History of ZambiaThe history of Zambia can conveniently be classified into two periods:
early Zambian history
and
early Zambian politics.
Early History The arrival of the Lundas, the Bembas, the Lozis, the Bisas and many more tribes in the 18th century marks the beginning of the history of Zambia. This development was followed by the arrival of the traders and settlers. Missionaries were also part of the group and they travelled all over the country. This was the time of David Livingstone, known for his discovery of the Victoria Falls, and Cecil Rhodes, where the country got its name as Northern Rhodesia in colonial times. The discovery of copper deposits in the 1920,s led to an influx of whites into the Copperbelt. In 1924, the British declared the country a colony and the status quo remained unchanged for 40 years. Early Zambian Politics During this time, the country belonged to the federation of Northern Rhodesia (Now Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (Malawi). There was strong opposition to the federation in the history of Zambia.Eventually, this led to the formation of the first political party, the African National Congress. Involved in the party were men like Simon Kapwepwe, Harry Mwanga Nkumbula and Kenneth Kaunda, who because of leadership misunderstandings formed the United National Independence Party (UNIP). Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda later became Zambia’s first president in 1964. This was after a lot of protests and demonstrations. The new country started off very well. The prices of copper were at an all time high. However in 1972, the political scene changed with the declaration of the one party state. This meant that no other party, apart from UNIP, could exist. Other parties were either fused in or they were disbanded. Problems started in 1975. The country witnessed a slump in copper prices. Later on Kaunda began supporting liberation struggles of neighboring countries. The economy was sluggish and the people were going through hard times. They rioted and demonstrated. There were food shortages and high levels of unemployment. This led Kenneth Kaunda, the humanist and champion of the liberation struggles in southern Africa, to call for an early election, which marshaled in Frederick Chiluba as second Zambian President on 31st of October 1991, in the history of Zambia. Frederick Chiluba Frederick Chiluba had managed to sway the crowds in his favour with his oratory powers. The new president had a mammoth task of turning the economy around. The president embarked on a wholesale privatization of the state enterprises. Some viable companies were sold but the non-profit enterprises were simply liquidated. He opened up the Zambian economy to the outside and the shops were filled up with foreign goods. Because the goods from the outside were cheap compared to those locally manufactured, many companies which could not compete went under. Because of this, a lot of people were laid off. When his last term came to a close, Chiluba’s bid to go for a third term failed. This forced him to choose Levy Mwanawasa, the one time vice- president in his first cabinet, to succeed him. The president embarked on a wholesale privatization of the state enterprises. Some viable companies were sold but the non-profit enterprises were simply liquidated. He opened up the Zambian economy to the outside and the shops were filled up with foreign goods. Because the goods from the outside were cheap compared to those locally manufactured, many companies which could not compete went under. Because of this, a lot of people were laid off. When his last term came to a close, Chiluba’s bid to go for a third term failed. This forced him to choose Levy Mwanawasa, the one time vice- president in his first cabinet, to succeed him. It was this same Mwanawasa who lifted his immunity to pave way for investigations into alleged corruption scandals. The court appearances went on for 8 years until his acquittal on 17th August 2009. The acquittal was received with mixed feelings on the part of the populace. Time will tell… Levy Patrick Mwanawasa Upon assuming office, the new president started to fight corruption and abuse of office in the last administration. This implicated Frederick Chiluba as well. His immunity was removed in March 2002, to pave way for investigations.
His place was taken by Rupiah Banda, as acting president. Rupiah B Banda On 30th June 2008, elections were held and in a closely contested fight among four presidential contenders, Rupiah B Banda became victorious. Rupiah Banda scored 718,359 votes against his closest rival Michael Sata, who garnered 683,150 votes. On 2nd November 2008 at 14.42hrs Zambian time, Rupiah B Banda was inaugurated as president and became the fourth Zambian president in the history of Zambia. Do You Have Any Story About the History of Zambia?
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