A Short History of Zambia

On September 20th Zambians vote in their country’s presidential elections. Recent polls have suggested that the incumbent Rupiah Banda will beat the nationalist opposition leader of the Patriotic Front, Michael Sata; however, Sata is popular in the capital Lusaka and amongst younger voters. Banda’s Movement for Multi-Party Democracy has ruled Zambia since the end of one-party rule in 1991. Banda became president in 2008 after the death of his predecessor Levy Mwanawasa.

Northern Rhodesia became independent as Zambia on October 24th, 1964. Kenneth David Kaunda, leader of the socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP), was the first president of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. Following the Lumpa Uprising in Northern Zambia in 1964, Kaunda declared a state of emergency which gave him absolute power. He made Zambia a one-party state in 1972 and developed a personality cult and a left nationalist-socialist ideology called Zambian Humanism. Faced with economic difficulties and increased international pressure for greater democracy in Africa, Kaunda stepped down in 1991 and called for multi-party elections.  

Kaunda played a key role, however, in the history of Zambia's independence. The Portuguese explorer Francisco Lecerda led an expedition to the Kazembe region of Zambia in 1798 and is believed to be the first European to visit the area. Other European explorers followed in the 19th century, including David Livingstone, who is remembered for discovering the falls on the Zambezi River in 1855 and naming them the Victoria Falls.

In 1888, the British South Africa (BSA) Company led by Cecil Rhodes obtained mineral rights for the area which later became known as North-Western Rhodesia. In 1911, North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia, which were formerly administered separately, were merged to form the British Colony of Northern Rhodesia. In 1923, the BSA ceded control of Northern Rhodesia to the British Government; the following year administration was transferred to the Colonial Office.

Moves towards independence began in 1953, when Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Malawi) were grouped together to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, a single and semi-autonomous region. The move was notably opposed in Northern Rhodesia by Harry Nkumbula’s African National Congress (ANC). Kenneth Knauda’s UNIP later took over the campaign and, in 1962, elections were held, which resulted in an African majority in the federation’s legislative council. The council called for Northern Rhodesia’s secession from the federation and demanded self-government. The federation was dissolved on December 31st 1963 and Kaunda won the first election for Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia.

For further information on the struggle to maintain white supremacy in what is now Zimbabwe, read Paul Moorcraft's article 'Rhodesia's War of Independence'.