The indigenous hunter-gatherer occupants of Zambia began to be
displaced or absorbed by more advanced migrating tribes about 2,000
years ago. The major waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants began in the
15th century, with the greatest influx between the late 17th and
early 19th centuries. They came primarily from the Luba and Lunda
tribes of southern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola
but were joined in the 19th century by Ngoni peoples from the south.
By the latter part of that century, the various peoples of Zambia
were largely established in the areas they currently occupy.
Except for an occasional Portuguese explorer, the area lay untouched
by Europeans for centuries. After the mid-19th century, it was
penetrated by Western explorers, missionaries, and traders. David
Livingstone, in 1855, was the first European to see the magnificent
waterfalls on the Zambezi River. He named the falls after Queen
Victoria, and the Zambian town near the falls is named after him.
In 1888, Cecil Rhodes, spearheading British commercial and political
interests in Central Africa, obtained a mineral rights concession
from local chiefs. In the same year, Northern and Southern Rhodesia
(now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively) were proclaimed a British
sphere of influence. Southern Rhodesia was annexed formally and
granted self-government in 1923, and the administration of Northern
Rhodesia was transferred to the British colonial office in 1924 as a
protectorate.
In 1953, both Rhodesias were joined with Nyasaland (now Malawi) to
form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Northern Rhodesia was
the center of much of the turmoil and crisis that characterized 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-government under a
new constitution and a new national assembly based on a broader,
more democratic franchise. On December 31, 1963, the federation was
dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on
October 24, 1964.
At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia
faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and
educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy
was largely dependent on foreign expertise. Abroad, three of its
neighbors--Southern Rhodesia and the Portuguese colonies of
Mozambique and Angola--remained under white-dominated rule.
Rhodesia's white-ruled government unilaterally declared independence
in 1965. In addition, Zambia shared a border with South
African-controlled South-West Africa (now Namibia). Zambia's
sympathies lay with forces opposing colonial or white-dominated
rule, particularly in Southern Rhodesia. During the next decade, it
actively supported movements such as the Union for the Total
Liberation of Angola (UNITA), the Zimbabwe African People's Union
(ZAPU), the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC), and the
South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO).
Conflicts with Rhodesia resulted in the closing of Zambia's borders
with that country and severe problems with international transport
and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric station on the
Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the country's
requirements for electricity. A railroad to the Tanzanian port of
Dar es Salaam, built with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian
dependence on railroad lines south to South Africa and west through
an increasingly troubled Angola.
By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence
from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in accordance with the
1979 Lancaster House agreement, but Zambia's problems were not
solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies generated
refugees and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela
Railroad, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed
to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambia's strong support
for the ANC, which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created
security problems as South Africa raided ANC targets in Zambia.
In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambia's principal export,
suffered a severe decline worldwide. Zambia turned to foreign and
international lenders for relief, but as copper prices remained
depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing
debt.
In response to growing popular demand, and after lengthy, difficult
negotiations between the Kaunda government and opposition groups,
Zambia enacted a new constitution in 1991 and shortly thereafter
became a multi-party democracy. Kaunda's successor, Frederick
Chiluba, made efforts to liberalize the economy and privatize
industry, but allegations of massive corruption characterized the
latter part of his administration. By the mid-1990s, despite limited
debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the
highest in the world.
Although poverty continues to be a significant problem in Zambia,
its economy has stabilized, featuring single-digit inflation, real
GDP growth, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of
trade. Much of its growth is due to foreign investment in Zambia's
mining sector and higher copper prices on the world market. In 2005,
Zambia qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) initiative, consisting of approximately U.S. $6
billion in debt relief. |
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