Zambia

Lore & Background

Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. Following European expeditions in the nineteenth century, the British Empire began to consolidate control of the area following the 1890 British Ultimatum against the Portuguese, who had claimed the area between Angola and Mozambique in the 1885 Pink Map. Britain formed the British protectorates of Barotziland–North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. These were merged in 1911 to form Northern Rhodesia. For most of the colonial period, Zambia was administered directly by the British South Africa Company until 1924, after which it became a protectorate under the Colonial Office. On 24 October 1964, Zambia became independent of the United Kingdom as a republic in the Commonwealth, and prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from 1964 until 1991, with him playing a role in regional diplomacy, cooperating with the United States in search of solutions to conflicts in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia. From 1972 to 1991, Zambia was a one-party state with UNIP as the sole legal political party under the motto 'One Zambia, One Nation' coined by Kaunda. Following the introduction of a multiparty system in the early 1990s, Kaunda was defeated in the 1991 Zambian general election. Zambia has since continued to experience peaceful transitions of power.

In Their Own Story

The mist from Victoria Falls rose like a ghostly curtain against the setting sun, turning the Zambezi River into a churning ribbon of white foam. Elias stood on the Zambian bank, feeling the ground tremble rhythmically beneath his boots—a heartbeat older than any nation. He watched a herd of elephants move silently through the acacia shadows, their tusks gleaming in the golden light, unbothered by the roar that had echoed here for millennia. In this timeless valley, the past and present merged; the ancient trade routes of ivory and copper were now silent, replaced by the quiet footsteps of tourists and rangers dedicated to preserving the wild heart of Africa.

Reader's Guide

Natural resources in Zambia include minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater, and arable land. As of an estimate in 2018, 47.9% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Zambia' derives from the Zambezi river, which may mean 'the grand river'.
• Zambia was known as Northern Rhodesia from 1911 to 1964.
• The fossil skull remains of the Broken Hill Man, dated between 300,000 and 125,000 years BC, show the area was inhabited by early humans.
• The Bantu expansion, one of the largest human migrations in history, began around 3000–4000 years ago from what is today Cameroon and Nigeria.