# The Chronicle of Zambia: From Iron Age farmers and the kingdoms of the Zambezi and Luapula to the Copperbelt, Northern Rhodesia, and a landlocked African republic. History of Zambia: From Iron Age farmers and the kingdoms of the Zambezi and Luapula to the Copperbelt, Northern Rhodesia, and a landlocked African… Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/ZMB/chronicle Updated: 2026-06-13 Founding: Independence from the United Kingdom — 24 October 1964. Zambia became a sovereign republic on 24 October 1964, when the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia gained independence and Kenneth Kaunda took office as its first president. The date capped a long struggle against the white-settler-dominated Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and the colonial order that the British South Africa Company had imposed from the 1890s. The new nation took its name from the Zambezi River and inherited an economy built around the copper mines of the Copperbelt. Beneath that colonial frame lay a far older history of Iron Age farmers, the Lozi, Bemba, Tonga, Chewa, and the Lunda kingdom of Kazembe, and centuries of trade and upheaval across the south-central African plateau. Zambia occupies a high plateau in the heart of south-central Africa, drained by the Zambezi and the Luapula. Bantu-speaking farmers and ironworkers settled the region over the first millennium CE, displacing or absorbing earlier Khoisan and Batwa hunter-gatherers; among the peoples who emerged were the Tonga of the southern plateau, and later the Lozi of the upper Zambezi floodplain, the Bemba of the north-east, the Chewa of the east, and the Lunda kingdom of Kazembe on the Luapula. From the eighteenth century these states were drawn into long-distance trade in copper, ivory, and captives, and in the nineteenth century the region was disrupted by Swahili-Arab and Chikunda slave raiders and by Ngoni warbands fleeing the upheavals of southern Africa. The Scottish missionary David Livingstone reached the great falls the local peoples called Mosi-oa-Tunya in 1855. From the 1890s Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company extended its rule over the territory, which became the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia, its economy soon dominated by the vast copper deposits of the Copperbelt. African opposition to the white-settler Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963) fed a nationalist movement led by Kenneth Kaunda and the United National Independence Party, and on 24 October 1964 Zambia became an independent republic with Kaunda as its first president. After decades of one-party rule under his philosophy of Humanism and support for southern African liberation movements, Zambia returned to multiparty politics in 1991; it remains a copper-dependent state that has wrestled with debt and seen repeated peaceful transfers of power. This file carries the chronicle's sourced event record — every event with its year, summary and source keys (resolved under References below). The full reading narrative lives on the canonical page. ## Iron Age farmers and the Bantu migrations — c. 300 – 1500 CE Bantu-speaking farmers and ironworkers spread across the plateau over the first millennium CE, settling the land of earlier hunter-gatherers and giving rise to peoples such as the Tonga of the southern Zambezi. - from c. 300 CE: **Bantu farmers settle the plateau** — Bantu-speaking migrants bringing iron-working, cattle, and agriculture spread across the region over the first millennium CE, gradually settling land held by Khoisan and Batwa hunter-gatherers. [britannica-zambia-history, wiki-history-zambia] - 1st–2nd millennium CE: **The Tonga of the Zambezi** — On the southern plateau the Tonga and related Ila peoples established dispersed farming communities along the middle Zambezi, organised by lineage rather than centralised kingship. [wiki-history-zambia, britannica-zambia-history] - c. 15th century: **Trade at Ingombe Ilede** — The Iron Age settlement of Ingombe Ilede near the Zambezi yielded copper crosses, gold, and imported beads and cloth, showing the region's links to the Indian Ocean trade in gold and ivory. [britannica-zambia-history, wiki-history-zambia] ## Kingdoms of the Zambezi and Luapula: Lozi, Bemba, Chewa and Kazembe — c. 1600 – 1850 Centralised states emerged across the region — the Lozi kingdom of the upper Zambezi floodplain, the Bemba of the north-east, the Chewa of the east, and the Lunda kingdom of Kazembe on the Luapula, which grew rich on copper, ivory, and trade. - from the 17th century: **Rise of the Lozi kingdom** — On the upper Zambezi floodplain the Luyana (Aluyi) people, of Lunda origin, built the Lozi (Barotse) kingdom ruled by a king titled the Litunga, with capitals that shifted with the annual flood. [wiki-barotseland, britannica-zambia-history] - early 18th century: **Founding of the Kazembe kingdom** — An offshoot of the Lunda crossed the Luapula River, subdued the Shila, and established the kingdom of the Mwata Kazembe, which grew wealthy on Lake Mweru fisheries and trade in copper, salt, and ivory. [wiki-kazembe, britannica-zambia-external] - 1798: **Lacerda reaches Kazembe** — A Portuguese expedition under Francisco de Lacerda reached the court of the Mwata Kazembe seeking to open trade links across the continent, an early European contact with the Luapula kingdom. [wiki-kazembe, britannica-zambia-external] - 1831–1832: **Gamitto's mission to Kazembe** — A second Portuguese expedition, led by António Gamitto, visited the Mwata Kazembe, leaving a detailed account of a Lunda state deeply engaged in the regional trade in ivory, copper, and captives. [wiki-kazembe, britannica-zambia-external] Figures: - Mwata Kazembe (dynasty from the early 18th century) — Title of the Lunda kings of the Luapula. Dynastic title of the rulers of the Kazembe kingdom on the Luapula, who commanded the region's fisheries and its trade in copper, salt, and ivory and received Portuguese envoys. ## Upheaval, the slave trade and Livingstone — c. 1830 – 1890 The nineteenth century brought violent disruption — Ngoni warbands from the south, the Kololo conquest of the Lozi, and the spread of the Swahili-Arab and Chikunda trade in ivory and captives — even as David Livingstone opened the region to European eyes. - c. 1840: **Kololo conquest of the Lozi** — The Kololo, a Sotho people fleeing the wars of the Mfecane under Sebitwane, crossed the Zambezi and conquered the Lozi kingdom, imposing their rule and language on the floodplain. [wiki-barotseland, wiki-history-zambia] - 1830s: **Ngoni incursions from the south** — Ngoni warbands driven north by the upheavals of the Mfecane crossed the Zambezi under leaders such as Zwangendaba, raiding and absorbing peoples and settling in the east of the region. [wiki-history-zambia, britannica-zambia-history] - 16 November 1855: **Livingstone reaches Victoria Falls** — Guided by local people, David Livingstone became the first European recorded to see the falls the inhabitants called Mosi-oa-Tunya, renaming them Victoria Falls and drawing European attention to the region. [nwe-livingstone, ebsco-livingstone] - mid-19th century: **Swahili-Arab and Chikunda slave trade** — Swahili-Arab traders from the coast and Chikunda raiders from the Zambezi, with Bisa and Yao intermediaries, exchanged guns and cloth for ivory and captives, bringing violence and depopulation to the plateau. [britannica-zambia-external, wiki-history-zambia] - 1864: **Lozi restoration under Sipopa** — A Lozi rebellion overthrew Kololo rule and restored the kingdom under Sipopa, reviving the indigenous monarchy of the upper Zambezi floodplain. [wiki-barotseland] Figures: - David Livingstone (1813–1873) — Missionary and explorer. Scottish missionary and explorer who in 1855 became the first European recorded to reach Mosi-oa-Tunya, which he renamed Victoria Falls; his writings publicised the region and condemned the slave trade. ## Company rule, Northern Rhodesia and the Copperbelt — 1890 – 1953 Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company extended its rule through treaties and concessions, creating Northern Rhodesia, while the discovery of vast copper deposits in the 1920s built the mining economy that would define the country. - 1890: **The Lochner Concession** — The Lozi king Lewanika granted mineral rights to Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company in exchange for promises of protection, opening the territory to company rule. [wiki-barotseland, wiki-northern-rhodesia] - 1911: **Creation of Northern Rhodesia** — The British South Africa Company amalgamated North-Western and North-Eastern Rhodesia into a single territory named Northern Rhodesia, administered under royal charter. [wiki-northern-rhodesia] - 1 April 1924: **Northern Rhodesia becomes a Crown protectorate** — Administration passed from the British South Africa Company to the Colonial Office, making Northern Rhodesia a British protectorate; the capital later moved to Lusaka in 1935. [wiki-northern-rhodesia, britannica-zambia-history] - late 1920s: **Copperbelt copper proven** — Rich copper sulphide ores were proven beneath the Copperbelt, and large-scale mining from the 1930s built the industrial economy that came to dominate the territory. [wiki-northern-rhodesia, britannica-zambia-history] - 1935: **Copperbelt mineworkers' strike** — African mineworkers struck over taxes and conditions; six men were shot dead during the disturbances, an early sign of the labour grievances that would fuel nationalist politics. Further strikes followed in 1940. [wiki-northern-rhodesia] Figures: - Lewanika (reigned 1878–1916) — Litunga (king) of the Lozi. Lozi king who consolidated the Barotse kingdom and in 1890 signed the Lochner Concession with the British South Africa Company, seeking protection but opening his country to colonial rule. - Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902) — Imperialist and founder of the British South Africa Company. British imperialist whose chartered British South Africa Company secured concessions north of the Zambezi, bringing the lands that became Northern Rhodesia under company rule. ## Federation, nationalism and independence — 1953 – 1964 African opposition to the white-settler Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland fuelled a nationalist movement led by Kenneth Kaunda and UNIP, culminating in independence as the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964. - 1953: **Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland** — Britain joined Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland into a federation dominated by white settlers, provoking widespread African opposition and galvanising nationalist politics. [ebsco-federation, wiki-northern-rhodesia] - October 1958: **Kaunda founds ZANC** — Breaking with Harry Nkumbula's ANC, Kenneth Kaunda founded the radical Zambia African National Congress; it was banned in 1959 and Kaunda imprisoned, but the movement continued as UNIP. [nwe-kaunda, wiki-northern-rhodesia] - 1961: **The Cha-cha-cha campaign** — Under Kaunda, UNIP launched a campaign of mass civil disobedience known as the Cha-cha-cha against colonial rule and the Federation, intensifying pressure for African self-government. [wiki-northern-rhodesia, globalsecurity-kaunda] - 31 December 1963: **Federation dissolved** — Sustained African opposition and shifting British policy brought the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland to an end, opening the way to independence for its territories. [wiki-northern-rhodesia, ebsco-federation] - 24 October 1964: **Independence of Zambia** — Northern Rhodesia became the independent Republic of Zambia, named after the Zambezi, with Kenneth Kaunda as its first president. [nwe-kaunda, ebsco-kaunda, wiki-northern-rhodesia] Figures: - Kenneth Kaunda (1924–2021) — First President of Zambia. Teacher and nationalist leader who founded ZANC, led UNIP, and brought Zambia to independence in 1964, governing for 27 years under his philosophy of Humanism before accepting multiparty elections in 1991. - Harry Nkumbula (1916–1983) — Nationalist leader, president of the ANC. Veteran nationalist who led the African National Congress against the Federation; his caution prompted younger militants under Kaunda to break away and form a more radical movement. ## The republic: Humanism, multiparty politics and modern Zambia — 1964 – present Independent Zambia passed through one-party rule under Kaunda's Humanism and support for liberation movements, a peaceful return to multiparty democracy in 1991, and a modern era marked by copper dependence, debt, and repeated transfers of power. - 1972–1973: **One-party state and Humanism** — Kaunda made Zambia a one-party state under UNIP, formalised in the 1973 constitution, governing under his philosophy of Humanism, a blend of African communal values and socialism. [nwe-kaunda, ebsco-kaunda] - from the mid-1970s: **Copper collapse and economic decline** — Copper, which provided the bulk of export earnings, fell sharply on the world market from the mid-1970s, triggering a long economic decline, rising debt, and austerity. [nwe-kaunda, britannica-zambia-history] - 1960s–1980s: **Frontline state for liberation** — Zambia hosted and supported southern African liberation movements, including the ANC, ZANU, ZAPU, and SWAPO, becoming a frontline state that bore retaliatory raids and economic costs. [nwe-kaunda, globalsecurity-kaunda] - 1991: **Return to multiparty democracy** — After food riots and mounting pressure, Kaunda lifted the ban on opposition parties; Frederick Chiluba and the Movement for Multiparty Democracy won the elections, and Kaunda handed over power peacefully. [nwe-kaunda, globalsecurity-kaunda] - November 2020: **Sovereign debt default** — Burdened by debt and falling revenues, Zambia became the first African country of the COVID-19 era to default on its Eurobonds after missing a coupon payment. [findevlab-default, iss-zambia-default] - August 2021: **Hichilema elected president** — Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema won the presidency in a decisive, peaceful election, taking office with a mandate to restructure the national debt and revive the copper-dependent economy. [findevlab-default, iss-zambia-default] Figures: - Frederick Chiluba (1943–2011) — Second President of Zambia. Trade unionist who led the Movement for Multiparty Democracy to victory in 1991, ending Kaunda's long rule; his presidency liberalised the economy but was later marked by corruption allegations. Machine-readable claims — every event above as an addressable claim ID (TL:ZMB:event::) with its sources and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/ZMB/chronicle.claims.json ## References - [britannica-zambia-history] History of Zambia — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Zambia - [britannica-zambia-external] Zambia: External contacts and the slave and ivory trade — Encyclopaedia Britannica · https://www.britannica.com/place/Zambia - [wiki-history-zambia] History of Zambia — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Zambia - [wiki-barotseland] Barotseland (the Lozi kingdom) — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barotseland - [wiki-kazembe] Kazembe (Lunda kingdom of the Luapula) — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazembe - [wiki-northern-rhodesia] Northern Rhodesia — Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Rhodesia - [nwe-kaunda] Kenneth Kaunda — New World Encyclopedia · https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kenneth_Kaunda - [nwe-livingstone] David Livingstone — New World Encyclopedia · https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/David_Livingstone - [ebsco-livingstone] Livingstone Sees the Victoria Falls — EBSCO Research Starters · https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/livingstone-sees-victoria-falls - [ebsco-federation] Formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland — EBSCO Research Starters · https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/formation-federation-rhodesia-and-nyasaland - [ebsco-kaunda] Kaunda Becomes Zambia's First President — EBSCO Research Starters · https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/politics-and-government/kaunda-becomes-zambias-first-president - [globalsecurity-kaunda] Zambia Politics: Kaunda — GlobalSecurity.org · https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/africa/zm-politics-kaunda.htm - [findevlab-default] The Road to Zambia's 2020 Sovereign Debt Default — Finance for Development Lab · https://findevlab.org/the-road-to-zambias-2020-sovereign-debt-default/ - [iss-zambia-default] Zambia defaults, economically and politically — Institute for Security Studies · https://issafrica.org/iss-today/zambia-defaults-economically-and-politically - [statedept-zambia] A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Zambia — U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian · https://history.state.gov/countries/zambia Citation template: Terralore, "The Chronicle of Zambia: From Iron Age farmers and the kingdoms of the Zambezi and Luapula to the Copperbelt, Northern Rhodesia, and a landlocked African republic.", terralore.co/country/ZMB/chronicle, retrieved .