Brief History of Zambia

Today, October 24, 2017, marks the 53rd-year since Zambia got it's independence from British colonial rule. And to mark the day, Zambians all over the world will be coming together to celebrate.

For many of us who may not know so much about the country Zambia, here's a brief history of the country. 

Zambia is a landlocked lock country in southern African with a population of about sixteen million people.

Brief History of Zambia
That archaic humans were present in Zambia at least 200,000 years ago was shown by the discovery of the Broken Hill skull in Kabwe in 1921 - this was the first human fossil ever discovered in Africa.

The earliest known modern humans to live in the territory of modern-day Zambia were the Khoisans. They were bushmen, hunter-gatherers who lived a nomadic life, with stone age technology. Mainly they collected fruit and nuts, but they also hunted antelope and other animals.

The Khoisans were the only inhabitants of most of Zambia until the 4th century, when Bantu started to migrate from the north. They had far more developed technology - they were farmers and had iron and copper tools and weapons, as well as knowledge of pottery-making. They lived in small self-sufficient villages of wattle-and-daub huts, growing sorghum and beans, as well as keeping cattle and goats.

The Tonga live in southern Zambia along the Zambezi River are the earliest settlers among the modern ethnic groups in Zambia today. 

Fast Facts:
Capital: Lusaka

Population: 14,309,466
Land area: 740,724 km elevation: 329 m - 2,301 m ethnic groups: African 98.7%; European 1.1%; other 0.2% religions: Christian 50-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24-49%, indigenous beliefs 1% languages: English (official), 70 other indigenous languages government: republic currency: Zambian kwacha (1 CAD = 5, ZMK) There are 107 airports in Zambia – 9 of them have paved runways and 98 have unpaved runways. Zambia used to be called Northern Rhodesia     

Brief History
More than 100,000 years ago, on the ancient land we now call Zambia, mankind's ancestors (believed to be the beginnings of the human race) lived. 

In 1888, Cecil Rhodes, spearheading British commercial and political interests in Central Africa, obtained a mineral rights concessions from local chiefs. In the same year, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, now Zambia and Zimbabwe, were proclaimed a British sphere of influence. In the beginning the territory was administered by Rhodes' British South Africa Company (BSAC), which showed little interest in the province and used it mainly as a source of labour.

In 1923 the British government decided not to renew the company's charter; as a result, Southern Rhodesia was annexed formally and granted self-government in 1923. After negotiations the administration of Northern Rhodesia was transferred to the British Colonial Office in 1924 as a protectorate, with Livingstone as capital. The capital was transferred to the more central Lusaka in 1935. A Legislative Council was established, of which five members were elected by the small European minority (only 4,000 people), but none by the African population.

In 1928 enormous copper deposits were discovered in the region which then became known as the Copperbelt, transforming Northern Rhodesia from a prospective land of colonization for white farmers to a copper exporter. By 1938 the country produced 13% of world's copper extraction. The sector was developed by two companies; the Anglo American Corporation (AAC) and the South African Rhodesian Selection Trust (RST), who controlled the sector till independence.

Before the Second World War, there had been talks about merging the two Rhodesias, but the process had been halted by the British authorities, and brought to an absolute stop by the war. Finally, in 1953, both Rhodesias were joined with Nyasaland (now Malawi) to form the Central African Federation. Northern Rhodesia was the centre of much of the turmoil and crises that afflicted the federation in its last years. At the core of the controversy were insistent African demands for greater participation in government and European fears of losing political control.

A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia's secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-b under a new constitution, and a new national assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. On 31 December 1963, the federation was dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964.

Happy 53rd Independence day to all Zambians!!