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A SHORT HISTORY OF ZAMBIA
By Tim Lambert
ANCIENT ZAMBIA
At the time of Christ the inhabitants of Zambia were Bushmen, Stone Age hunters and gatherers. They
hunted antelope with bows and arrows. They also snared smaller animals and they collected fruits and
nuts and gathered caterpillars and locusts. They lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle and made windbreaks
from stones and branches, of if they were staying in one area for a season they made huts of bent poles
and thatched grass.
In about the 4th AD century a new wave of Bantu immigrants arrived from the north. They were farmers
and they had iron tools and weapons. The farmers grew sorghum and beans as well as bananas and
yams. They raised herds of cows and goats. They also did some hunting with iron tipped arrows. The
farmers also made pottery.
They lived in small villages of a dozen or so houses and each little village was more or less self sufficient.
The farmers made huts of poles and lathes arranged with a central enclosure where the cattle and goats
were kept at night. The men were buried in this enclosure when they died.
The farmers practiced slash and burn agriculture. They moved on when they had exhausted the soil. The
farmers seem to have lived peacefully alongside the Bushmen for centuries.
A MORE ADVANCED SOCIETY
By the 11th or 12th centuries a more advanced Iron Age culture called the Luanga culture had arisen.
The original farming villages were mainly self sufficient but by the 12th century long distance trade was
flourishing.
One trading centre was called Inge-ambe-Ilede (the place where the cow lies), near the confluence of the
Zambezi and the Kafue. Cotton weaving, ivory carving, and metalwork were all carried on there. Copper
was made into bracelets or it was made into crosses, which were used as currency. The population rose
and political units grew larger.
By 1500 organized kingdoms arose. Chewa in the east, Lozi in the west, Bemba and Lunda in the north
were the largest of these. In the 16th century some men were buried with gold beads. The rulers also had
glass beads from the Indian Ocean coast.
THE EUROPEANS ARRIVE IN ZAMBIA
By 1500 the Portuguese were sailing around the coast of Africa (although they did not penetrate far
inland). They brought new foods from the Americas: maize and cassava. They also brought the slave
trade. (There was already slavery on a small scale in the African kingdoms e.g. criminals and prisoners of
war could be made into slaves but the Portuguese introduced slavery on a much larger scale). They
offered African rulers goods in return for slaves. Consequently, coastal African tribes raided other tribes to
capture slaves to sell to the Portuguese. But the people of Zambia had no direct contact with Europeans
until the 19th century.
In the early 19th century Shaka, the Zulu ruler, began conquering neighbouring peoples. He displaced
whole peoples across southern and central Africa. The effects were felt as far north as Zambia. One tribe
fled from their home in South Africa. Their leader named the tribe after his favourite wife, Kololo. In the
1830's they crossed the Zambezi and marched to the area north of the Victoria Falls. Later they marched
west and subdued the Lozi kingdom of the Upper Zambezi. They founded the Kololo kingdom. (Later, in
the 1860's the Lozi managed to regain control of their territory).
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Yet another people called the Ngoni left Shaka's domain in the 1820's. They crossed the Zambezi in 1835
and went as far north as Lake Tanganyika. Later they settled in east Zambia. The Ngoni lived partly by
raiding other tribes or raiding trader's caravans.
The first European to visit the area was David Livingstone. He travelled there in 1851. He visited the
Kololo kingdom and saw the nobles wearing British cloth that had been sold to Africans by the
Portuguese in Angola. He was also the first European to see the Victoria Falls. Livingstone formed a
mission in the Kololo kingdom but it failed because most of its members died.
Livingstone wished to convert the Africans and also wished to put an end to the slave trade. He knew the
Africans wanted European goods and would sell slaves to get them. He hoped he could replace the slave
trade with legitimate commerce. He knew the Africans grew cotton and there was a great demand for it in
Europe. There was also a European market for ivory (it was used to made keyboards and snooker balls).
Livingstone hoped he could persuade the Africans to sell cotton or ivory to the Europeans in return for
their goods instead of selling slaves.
The idea failed because goods would have to be taken to Mozambique for export. Unfortunately a gorge
in Mozambique made the river un-navigable and it was too difficult to transport goods by foot.
THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH RULE IN ZAMBIA
After David Livingstone’s interest, Zambia was left to go its own way for 35 years. It came under British
rule in the years 1889 to 1901 due to the efforts of Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902). In 1889 Rhodes set up the
South African Company (SAC) to exploit minerals in southern and central Africa. The British treasury
refused to finance colonies in Africa. However Rhodes and his company made treaties with African tribes
allowing them the right to prospect for and mine minerals.
Once the British started mining in African territory they gradually took it over. Lewanika, king of the Lozi in
west Zambia sought British protection from another tribe the Ndebele. There were also rivals for his
throne and he thought having a British representative at his court would strengthen his position. He also
hoped the British would set up schools and educate his people. He dealt with a representative of the SAC
in the mistaken belief that he was talking to a representative of the British government.
The king allowed them to mine in his kingdom and agreed that British nationals in his territory in return for
£2000 a year and protection from the Ndebele. But the British did not deal decisively with the Ndebele
until 1893 when they raided the Lozi again. Furthermore no money was sent until 1897 no British
representative was sent to his court until the same year.
Rhodes and his men made treaties with other tribes in 1891-1894. These included the Tabwa, Lungu and
the Mambe.
However the Bemba and the Ngoni refused to negotiate and they were conquered by force. At first the
Bemba held their own against the small number of British troops sent against them. But the Bemba lived
by raiding long distance caravans. As the Europeans took over more and more of Africa, these caravans
ceased. Without them to prey on the Bemba grew weaker. Finally in 1898 a French Catholic missionary
declared he was king of the Bemba and welcomed the SAC's soldiers into the capital. In the south-east
the Ngoni were defeated by British machine guns.
The British then took Ngoni land and cattle and forced the men to become wage labourers. However
Rhodes and his men did not find great mineral wealth in Zambia. They found some copper oxide, a kind
of copper ore at or near the surface and some zinc but nothing like the amount of valuable minerals they
hoped they would find. (Below the copper oxide was a vast amount of copper sulphide, a different type of
ore but this was not discovered till the 1920s). So the British imposed a hut tax. Every able bodied man
had to pay the tax in cash. That meant that many men were forced to work as wage labourers in
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Zimbabwe or South Africa. Uprisings against the tax were suppressed by force. If any man defaulted his
hut was burned and if he was caught he was imprisoned.
However, only small numbers of Europeans actually came to live in the new colony. There were only
about 3,000 in 1914. Most of them lived in a strip of land beside the railway that ran north to south
through the middle of the colony. They lived on farms worked by African labourers. However many
Indians came to work as traders and craftsmen in the colony. They were seen as 'middlemen' between
the Europeans and the Africans.
But British rule did bring some benefits. At least the slave trade ended and tribes who lived by raiding
others were prevented from doing so. Furthermore some African kings were cruel and tyrannical and their
removal from power was a good thing. Also the missionaries built schools for the Africans. However as an
increasing number of Africans were educated they were no longer willing to accept British rule and began
to demand independence.
ZAMBIA IN THE EARLY 20th CENTURY
Livingstone was founded in 1905 when a railway bridge was built across the Zambezi. (A railway was
built north from Rhodesia. It reached Zaire in 1909). Residents of a settlement called Old Drift then
moved to the site. At first Zambia was divided into 2 parts. They were called Northwest Rhodesia and
Northeast Rhodesia. After 1907 Livingstone was the capital of Northwest Rhodesia. In 1911 the 2 halves
were united to form one colony and Livingstone became the capital. Lusaka was founded in 1905 to serve
a lead mine at Kabwe. (It became the capital in 1935). Ndola was founded in 1904.
Zambia, or North Rhodesia as it was called, suffered severely in World War I. Some 3,500 Zambians
joined the armed forces to fight against the Germans in Tanzania (which was then a German colony).
Between 50,000 and 100,000 Zambians joined the British army as porters. Much grain and many cattle
were also impounded for military use.
Attitudes to the Africans had changed by 1923 (in Britain anyway) and company rule was no longer
acceptable to the British government. So in that year Zambia was made a crown protectorate. In 1925 a
legislative council was formed but the franchise effectively excluded blacks. Nevertheless in 1929 the
British colonial secretary declared that in future the interests of the Africans was paramount.
Unfortunately his words made very little difference to the lives of ordinary Africans.
NEW MINERAL WEALTH IN ZAMBIA
The fate of Zambia changed dramatically in the late 1920s when rich underground deposits of copper and
cobalt were discovered. Kitwe was founded as a copper mining centre in 1936. By 1939 Zambia was the
world’s main source of copper and was potentially a rich country. By 1930 there were about 30,000
African miners in Zambia and about 4,000 white miners who did the skilled and managerial jobs. In the
early 1930s demand for copper fell but the price of copper rose between 1935 and 1937 and the
workforce expanded.
Furthermore the number of white people in Zambia rose sharply after copper was discovered. There were
about 13,000 of them by 1939, 3 times the 1930 figure. Many of these whites came from South Africa.
In the early 20th century the British government hoped that large numbers of whites would come and
settle in Zambia. They therefore divided the land into 2, some for whites and some for Africans. But the
expected influx of whites did not happen. Most of the land set aside for them remained empty. However
so much land was set aside for whites that the Africans were left short. This and the need to pay taxes
meant most of the Africans were forced to become wage labourers for whites. By 1936 it was estimated
that 60% of able bodied men in Zambia were working away from home. About 60,000 were employed in
Zambia often as miners. Many more worked on plantations in Zimbabwe or Tanzania.
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The large numbers of men working in the mines had an important social effect. It tended to weaken tribal
bonds. Miners tended to see themselves as miners, foremost, rather than belonging to this or that tribe.
And they began to organise themselves. There were no African trade unions in the 1930's but in 1935 the
African miners went on strike spontaneously. There were also riots. The army was sent to suppress them.
Six miners were killed and 22 were wounded.
In 1940 the white miners went on strike and forced their employers to give them better conditions.
Although they still did not have a trade union the Africans decided to follow their example. Again there
were riots, which were suppressed by force. This time 17 miners were killed and 64 were wounded.
However in 1948 the African miners founded a proper trade union. So did the African railwaymen in 1949.
The existence of African trade unions was a major threat to British rule.
There were other signs of change in the 1930s. The missionaries had been providing schools since the
late 19th century. In the 1930s the British government began to provide them. There were a growing
number of educated Africans working as clerks, traders and teachers and they too began to organize
themselves. They formed welfare associations. By 1933 there were ones in Abercorn, Kasama and Fort
Jameson. At first the welfare associations campaigned against local injustices but later they began to
campaign for independence. In 1946 14 of them joined to form the Federation of African Societies of
North Rhodesia (the old name for Zambia).
CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT IN ZAMBIA
There were also changes in the way the colony was ruled in the 1930s and 1940s. After 1930 the British
adopted a policy of indirect rule. African chiefs were given a role in local administration. After the riots in
the Copperbelt in 1935 the government formed urban advisory councils to give urban Africans an
'advisory' role in the way their towns were run. Furthermore in 1943 African provincial councils were
formed. They were made up mainly of traditional chiefs but they did contain some elected members.
Finally in 1946 an African Representative Council was formed; 25 members were elected and 4 were
appointed by the paramount chief of Barotseland (in the west of Zambia). In 1948 some Africans were
appointed to the legislative council. IN 1949 the first real independence movement was begun when the
African Nationalist Congress (ANC) was formed from the welfare associations first begun in the 1930s.
The white settlers viewed these settlements with alarm. In 1936 the Europeans in Malawi, Zambia and
Zimbabwe began to conspire to keep their power. They decided the best way was to form the 3 different
colonies into 1 territory. They believed that would enable them to control the Africans more easily. In the
1940s they campaigned vigorously for unification but they were strongly opposed by the Africans.
Then in 1953 London enforced a compromise. The 3 colonies were not united into one. Instead they were
formed into a federation. Each of the 3 colonies had its own government responsible for local
administration and 'native affairs'. A federal parliament was formed with authority over matters involving
more than 1 colony and over foreign affairs. Of the 35 MPs 6 were to be African, 2 from each colony
(although in Zimbabwe only whites were allowed to elect the African MPs!). The African MPs were given
the power to query any legislation they considered racist and send it to London to be either approved or
vetoed.
However in 1957 and 1958 the federal parliament passed legislation that would increase the number of
African MPs but would also reduce the franchise so that the majority of voters were white! The African
MPs sent this legislation to London but it was approved. During the period 1953-1963 the Federal
government 'creamed off' the revenues from Zambian copper mines and spent very little on the colony.
(White Zimbabweans made no secret of the fact that they regarded Zambia as a resource to be
exploited).
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The only large development in Zambia at that time was the Kariba Dam, which was built for
hydroelectricity 1955-59. A lake formed behind it in 1960-61 and 50,000 people had to be resettled. Also
many wild animals were rescued in “Operation Noah.” New towns appeared. Chingola was founded in
1943 and Kalushi was founded as a company town for miners in 1953. It became a public town in 1958.
Although copper was Zambia's main export by the 1950s there was also a large gemstone industry. Beryl,
rubies, sapphires and other precious or semi-precious stones were all mined. Meanwhile the white
population continued to grow rapidly and it reached 50,000 by 1955. By then they formed about 3% of the
population. Many of these new immigrants came from Britain. They often enjoyed a higher standard of
living than they had in post-war Britain with its shortages and rationing. In the late 1950s the average
salary for a white worker was £2,071 a year. For a black worker it was £203 a year.
In 1958 the governor introduced a new constitution for the colony. The leader of the ANC accepted it,
which provoked a split in the organization. The more radical members broke away and formed the United
National Independence Party (UNIP). After 1961 Kenneth Kuanda led it. White settlers were facing a
losing battle. For one thing the number of educated Africans was increasing. After 1953 they were
allowed to fill managerial jobs in the 2 main mining companies.
Furthermore the African miners went on strike for 58 days in 1955 and they won a victory. They were
becoming better organized. Also world opinion was turning against imperialism. The USA and the USSR
now dominated the world and they were both opposed to imperialism (at least when it suited them!). The
first African country to gain independence was Liberia in 1957. In 1960 the British prime minister said
there was a 'wind of change' blowing through Africa. The British government realised that independence
for African countries was now inevitable.
ZAMBIAN INDEPENDENCE
But the white settlers did not give up easily. In 1961 the British secretary of state of colonies proposed a
constitution for Zambia, which would guarantee African control. The white settlers pressured him into
altering it to give them control. Kaunda threatened to 'paralyse' the government unless the new
constitution was changed back. He called for peaceful protests but there were violent uprisings and
sabotage. This upheaval was called the cha-cha-cha. The British government eventually gave in. The
constitution was amended to give the Africans a small majority in the parliament. In 1962 elections were
held and ANC and UNIP formed a coalition in a transitional government while the colony prepared for
independence. The federation of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi was dissolved in 1963.
In January 1964 UNIP won an election and Kaunda became Prime Minister. In that year Alice Lenshina,
head of the Lumpa church led a rebellion. Kaunda used force to suppress it. About 700 people were
killed. Zambia became independent on 24 October 1964 with Kaunda as president. The new country
faced many problems. There were only about 100 native Zambians with university degrees and a lack of
qualified people to run the country. Zambia lacked infrastructure and schools. Also 90% of Zambia's
foreign earnings were from copper. So Kaunda drew up a development plan for 1965-69. He devoted vast
resources to the public sector (health and infrastructure and also to a lesser extent education).
The number of children in primary school doubled between 1964 and 1972. The number in secondary
schools rose from 14,000 to 61,000 in the same period.
At first industry grew rapidly. But the economy did well in the 1960s and 1970s mostly because of the
high price of copper. After 1974 the price of copper dropped. That caused great harm to the Zambian
economy which was largely dependent on copper.
Furthermore in 1967 Kaunda declared his policy of 'humanism' a strange mixture of Christian ethics and
socialism. This policy was unsuccessful. The government took a 51% stake in 26 companies, including, in
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1969, the 2 main mining companies. In the late 1980s it was estimated that 80% of the economy was
made up of state run enterprises but these nationalised industries were wasteful and inefficient.
In 1965 sanctions were imposed on Zimbabwe and Zambia stopped importing goods from that country.
But in retaliation the Zimbabweans stopped supplies of petrol being transported through their country to
Zambia. Petrol rationing was introduced into Zambia. Petrol was flown in or brought in through Tanzania.
Furthermore in 1968 an oil pipeline was built across Tanzania to Zambia. A railway from Zambia to the
coast of Tanzania was opened in 1974. Meanwhile Zambia was used as a base by guerrillas fighting a
war in Zimbabwe.
Kaunda's grip on power began to slip in the late 1960s. In the 1969 election his party, UNIP, saw its
majority reduced. Furthermore in 1971 Simon Kapepwe accused Kaunda of treating the Bemba unfairly.
He formed a rival party, the United Progressive Party or UPP, based among the Bemba. Kaunda feared
that his 2 rivals, the ANC and the UPP would form an alliance to fight the 1973 election. So in 1972
Kaunda banned opposition parties. They were regionally based so Kaunda accused them of being
'tribalist' (i.e. of putting tribal interests before national ones). Some opposition leaders were imprisoned.
Others were persuaded to change sides by offering them well paid jobs. Then opposition groups were
either dissolved or absorbed into UNIP. In the 1973 presidential election Kaunda was the only candidate.
Voters could vote either yes or no. Kaunda won the election easily. In another election in 1978 Kaunda
won an 80% yes vote but in 1983 it fell to 60%.
However in the 1960s and 1970s a bloated beauracracy was created. It soaked up resources. Worse
unqualified people were given important jobs. People were given jobs because of their loyalty rather than
their skills. Worse they were frequently changed. Between 1964 and 1986 there were 12 ministers of
finance and 9 central bank heads. Such frequent changes of people at the top made it very hard to have
consistent policies.
Unfortunately, the Zambian economy was heavily dependent on copper. From the mid 1970s the price of
copper fell - with disastrous results for Zambia. The country was forced to borrow money and Zambia got
more and more into debt. In the mid 1980s Zambia was forced to accept IMF adjustment programs, which
were painful for the Zambian people. In 1985 the IMF demanded they reduce civil service manpower by
25%. They also demanded cuts in price subsidies, which provoked riots. In 1985 austerity measures
provoked riots in Lusaka at the University and strikes. More riots followed in 1986 when food subsidies
were removed. Twenty people were killed when security forces suppressed the riots. In 1987 Kaunda
broke with the IMF but this provoked strong international criticism. In 1988 Kaunda was forced to accept a
new agreement.
Living standards fell for most people during the 1980s and 1990s and by 1999 inflation was in triple digits.
As the economy deteriorated the churches and trade unions led the growing opposition to Kaunda. In
1990 there were more riots following a doubling of the price of staple foods. Eventually, in June 1990,
Kaunda lifted a ban on organized groups. In July the Movement for Multi Party Democracy or MMD was
launched. Kaunda also agreed to hold a referendum on whether to keep his one party system. But the
MMD was not satisfied. They demanded multi party elections.
Facing increasing opposition from churches and unions Kaunda gave in and called a multi party election
in October 1991. The MMD won 125 out of 150 seats. In the Presidential election Frederick Chiluba won
81% of the vote.
The new government abandoned the failed policy of 'humanism'. In the early 1990s Zambia agreed to a
structural adjustment program. This included phasing out food subsidies and allowing prices to be set by
the market.
It also meant privatizing state owned industries. Privatization began in 1994 and in 2000 70% of the
largest mining company was sold. Meanwhile inflation fell from triple digits in 1990 to 25% in 1999.
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However during the 1990s Zambia was struck by floods and later by droughts. As a result economic
growth fluctuated. In some years the economy grew. In others it contracted. Zambia also faced the
problem of the AIDS epidemic. By 2000 it was estimated that 10% of the population had either AIDS or
the HIV virus. This was on top of the hundreds of thousands who had already died and the thousands of
orphans.
In the 1990s developed countries cancelled some of Zambia's debts and in 1999 the price of cobalt rose.
However Zambia continued to suffer from the low price of copper.
ZAMBIA IN THE 21st CENTURY
At the beginning of the 21st century Zambia is still a very poor country. Most of the workforce is
subsistence farmers. There is very little manufacturing industry. Copper mining remains the most
important industry but there is also some mining of other metals such as silver, zinc, cobalt and lead.
Gemstones are also mined. There is some oil refining, cement making and a chemicals industry. Zambia
also has huge potential for tourism with its national parks and the Victoria Falls.
In 2005 the G8 group of rich nations agreed to cancel Zambia's national debt (with effect from January
2006). Furthermore the Zambian economy grew 5% in 2005 but it will take many years of strong
economic growth to make a dent in poverty.
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