Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.
On 24 October 1964, Zambia became independent of the United Kingdom and prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialistUnited National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from 1964 until 1991. Kaunda played a key role in regional diplomacy, cooperating closely with the United States in search of solutions to conflicts in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a one-party state with UNIP as the sole legal political party under the motto "One Zambia, One Nation" coined by Kaunda. Kaunda was succeeded by Frederick Chiluba of the social-democraticMovement for Multi-Party Democracy in 1991, beginning a period of socio-economic development and government decentralisation. Zambia has since become a multi-party state and has experienced several peaceful transitions of power.
Chikunda, sometimes rendered as Achicunda, was the name given from the 18th century onwards to the slave-warriors of the Afro-Portuguese estates known as Prazos in Zambezia, Mozambique. They were used to defend the prazos and police their inhabitants. Many of the chikunda were originally chattel slaves, raised to the status of soldiers, traders or administrators of parts of the prazo as a client or unfree dependent.
The prazo system based on agriculture broke down as a result of drought and disease in the early 19th century and was replaced by a small number of virtually independent states in the Zambezi valley that were based on the trade in slaves and ivory. The name ‘’’Achikunda’’’ was then applied to groups of professional soldiers in these minor states, who were rewarded with a share of the profits of those trades. Although these minor states were mainly in Mozambique, a small number extended their influence into what are now parts of Zambia and Malawi. (Full article...)
Image 10Three young Ngoni chiefs. The Ngoni made their way into Eastern Zambia from KwaZulu in South Africa. They eventually assimilated into the local ethnic groups. (from Zambia)
Image 11The geopolitical situation during the Rhodesian Bush War in 1965 – countries friendly to the nationalists are coloured orange. (from Zambia)
Image 13Inside the palace of the Litunga, ruler of the Lozi. Due to the flooding on the Zambezi, the Litunga has two palaces one of which is on higher ground. The movement of Litunga to higher land is celebrated at the Kuomboka Ceremony (from Zambia)
Image 14Drawing of the ruler of Lunda, Mwata Kazembe, receiving Portuguese in the royal courtyard in the 1800s (from History of Zambia)
Image 22Tribal and linguistic map of Zambia (from Zambia)
Image 23Nsima (top right corner) with three types of relish. (from Zambia)
Image 24A drawing of Lunda houses by a Portuguese visitor. The size of the doorways relative to the building emphasizes the scale of the buildings. (from Zambia)
Image 26The major Nkana open copper mine, Kitwe. (from Zambia)
Image 27A drawing of Lunda houses by a Portuguese visitor. The size of the doorways relative to the building emphasizes the scale of the buildings. (from Zambia)
Image 28Lukasa memory board, was used by members of Mbudye (an association of groits in charge of maintaining Baluba history) (from History of Zambia)
Image 29A drawing of Lunda houses by a Portuguese. The size of the doorways relative to the building emphasizes the scale of the buildings. (from History of Zambia)
Image 30GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Zambia)
Image 36Three young Ngoni chiefs. The Ngoni made their way into Eastern Zambia from KwaZulu in South Africa. They eventually assimilated into the local ethnic groups. (from Zambia)
Image 37Batonga fisherwomen in Southern Zambia. Women have played and continue to play pivotal roles in many African societies. (from Zambia)
Image 39Seated female Staffs of office (Kibango), were displayed by Luba kings. In Luba society, women's bodies were considered the ultimate vessels of spiritual power. (from History of Zambia)
Image 40Ancient (but graffitied) Rock Art in Nsalu Cave, Kasanka National Park in North-Central Zambia. (from Zambia)
Image 42The Kalonga of the Chewa today descends from the Kalonga (rulers) of the Maravi Empire. (from History of Zambia)
Image 43Three young Ngoni chiefs. The Ngoni made their way into Eastern Zambia from KwaZulu in South Africa. They eventually assimilated into the local ethic groups. (from History of Zambia)
Image 44Drawing of the ruler of Lunda, Mwata Kazembe, receiving Portuguese in the royal courtyard in the 1800s (from Zambia)
Image 45An 1864 photograph of the Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone. (from Zambia)
Image 46GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Zambia)
Image 48Inside the palace of the Litunga, ruler of the Lozi. Due to the flooding on the Zambezi, the Litunga has two palaces one of which is on higher ground. The movement of Litunga to higher land is celebrated at the Kuomboka Ceremony (from History of Zambia)
Image 53Zambia map of Köppen climate classification. (from Zambia)
Image 54Batonga fisherwomen in Southern Zambia. Women have played and continue to play pivotal roles in many African societies. (from Zambia)
Image 55Inside the palace of the Litunga, ruler of the Lozi. Due to the flooding on the Zambezi, the Litunga has two palaces one of which is on higher ground. The movement of Litunga to higher land is celebrated at the Kuomboka Ceremony (from Zambia)
Image 64Nsima (top right corner) with three types of relish. (from Zambia)
Image 65Enormous Ba-Ila settlement. These communities have been of interest to mathematicians due to their fractal pattern design. (from History of Zambia)
Image 66Ila Headman's son in Southern Zambia, Cattle formed an important part of their society. (from History of Zambia)
John Harrison Clark III or Changa-Changa (10 May 1860 – 9 December 1927) was an Anglo-South African explorer and adventurer who effectively ruled much of what is today southern Zambia from the early 1890s to 1902. He arrived alone from South Africa in about 1887, reputedly as an outlaw, and assembled and trained a private army of Senga natives that he used to drive off various bands of slave-raiders. He took control of a swathe of territory on the north bank of the Zambezi river called Mashukulumbwe, became known as Chief "Changa-Changa" and, through a series of treaties with local chiefs, gained mineral and labour concessions covering much of the region.
Starting in 1897, Clark attempted to secure protection for his holdings from the British South Africa Company. The Company took little notice of him. A local chief, Chintanda, complained to the Company in 1899 that Clark had secured his concessions while passing himself off as a Company official and had been collecting hut tax for at least two years under this pretence. The Company resolved to remove him from power, and did so in 1902. Clark then farmed for about two decades, with some success, and moved in the late 1910s to Broken Hill. There he became a prominent local figure, and a partner in the first licensed brewery in Northern Rhodesia. Remaining in Broken Hill for the rest of his life, he died there in 1927. (Full article...)