HISTORY
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 Zaire 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.
