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.
Mwesa Isaiah Mapoma is one of Zambia's best-known ethnomusicologists. Considered by many a pioneer in the field of African ethnomusicology. Mwesa Mapoma was born in Kombaniya village in Mansa on November 2, 1936, and died on November 16, 2020. A graduate of Zambia's famed Munali Boy's Secondary School, and Trinity College in London, Dr. Mapoma received his Doctorate in Music from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His dissertation research focused on the royal musicians of the Bemba people in Zambia's Luapula Province. His field recordings are housed in the UCLA ethnomusicology archive. Dr. Mapoma is remembered as tireless champion of African arts, culture, music and tradition. (Full article...)
Image 4GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Zambia)
Image 5Ancient (but graffitied) Rock Art in Nsalu Cave, Kasanka National Park in North-Central Zambia. (from Zambia)
Image 6Inside 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 13Drawing of the ruler of Lunda, Mwata Kazembe, receiving Portuguese in the royal courtyard in the 1800s (from Zambia)
Image 14Inside 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 15A 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 16Drawing of the ruler of Lunda, Mwata Kazembe, receiving Portuguese in the royal courtyard in the 1800s (from Zambia)
Image 19Three 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 30Enormous Ba-Ila settlement. These communities have been of interest to mathematicians due to their fractal pattern design. (from History of Zambia)
Image 31Ancient (but graffitied) Rock Art in Nsalu Cave, Kasanka National Park in North-Central Zambia. (from Zambia)
Image 51Nsima (top right corner) with three types of relish. (from Zambia)
Image 52A 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 55An 1864 photograph of the Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone. (from Zambia)
Image 56Three 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 57Tribal and linguistic map of Zambia (from Zambia)
Image 58The Kalonga of the Chewa today descends from the Kalonga (rulers) of the Maravi Empire. (from History of Zambia)
Image 59The geopolitical situation during the Rhodesian Bush War in 1965 – countries friendly to the nationalists are coloured orange. (from Zambia)
Image 60Batonga fisherwomen in Southern Zambia. Women have played and continue to play pivotal roles in many African societies. (from Zambia)
Image 62Three 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 History of Zambia)
Image 63Inside 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 64Tribal and linguistic map of Zambia (from Zambia)
Image 65A 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 67Seated 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 68Batonga fisherwomen in Southern Zambia. Women have played and continue to play pivotal roles in many African societies. (from Zambia)
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A major strike broke out among African mineworkers in the Copperbelt Province of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) on 29 May 1935 in protest against taxes levied by the British colonial administration. The strike involved three of the province's four major copper mines: those in Mufulira, Nkana and Roan Antelope. Near the latter, six protesters were killed by police and the strike ended. Although it failed, the strike was the first organized industrial agitation in Northern Rhodesia and is viewed by some as the first overt action against colonial rule. It caught the attention of a number of African townsmen, leading to the creation of trade unions and African nationalist politics, and is seen as the birth of African nationalism.
The strike and others in Africa during the period dramatically changed the British government's urban and migration policies. The unrest gave missionaries a chance to respond to the "Watchtower movement", joining the mining companies to provide a Christian education and create a disciplined workforce. The colonial administration, foreseeing a future drop in copper prices, also created social-service schemes for rural relatives of the urban workers. (Full article...)