» View our adventures to Zambia
The earliest known inhabitants of Zambia were the San (Bushmen), a group of hunter-gathers who relied on stone tools to hunt antelope and search for fruits and nuts. As new Bantu-speaking tribes arrived, they became the forbearers of the more than 70 tribal groups in modern Zambia. These ancestors not only left a linguistic heritage, but also a direct connection to one of the major industries that would dominate Zambian history—copper.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a copper trade route sprang up from Zambia. Although it was vast and lasted for centuries, by the 16th century iron weapons and goods overtook copper, and new iron-age kingdoms began to form in Zambia. Eventually, two main iron-using kingdoms emerged: Barotseland and Mwata Kazembe. So when the first European explorers arrived in the late 1700s and early 1800s, they knew nothing about Zambia’s copper wealth; they were instead interested in establishing a trade route from Mozambique to Angola.
With the arrival of the British in the late 1800s, however, copper once again entered into Zambia’s history. Although “Northern Rhodesia” (as Zambia was then known) was declared part of the British sphere of influence in 1888, it wasn’t until the presence of major copper deposits were confirmed in 1895 that the British took a real economic interest in Zambia. In 1924 Zambia’s status changed to a British protectorate. Britain retained control of Northern Rhodesia until after WWII; and Nyasaland (present-day Malawi) until 1953.
The federation of the three nations was short-lived. On Oct. 24, 1964 the Republic of Zambia was formed as an independent country. The first president, Kenneth Kaunda looked to the socialist system for inspiration—policies were based on central planning, industries were nationalized, and a one-party system was adopted. In 1973, a new constitution formalized the one-party system, banning all other parties except Kaunda’s United National Impendence Party (UNIP).
At first, the new system seemed to work. The economy improved, and Zambia began to take a role in regional politics as a supporter of groups who sought to end colonial rule in other African countries. But the mainstay of the economy was still copper, and when copper prices plummeted in the late 1970s, so did the Zambian economy. In 1991 President Kaunda lifted the ban on the formation of other parties and a new constitution allowing for a multi-party system was passed. But the change was not without controversy. The new political powerhouse, the Movement of Multiparty Democracy (MMD) was swept into power with the 1991 elections, but was almost immediately accused of corruption and misbehavior towards members of the UNIP. Matters escalated in 1997 with a failed coup d’etat, which prompted the arrest of former president Kaunda by the then current president, Frederick Chiluba. The arrest provoked international response, as did the anti-corruption investigation of Chiluba by his successor. The fallout from this back-and-forth between the two parties still influences Zambian politics today; it will be interesting to see the impact on the next election.