History of Zambia

Early Humans

The earliest human remains found in Zambia are stone tools that are thought to be about two million years old. Zambia's inhabitants progressed to using a large range of stone tools by about 300,000 years ago, which is around the time when the famous 'Broken Hill' or 'Kabwe Man' lived.

His skull was found near Kabwe (formerly called Broken Hill) in 1921: the first early human fossil to be found in Africa. Some researchers have suggested that he could be a member of the African population from which all modern humans descended.

Agriculture and Trade

Agriculture and Iron Age technology were brought south into Zambia from Ethiopia and other parts of North and West Africa and by the 4th or 5th century AD, farmers had settled all over southern Africa.

By the start of the second millennium, archeological evidence shows that trade was rapidly developing in the area, and European history tells us that by the 1400s Muslim traders were venturing far into Africa, exporting gold via the east coast.

The Portuguese arrived in the 17th century and traded gold, ivory and copper with Zambia. Trade continued to escalate during the 18th and 19th centuries as more and more traders from Europe and North America visited Zambia.

Tribes

The increase in trade meant a corresponding increase in the wealth and social structures of some tribes. The groups with the most resources (and the largest armies) dominated, and from the 1500s on, kingdoms ruled by chiefs emerged in Zambia.

As trade increased in the 18th and 19th centuries, some chiefs traded weapons in order to gain an advantage over neighbouring tribes. The losers were sold as slaves and were sent to Europe and America.

The Scramble for Africa

As the west became more industrialized, it made sense to western governments to acquire African territory in order to control the supply of raw materials and commodities.

Livingstone's travels had opened up areas of Zambia to British missionaries, and this helped Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company make treaties with Zambian chiefs in exchange for mineral rights. By the end of the 1800s Northern Rhodesia, as Zambia was then called, was under British rule.

The Copper Mines

In 1928, vast deposits of copper were discovered in upper Kafue, and large copper mines were started. During World War II, Zambia became a major producer of copper, and there was an influx of European administrators and technicians.

The unskilled labourers came from all over Zambia, and their working conditions were very poor. Conditions in the villages also deteriorated as many men left to work in the mines. The African mineworkers organized themselves into unions and in 1952, held a strike which resulted in substantial pay rises for mineworkers.

Today, Zambia is the world's 11th largest producer of copper. Despite the crash of copper prices in the 1970s, copper and cobalt account for 80% of the Zambia's export revenue.

Independence

In 1953, the British government forced the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (or Central African Federation), comprising Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland and was dominated by the white population.

The path to independence was difficult for Zambia because the federation had to be broken first. With the help of Malawi, Zambian nationalists led by Kenneth Kaunda, accomplished this in 1963. Nyasaland became independent Malawi in July 1964, and Zambia became independent on 24 October 1964 with Kenneth Kaunda as president.

Kenneth Kaunda

President Kenneth Kaunda (known by Zambians simply as 'KK') opposed the white-dominated regime in Rhodesia, and his assistance to insurgents helped Zimbabwe to gain independence in 1980.

Zambia became a haven for political refugees and black independence movements. In 1972, Kaunda declared Zambia a one party state but Zambia's stagnant economy (crippled by the crash in copper prices) and his autocratic rule eroded his popularity.

Food riots and economic problems shook the government, and the Kuanda eventually agreed to allow multiparty voting. The opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) won the 1991 election by a wide margin, and Frederick Chiluba was elected president.

Chiluba

Chiluba's government received support for their goals of liberalisation and anti-corruption, which it partially succeeded in accomplishing.

However, before the next elections, Chiluba's government changed the Zambian constitution to include a clause that 'no person born of non-Zambian parents can be president' and to prevent presidents from serving more than two terms.

Kaunda, whose parents were from Malawi, was disqualified on both accounts. UNIP, under Kaunda's leadership, boycotted the November 1996 elections and Chiluba was elected to a second term.

Today

MMD presidential candidate Levy Mwanawasa narrowly won the 2001 elections, despite receiving only 29 percent of the vote.

Mwanawasa is a lawyer by profession and is universally respected for his integrity. He launched an anti-corruption campaign in 2002 which actually resulted in the prosecution of his predecessor.

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