the direction of the federal government.

In 1959, Harry Nkumbula having finally decided to approach the white of the plain federal Party of Welensky, of the dissidents outraged like Kenneth Kaunda, then founded the Party of independence and the national unit (or UNIP for " National United Independence Party"). Following a manifestation of the UNIP which degenerated in Ndola and which showed the death of a white woman and her two children, the state of emergency was proclaimed. The UNIP was prohibited and stopped Kaunda and jeté in prison for 9 months.

In 1960, a revision of the federal constitution of 1952 was to be negotiated between the British government, the African federal government and black leaders. The latter left the constitutional conference to protest against the state of emergency and the intransigence of the white colonists of Southern Rhodesia not to want to share the capacity. They were not long in engaging of the talks with the British government to withdraw process of revision thus leading to the bankruptcy of the federation.

In 1961, Kaunda started a campaign of civil Désobéissance. While white breadths are tried more and more by the secession katangaise.

In 1962, the general elections in Rhodesia of North were gained by the UNIP of Kaunda (14 seats) against 7 with the ANC from Nkumbula and 16 with the white federalists in favor of Welensky. Kaunda and Nkumbula then formed a coalition government claiming the independence of Rhodesia of North.

The May 16th 1962, the special committee of the the United Nations on the decolonization decided for the dissolution of the federation.

The October 30th 1962, with the platform of the United Nations, Roy Welensky, the first federal minister, still tried to save the federation and declared " without any doubt, the Africans will be the majority in about fifteen années" but the March 29th 1963, Great Britain just like recognized the right to the secession of Rhodesia of North it had just made it for Nyassaland.

The July 5th 1963, the conference of Victoria Falls, ultimate attempt to save the federation, led to an acknowledgment of failure.

The December 31st 1963, the federation of Rhodesia and Nyassaland was officially dissolved and Rhodesia of North became again a protectorate managed by the Colonial office.

On the way of the independence of Rhodesia of North

With the elections of January 1964, the party of Kenneth Kaunda, the UNIP, gained 55 of the 85 seats of the Parliament whereas the 75.000 white of Rhodesia of North (the country counts then more than 2 million inhabitants) were represented by 10 deputies elected by a separate college.

The October 24th 1964, Rhodesia of North reaches the Indépendance under the name of Zambia, in homage to the Fleuve Zambezi. In a country which counts more than 70 languages bantoues the ethnic competitions were such qu´on decided to keep l´ English like Official language, in order not to support a community or a cheffery.

Zambia under Kenneth Kaunda (1964-1991)

The first Republic of Zambia envisaged a parliamentary Régime pluralist of British type, with a president and a vice-president. But from the start, the state of emergency had been proclaimed and the amputated Constitution whereas the independence of the judicial Power was called into question. The first months of independent Zambia had been marked indeed by ethnic competitions, opposing Lozis in particular, which were estimated injured against Bembas, majority. In reaction to these conflicts and the strikes which multiplied in the mines, the system rocked quickly towards the concentration of the capacities and the Autoritarisme for the benefit of only Kenneth Kaunda, which named and revoked unilaterally at the stations - keys.

Many programs nevertheless were launched, in particular in the field of health and education, in order to correct the social inequalities and racial inherited the Colonialisme. In November 1966, English became the only national language of the education system of Zambia, putting fine at the educational system in local language of the colonial period. Nevertheless, seven local languages remained recognized as school subjects on a regional basis.

In 1968, the 10 seats reserved for the White with the National Assembly were removed. It was then the turn of the political parties to be prohibited except for the UNIP. For Kaunda, the sole party owed " to allow a better national integration, in a country artificially built by the colonisateurs".

The liberal economy was abandoned to leave the place to a system of economy etatist and Socialiste. The Zambian State took the control of the mines whereas in the Agriculture, a plan gave the priority to the development of the culture of the Maïs, whose production was also placed under the control of the State.

In 1971, the former vice-president Simon Kapwewe founded a dissenting party of the UNIP to try to present itself against Kaunda. The party was quickly prohibited and Kapwewe put under the bolts before finally joining the party which he had deserted.

In 1973, Kaunda imposed the sole party with freedom of candidature, within the framework of the second Republic of Zambia. But at that time, the economic situation was strongly degraded with the fall of the courses of copper and the reduction in the production, complicated by the closing of the border rhodésienne, then way of passage obliged of transit for the Zambian production. It was then decided to accelerate the realization of the railway line between Zambia and the Tanzania, financed by Chinese capital and since 1975, Lusaka was connected to Dar Es Salaam.

In the Seventies, Kenneth Kaunda also encouraged the movements of nationalist Guérilla, financed in particular by the China and the Soviet Union, against the white capacities of Southern Rhodesia, of Portuguese colony and , South Africa South-western African. He however managed to maintain good relationships with the Western countries and to approach the South Africa starting from 1975 thanks to the establishment of personal contacts with South-African the Prime Minister John Vorster, with which he had been combined to put an end to the problem rhodésien. Although lawyer of the sanctions against the country of the Apartheid, Kaunda maintained commercial relations close in particular for the supply of food products to the Zambian population.

In October 1980, an attempt at Coup d'etat failed whereas the mines of the copper belt are in boiling and that the trade unions oppose the government more and more. Although potentially one of the richest countries of Africa (13% of growth per annum in particular between 1964 and 1969), Zambia was inserted in fact in misery, accentuated by the fall of the price of copper to beginning of the year 80.

In April 1982, Kaunda tried to start again its personal contacts with the South-African leaders and met Pieter Botha, the successor of Vorster, at the botswano-south-African border in particular to try to convince it to withdraw the South Africa of the Namibia. Without success. But in 1984, its efforts of Médiateur bear their fruits when the South-Africans and the Angola is come to sign in Lusaka an agreement E non-aggression.

In 1985, the income per capita is worth nothing any more but 30% of its amount in 1974. In 1986, the local currency, the kwacha is devaluated of 70% on recommendation of the the IMF (with which Kaunda was scrambled periodically).

With the end of the year 1986, riots of the hunger in the copper belt made 25 dead and 150 wounded.

In 1987, the Inflation reached 600%. On recommendation of the the IMF, Zambia finally agreed to engage in a program of austerity.

In 1988, Kaunda was re-elected for a sixth mandate, at the conclusion of an election without opposition. But the economic crisis which struck Zambia in the Eighties, the Rural migration, demographic rise, the Corruption and the Insécurité in cities had led to violent riots in 1990, supplied with the end of the price freeze.

In August 1989, Kaunda still tried to obtain successes in international policy in the absence of national policy. It invited Frederik de Klerk, then president by interim of South Africa, to meet it with Livingstone.

But in internal policy, an anti-Kaunda coalition pushed this last to accept the return to the political Pluralisme and the organization of free elections.

Return to the multi-party system

August 1st In 1991, the trade unionist Frederick Chiluba gained the presidential elections with 81% of the voices whereas its Mouvement for the multi-party democracy (MANDELEVIUM) gained 80% of the seats at the National Assembly.

Defender of the néo-liberal values, Chiluba was re-elected in 1996. In 1997, it restored the state of emergency following an attempt at military Coup d'etat.

In April 2001, it renonça to request a third Mandate. In January 2002, its dolphin, Levy Mwanawasa, was elected during a disputed poll.

Internal bonds

British South Africa Company
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
History of Southern Rhodesia

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