Zambia History

Livingstone statue in Zambia - photo courtesy of Zambia Tourist BoardThe area of modern Zambia was inhabited by Khoisan hunter-gatherers until the 1st century CE, when technologically-advanced migrating tribes began to displace or absorb them. In the 12th century, major waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants arrived during the Bantu expansion. Among them, the Tonga people (also called Batonga) were the first to settle in Zambia and are believed to have come from the east near the “big sea”. The Nkoya people also arrived early in the expansion, coming from the Luba-Lunda kingdoms located in the southern parts of the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo and northern Angola, followed by a much larger influx, especially between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. In the early 18th century, the Nsokolo people settled in the Mbala district of Northern province. During the 19th century, the Ngoni peoples arrived from the south. By the late 19th century, most of the various peoples of Zambia were established in the areas they currently occupy.

The earliest account of a European visiting the area was Francisco de Lacerda in the late 18th century, followed by other explorers in the 19th century. The most prominent of these was David Livingstone, who had a vision of ending the slave trade. He was the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River in 1855, naming them Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria. Locally the falls are known “Mosi-oa-Tunya” or “the smoke that thunders” (in the Lozi or Kololo dialect). The town of Livingstone, near the falls is named after him.

In 1888, the British South Africa Company, led by Cecil Rhodes, obtained mineral rights from the Litunga, the king of the Lozi for the area which later became North Western Rhodesia. To the east, King Mpezeni of the Ngoni resisted but was defeated in battle and that part of the country came to be known as North-Eastern Rhodesia. The two were administered as separate units until 1911 when they were merged to form Northern Rhodesia. In 1923, the Company ceded control of Northern Rhodesia to the British Government after the government decided not to renew the Company’s charter.

That same year, the government proclaimed that Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was within the British sphere of influence, formally annexed it and granted self-government.

In 1924, after negotiations, administration of Northern Rhodesia transferred to the British Colonial Office. In 1953, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland joined Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively) with Nyasaland (now Malawi). Northern Rhodesia was the centre of much of the turmoil and crisis characterizing the federation in its last years.

A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia’s secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new National Assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. The federation was dissolved on 31 December 1963, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964, with Kaunda as the first president.

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