The Chambeshi (or Chambezi ) River of northeastern Zambia is the most remote headstream of the Congo River (in length) and therefore it is considered the source of the Congo River. (However, by volume of water, the Lualaba River provides a greater streamflow to the Congo.)
87-797: Kazembe is a traditional kingdom in modern-day Zambia , and southeastern Congo . For more than 250 years, Kazembe has been an influential kingdom of the Kiluba - Chibemba , speaking the language of the Eastern Luba - Lunda people of south-central Africa (also known as the Luba, Luunda, Eastern Luba-Lunda, and Luba-Lunda-Kazembe). Its position on trade routes in a well-watered, relatively fertile and well-populated area of forestry, fishery and agricultural resources drew expeditions by traders and explorers (such as Scottish missionary David Livingstone ) who called it variously Kasembe, Cazembe and Casembe. Known by
174-581: A British treaty brought to him by Alfred Sharpe in 1890, and allowed visits by British missionary pioneer Dan Crawford , when the BSAC tax collector Blair Watson took up residence on the Kalungwishi River in 1897, Mwata Kazembe refused to let the British flag be flown over his territory or taxes to be collected from his people, and he defeated an armed incursion by Watson's forces. Sharpe by now
261-485: A Luba hunter named Chibinda Ilunga , son of Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe , introduced the Luba model of statecraft to the Lunda sometime around 1600 when he married a local Lunda princess named Lueji and was granted control of her kingdom. Most rulers who claimed descent from Luba ancestors were integrated into the Luba empire. The Lunda kings, however, remained separate and actively expanded their political and economic dominance over
348-572: A band of followers and requested permission from King Chinyanta Munona to settle among Kazembe's tributary of Garanganza (Katanga). Throughout the 1860s, Kazembe's copper and ivory trade was usurped by Msiri, growing his power with the help of local traders and their descendents, known as bayeke. With the help of the bayeke, Msiri rebelled against the chief of Garanganza and established the Yeke Kingdom . Utilizing gunpowder weapons, Msiri rapidly expanded through former Kazembe territory, carving
435-535: A church and a hospital were established, and brick makers and builders were trained, resulting in the Luapula valley enjoying a higher standard of sun-dried and burnt brick house construction than elsewhere in the region. Other Protestant and Catholic missions established schools and hospitals in the Luapula Valley and on the lake. Though by the mid-20th century Mwata Kazembe's realm had become overshadowed by
522-555: A community and helped each other in times of field preparation for their crops. Villages moved around frequently as the soil became exhausted as a result of the slash-and-burn technique of planting crops. The people also kept large herds of cattle, which formed an important part of their societies. The first Bantu communities in Zambia were highly self-sufficient. Early European missionaries who settled in Southern Zambia noted
609-485: A cultural if not an administrative or economic resurgence, through the Mutomboko Festival, now the second largest of its kind in Zambia and a model for the strengthening of indigenous culture. It is held at the end of July and may attract 20,000 visitors, including the president of Zambia. Drawing on previous ceremonies and traditions, it was started in its present form in 1971 to mark the tenth anniversary of
696-534: A distance from the vices and modus vivendi of ordinary people. Nkongolo Mwamba symbolizes the embodiment of tyranny, whereas Mbidi Kiluwe remains the admired caring and compassionate kin. In the same region of Southern Congo, the Lunda people were made into a satellite of the Luba empire and adopted forms of Luba culture and governance, thus becoming the Lunda Empire to the south. According to Lunda genesis myths,
783-579: 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-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in 1991, beginning
870-601: A large territory for himself and reducing the Kazembe to a small state along Lake Bangwelu , which he held sway over until his death in 1890. After Msiri's death, the Luapula valley was divided in 1894 between Britain – the eastern shores of the Luapula and Lake Mweru became part of North-Eastern Rhodesia , administered by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) – and King Leopold II of Belgium 's misnamed Congo Free State (CFS), or rather its agent,
957-533: A local chief. When he reached Mwata Kazembe's he found a trader named Mohamad Bogharib had arrived a few days before seeking ivory, and Mohamad bin Saleh (also known as Mpamari), a trader who had been there for ten years, as Mwata had refused to let him leave. Despite their involvement in the slave trade, Livingstone travelled with and was helped by them; he claimed to have used his influence to get Mohamed bin Saleh released. In 1856, Msiri travelled through Kazembe with
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#17327647061921044-532: 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. Zambia contains abundant natural resources, including minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater, and arable land. In 2010, the World Bank named Zambia among the top 10 reformers in the World Bank's Ease of doing business index . As of
1131-575: A result of both Atlantic slave trade in the west and Indian Ocean slave trade in the east and wars with breakaway factions of the kingdoms. The Chokwe , a group that is closely related to the Luvale and formed a Lunda satellite state, initially suffered from the European demand for slaves, but once they broke away from the Lunda state, they themselves became notorious slave traders, exporting slaves to both coasts. The Chokwe eventually were defeated by
1218-580: A result, they grew a diverse economy trading fish, copper and iron items and salt for goods from other parts of Africa, like the Swahili coast and, later on, the Portuguese. From these communities arose the Luba Kingdom in the 14th century. The Luba Kingdom was a large kingdom with a centralised government and smaller independent chiefdoms . It had large trading networks that linked the forests in
1305-539: A result. “Belgian administration in Mweru-Luapula was glossed over by a thin veneer of traditional justifications.” This included ‘creating’ a tribe from what was a clan, the Bena Ngoma. Once Belgian colonial rule was established west of the Luapula, Mwata Kazembe's rule and territory, though not his influence, was confined to the eastern side. Although Mwata Kazembe X had signed a BSAC mineral concession and
1392-514: A similar situation in 1890–91 with Msiri (see that article). At that time Crawford's superior, Charles Swan, had encouraged Msiri to resist Sharpe's British treaty. A year later Msiri was killed by the Belgians, and the region was plunged into chaos. Now, the Andersons responded to Swan differently. While Mr Anderson kept Mwata Kazembe's men at Mambilima, Mrs Anderson took Mwata Kazembe alone to
1479-682: A traditional court to try transgressors; he is also involved in the resolution of disputes. The Belgian Congo copper-mining town of Elisabethville developed faster than the Northern Rhodesian Copperbelt . Cut off by the Congo Pedicle , the Luapula Province was regarded as a backwater by the Northern Rhodesian government in the first part of the 20th century, so that at first Elisabethville
1566-619: 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
1653-673: Is today Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania and assimilated into neighbouring tribes. In the western part of Zambia, another Southern African group of Sotho-Tswana heritage called the Kololo manage to conquer the local inhabitants who were migrants from the fallen Luba and Lunda states called the Luyana or Aluyi. The Luyana established the Barotse Kingdom on the floodplains of the Zambezi upon their arrival from Katanga. Under
1740-519: The Arab world . The African traders were later joined by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The decline of Great Zimbabwe, due to increasing trade competition from other Kalanga/Shona kingdoms like Khami and Mutapa , spelt the end of Ingombe Ilede. The second mass settlement of Bantu people into Zambia was of people groups that are believed to have taken the western route of the Bantu migration through
1827-563: The Atlantic -Indian Ocean trade route from beginning to end. (The Sultan of Zanzibar and Msiri later took control of that route, with Msiri rather than Kazembe as the linchpin .) In 1867 the explorer and missionary David Livingstone embarked on his last expedition in Africa, one aim of which was to discover the southern extent of the Nile basin (i.e. resolving whether Lake Victoria truly
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#17327647061921914-509: The Ba-Ila and Namwanga and other related groups, who settled around Southern Zambia near Zimbabwe. Ba-Tonga oral records indicate that they came from the east near the "big sea". They were later joined by the Ba-Tumbuka who settled around Eastern Zambia and Malawi. These first Bantu people lived in large villages. They lacked an organised unit under a chief or headman and worked as
2001-678: The Bangweulu Wetlands , which are part of Lake Bangweulu . By the end of the rainy season in May, the river delivers a flood which recharges the wetlands and inundates the Zambesian grasslands to the southeast. The water then flows out of the wetlands as the Luapula River . For more than 100 km of its length as it flows to the east of Kasama , the river consists of a maze of channels in wetlands about 2 km wide, in
2088-574: The Chikunda . After the decline of the Portuguese the Chikunda made their way to Zambia. It is hypothesised by Julian Cobbing that the presence of early Europeans slave trading and attempts to control resources in various parts of Bantu-speaking Africa caused the gradual militarization of the people in the region. This can be observed with the Maravi's WaZimba warrior caste, who, once defeating
2175-561: The Congo Basin and the mineral-rich plateaus of what is today Copperbelt Province and stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Indian Ocean coast. The arts were also held in high esteem in the kingdom, and artisans were held in high regard. Literature was well developed in the Luba Kingdom. One renowned Luba genesis story that articulated the distinction between two types of Luba emperors goes as follows: Nkongolo Mwamba ,
2262-570: The Congo Basin to Lake Mweru then finally settled around Lake Malawi . These migrants are believed to have been one of the inhabitants around the Upemba area in the Democratic Republic of Congo . By the 1400s these groups of migrants collectively called the Maravi, and most prominently among them was the Chewa people (AChewa), who started assimilating other Bantu groups like the Tumbuka . In 1480
2349-786: The Lamba , Bisa , Senga , Kaonde , Swaka, Nkoya and Soli , formed integral parts of the Luba Kingdom in Upemba part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and have a strong relation to the BaLuba people . The area which the Luba Kingdom occupied has been inhabited by early farmers and iron workers since the 300s C.E. Over time, these communities learned to use nets and harpoons, make dugout canoes, clear canals through swamps and make dams as high as 2.5 meters (8 ft 2 in). As
2436-597: The Maravi Empire was founded by the kalonga (paramount chief of the Maravi) from the Phiri clan, one of the main clans, with the others being Banda, Mwale and Nkhoma. The Maravi Empire stretched from the Indian Ocean through what today is Mozambique to Zambia and large parts of Malawi . The political organization of the Maravi resembled that of the Luba and is believed to have originated from there. The primary export of
2523-550: The Mwela Rock Paintings , Mumbwa Caves , and Nachikufu Cave, are attributed to these early hunter-gatherers. The Khoisan and especially the Twa formed a patron-client relationship with farming Bantu peoples across central and southern Africa but were eventually either displaced by or absorbed into the Bantu groups. The Bantu people or Abantu (meaning people) are an enormous and diverse ethnolinguistic group that comprise
2610-555: The Yao . As Great Zimbabwe was in decline, one of its princes, Nyatsimba Mutota , broke away from the state forming a new empire called Mutapa . The title of Mwene Mutapa, meaning "Ravager of the Lands", was bestowed on him and subsequent rulers. The Mutapa Empire ruled territory between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, in what is now Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, from the 14th to
2697-569: The 17th century. By its, peak Mutapa had conquered the Dande area of the Tonga and Tavara. The Mutapa Empire predominately engaged in the Indian Ocean transcontinental trade with and via the WaSwahili . The primary exported gold and ivory for silk and ceramics from Asia. Like their contemporaries in Maravi, Mutapa had problems with the arriving Portuguese traders. The peak of this uneasy relationship
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2784-687: The British colonial administration ruled indirectly through chiefs. With Dan Crawford's influence Mwata Kazembe X readily agreed to requests to establish missions in the valley, especially from the Christian Missions in Many Lands and the London Missionary Society (LMS) which had sent Livingstone to Africa. In 1900 the LMS Mbereshi Mission was established 10 km from Mwansabombwe. Here schools,
2871-466: The British officers back at his burnt capital, saying "please be kind to him". Disarmed by this approach and the Mwata's agreement to accept their rule, the British agreed to let him come back. Mwata Kazembe X rebuilt his capital at Mwansabombwe . The British troops took a number of old and valuable works of art of Luba origin from the court, which they gave to Codrington. In 1920 his heirs placed them in
2958-531: The Compagnie du Katanga, which took over the western shores. The Belgian colonial authorities, having killed Msiri were left with a vacuum. They appointed chiefs – not ones chosen from Msiri's subordinate chiefs (who had previously been subordinate to Mwata Kazembe) – but from what the Luba-Lunda called the 'owners of the land' who had preceded them; there was considerable instability in that part of Katanga as
3045-605: The Congo Basin. These Bantu people spent the majority of their existence in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo and are ancestors of the majority of modern Zambians. While there is some evidence that the Bemba people or AbaBemba have a strong ancient connection to the Kongo Kingdom through BaKongo ruler Mwene Kongo VIII Mvemba , this is not well documented. The Bemba, along with other related groups like
3132-483: The East African Swahili coast . Ingombe Ilede was one of the most important trading posts for rulers of Great Zimbabwe, others being the Swahili port cities like Sofala . The goods traded at Ingombe Ilede included fabrics, beads, gold, and bangles. Some of these items came from what is today southern Democratic Republic of Congo and Kilwa Kisiwani while others came from as far away as India, China and
3219-652: The Kololo, the Kololo language was imposed upon the Luyana until the Luyana revolted and overthrew the Kololo by this time the Luyana language was largely forgotten and a new hybrid language emerged, SiLozi and the Luyana began to refer to themselves as Lozi . At the end of the 18th century, some of the Mbunda migrated to Barotseland , Mongu upon the migration of among others, the Ciyengele . The Aluyi and their leader,
3306-521: The Litunga Mulambwa, especially valued the Mbunda for their fighting ability. By the late 18th century, most of the various peoples of Zambia were established in their current areas. One of the earliest recorded Europeans to visit the area was the Portuguese explorer Francisco de Lacerda in the late 18th century. Lacerda led an expedition from Mozambique to the Kazembe region in Zambia (with
3393-587: The Luapula River at Matanda, conquering the indigenous people known as the Shila in the Luapula Valley, and setting up Luba or Lunda aristocrats as chiefs over them. Though bringing Lunda and Luba customs and culture (such as the Luba style of ceremonial chieftainship), they adopted the language of the Bemba , a tribe that had also migrated from the Congo and to which they were allied. The kingdom prospered from
3480-605: The Luapula in the DR Congo , left with a group of followers in pursuit eastwards of one Mutanda who had murdered his father Chinyanta and uncle by drowning them in the Mukelweji River. 'Mwata' was originally a title equivalent to 'General', the first of the Mwata Kazembe line were warriors. After Mutanda had been dealt with, the group continued the eastward migration under Mwata Kazembe II Kanyembo Mpemba, crossing
3567-424: The Luapula-Mweru valley. Its work had to be reported to the British District Commissioners who preferred to base themselves in the climate and environment of Kawambwa on the plateau rather than in the heat and mosquitoes of the valley where most of the population lived. It took up a whole day just for quick visit and, in the absence of problems, this allowed the Kazembe chieftainship considerable autonomy. Essentially
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3654-422: The Maravi was ivory, which was transported to Swahili brokers. Iron was also manufactured and exported. In the 1590s the Portuguese endeavoured to take monopoly over Maravi export trade. This attempt was met with outrage by the Maravi of Lundu, who unleashed their WaZimba armed force. The WaZimba sacked the Portuguese trade towns of Tete, Sena and various other towns. The Maravi are also believed to have brought
3741-415: The National Museum of Southern Rhodesia in Bulawayo , 1000 km away, where they were listed as the 'Codrington Collection'. They are still there. After the punitive expedition , Mwata Kazembe X and his successors worked with the BSAC and its successors, the British District Commissioners, and to some extent it rescued his chieftainship. The Mwata Kazembes had some influence in the colonial era because
3828-499: The Portuguese succumbed to disease along the Zambezi river. In the 1600s internal disputes and civil war began the decline of Mutapa. The weakened kingdom was finally conquered by the Portuguese and was eventually taken over by rival Shona states. The Portuguese also had vast estates, known as Prazos, and they used slaves and ex-slaves as security guards and hunters. They trained the men in military tactics and gave them guns. These men became expert elephant hunters and were known as
3915-410: The Portuguese, remained quite militaristic afterwards. The Portuguese presence in the region was also a major reason for the founding of the Rozvi Empire , a breakaway state of Mutapa. The ruler of the Rozvi, Changamire Dombo, became one of the most powerful leaders in South-Central Africa's history. Under his leadership, the Rozvi defeated the Portuguese and expelled them from their trading posts along
4002-448: The Zambezi Valley and Kalambo Falls shows a succession of human cultures. Ancient camp site tools near the Kalambo Falls have been radiocarbon dated to more than 36,000 years ago. The fossil skull remains of the Broken Hill Man (also known as Kabwe Man), dated between 300,000 and 125,000 years BC, further shows that the area was inhabited by early humans. Broken Hill Man was discovered in Zambia in Kabwe District . Modern Zambia once
4089-435: The Zambezi river. But perhaps the most notable instance of this increased militarization was the rise of the Zulu under the leadership of Shaka . Pressures from the English colonialists in the Cape and increased militarization of the Zulu resulted in the Mfecane (the crushing). The Zulu expanded by assimilating the women and children of tribes they defeated, if the men of these Nguni tribes escaped slaughter, they used
4176-402: The articles of my present were exhibited in detail —extract from The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa from 1865 To His Death . Livingstone noted that Mwata Kazembe VII's administration was harsh: A common punishment for court officials was to have the ears cropped by shears. Owing to such tyranny, he would have difficulty raising a thousand men. He observed that the kingdom
4263-405: The colonial administration, but relationships remained workable. Mwata Kazembe XIV encouraged the building of schools and clinics in Mwansabombwe and the expansion of missions such as Mbereshi. He wrote an account of the chieftainship which was edited by a White Father missionary, Edouard Labreque, and finally published in Chibemba as Ifikolwe Fyandi na Bantu Bandi (My Ancestors and My People) built
4350-399: The colonial period, Zambia was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company . On 24 October 1964, Zambia became independent of the United Kingdom and prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president . Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from 1964 until 1991 with him playing
4437-611: The copper mines and industry of Elisabethville ( Lubumbashi ) and the Copperbelt , through their education gained mostly in mission schools, many Luba-Lunda-Kazembe people made their mark in those towns and in Lusaka , and their experience and influence there flowed back the other way. Following the Luba kingdom model, Mwata Kazembe as the king has senior chiefs under him, and subordinate chiefs and village headmen under them. The Senior Chiefs are Lukwesa, Kashiba, Kambwali and Kanyembo. Mwata appoints these chiefs from his family and, upon his death, one of these senior chiefs may be promoted to
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#17327647061924524-403: The current two-storey Mwata's residence but died two days before it was complete. In the early 1950s, some problems were created across the Luapula when the Luba-Lunda there noted that Mwata Kazembe's courts dispensed justice more to their liking than the Belgians and their chiefs, and asked to be tried for transgressions by the Mwata's courts on the grounds that as Lunda, they had that right, and
4611-506: The falls are known as "Mosi-o-Tunya" or "thundering smoke" in the Lozi or Kololo dialect. The town of Livingstone , near the Falls, is named after him. Highly publicised accounts of his journeys motivated a wave of European visitors, missionaries and traders after his death in 1873. Chambeshi River The Chambeshi rises as a stream in the mountains of northeast Zambia near Lake Tanganyika at an elevation of 1,760 metres (5,770 ft) above sea level. It flows for 480 km into
4698-457: The first to have brought iron working technology into large parts of Africa. The Bantu Expansion happened primarily through two routes: a western one via the Congo Basin and an eastern one via the African Great Lakes. The first Bantu people to arrive in Zambia came through the eastern route via the African Great Lakes. They arrived around the first millennium C.E, and among them were the Tonga people (also called Ba-Tonga, "Ba-" meaning "men") and
4785-421: The fisheries of Lake Mweru and the Mofwe Lagoon , and natural resources, including copper ore in Katanga , west of the Luapula. Mwata Kazembe was said by the Portuguese to be able to raise a force of 20,000 men, and his lands stretched west to the Lualaba River (the border with Mwata Yamvo's western Luba-Lunda kingdom and with the other Luba's kingdoms north of that) and east to the Luba-Bemba country. (See
4872-581: The functions of the kingdom are in the realm of local government, with a stronger emphasis on cultural, social and historical aspects of the life of Kazembe people wherever they may live. The Mwata and his council make regulations in areas not covered by national law or provincial regulations, of land and resource use and management, buildings and infrastructure, employment and occupations, trade and markets, hygiene and health, and traditions and customs including traditional marriage and family life. The Mwata has messengers and guards to enforce regulations, and operates
4959-421: The goal of exploring and to crossing Southern Africa from coast to coast for the first time), and died during the expedition in 1798. The expedition was from then on led by his friend Francisco Pinto. This territory, located between Portuguese Mozambique and Portuguese Angola , was claimed and explored by Portugal in that period. Other European visitors followed in the 19th century. The most prominent of these
5046-485: The ground, killing a number of his people, though Mwata himself had already escaped across the Luapula. Mwata Kazembe X made his way south and crossed back over the river to take refuge in the Johnston Falls Mission run by a Mr and Mrs Anderson of Dan Crawford 's missionary society. (Ironically, two years before, Mwata Kazembe X had tried to have the Andersons' predecessor at Mambilima, H. J. Pomeroy, killed, but failed.) Dan Crawford and Alfred Sharpe had been involved in
5133-404: The independence of these Bantu societies. One of these missionaries noted: "[If] weapons for war, hunting, and domestic purposes are needed, the [Tonga] man goes to the hills and digs until he finds the iron ore. He smelts it and with the iron thus obtained makes axes, hoes, and other useful implements. He burns wood and makes charcoal for his forge. His bellows are made from the skins of animals and
5220-469: The instalment of Mwata Kazembe XVII Paul Kanyembo Lutaba (whose photograph appears at the top of the page). It includes dances symbolising the migration of the Luba-Lunda and the conquest of the Luapula valley by the first chiefs. Zambia 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
5307-458: The kingdom and the district, and has been called the first "modernizing" Mwata. He had been educated and employed in Elizabethville and spoke fluent French and English. He galvanised the LNA, changing its name to the Lunda National Association, and appointing to it people with an energy for change and development, like himself. The District Commissioner worried that some of these, such as Dauti Yamba were nationalists who might stir up trouble against
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#17327647061925394-471: The latest estimate in 2018, 47.9 percent of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty . The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka. The territory of Zambia was known as Northern Rhodesia from 1911 to 1964. It was renamed Zambia in October 1964 on its independence from British rule. The name Zambia derives from the Zambezi River (Zambezi may mean "the grand river"). Archaeological excavation work on
5481-460: The local chiefs did not have the authority. But this was not granted. The modernising of the kingdom was matched by an increase in prosperity as the Pedicle road connected the Luapula Province to the Copperbelt, and fish and labour flowed more easily to that market. In 1964 Northern Rhodesia became independent Zambia. For a time, chiefs saw their influence overshadowed by party politics and the civil administrations, though in 1985 Mwata Kazembe XVIII
5568-483: The majority of people in much of eastern, southern and central Africa. Due to Zambia's location at the crossroads of Central Africa, Southern Africa, and the African Great Lakes , the history of the people that constitute modern Zambians is a history of these three regions. Many of the historical events in these three regions happened simultaneously. Thus, Zambia's history, like that of many African nations, cannot be presented perfectly chronologically. The early history of
5655-405: The map below.) In addition to trading with the interior, the Portuguese hoped to establish a route through it connecting their territories of Angola in the west and Mozambique in the east. The expeditions were: As trade missions, though, they were all failures. Mwata Kazembe III Lukwesa Ilunga and IV Kanyembo Keleka Mayi rebuffed Portuguese attempts to set up the alliance which would control
5742-467: The military tactics of the Zulu to attack other groups. This caused mass displacements, wars and raids throughout Southern, Central and Eastern Africa as Nguni or Ngoni tribes made their way throughout the region and is referred to as the Mfecane. The arriving Nguni under the leadership of Zwagendaba crossed the Zambezi river moving northwards. The Ngoni were the final blow to the already weakened Maravi Empire. Many Nguni eventually settled around what
5829-453: The next two decades, has funnelled trade through Mwansabombwe, the population of which has risen to around 50,000. The Mwata Kazembe chieftainship has endured and though originating in war and being surrounded by countries that have experienced much conflict, it has presided over peace on the eastern shores of the Luapula and Lake Mweru for more than a century. In the last two decades the Mwata Kazembe chieftainship has experienced something of
5916-462: The north, the core economic hubs of the country. Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. Following European colonizers in the 18th century, the British colonised the region into the British protectorates of Barotziland–North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia towards the end of the 19th century. These were merged in 1911 to form Northern Rhodesia . For most of
6003-497: The northeast tip of the Mofwe Lagoon: “The court or compound of Casembe—some would call it a palace—is a square enclosure of 300 yards by 200 yards. It is surrounded by a hedge of high reeds. Inside, where Casembe honoured me with a grand reception, stands a gigantic hut for Casembe, and a score of small huts for domestics. The Queen's hut stands behind that of the chief, with a number of small huts also ... Kasembe sat before his hut on an equate seat placed on lion and leopard skins. He
6090-419: The other ethnic groups and the Portuguese. This instability caused the collapse of the Luba-Lunda states and a dispersal of people into various parts of Zambia from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of Zambians trace their ancestry to the Luba-Lunda and surrounding Central African states. In the 1200s, before the founding of the Luba-Lunda states, a group of Bantu people started migrating from
6177-423: The paramount position. There are also chiefs in neighbouring districts who pay tribute to Mwata Kazembe. Also following Luba custom, Mwata Kazembe ruled through a council which in colonial times became a 'Superior Native Authority', named in this case the Lunda Native Authority (LNA) to which he appointed a 'cabinet' of advisers who meet under his chairmanship. The LNA was the largest and dominant native authority in
6264-566: The peoples of modern Zambia is deduced from oral records, archaeology, and written records, mostly from non-Africans. The Bantu people originally lived in West and Central Africa around what is today Cameroon and Nigeria. Approximately 5000 years ago, they began a millennia-long expansion into much of the continent. This event has been called the Bantu expansion ; it was one of the largest human migrations in history. The Bantu are believed to have been
6351-561: The pipes are clay tile, and the anvil and hammers are also pieces of the iron he has obtained. He moulds, welds, shapes, and performs all the work of the ordinary blacksmith." These early Bantu settlers also participated in the trade at the site Ingombe Ilede (which translates to sleeping cow in Chi-Tonga because the fallen baobab tree appears to resemble a cow) in Southern Zambia. At this trading site they met numerous Kalanga / Shona traders from Great Zimbabwe and Swahili traders from
6438-499: The red king, and Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe , a prince of legendary black complexion. Nkongolo Mwamba is the drunken and cruel despot, Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe the refined and gentle prince. Nkongolo the Red is a man without manners, a man who eats in public, gets drunk, and cannot control himself, whereas [Ilunga] Mbidi Kiluwe is a man of reservation, obsessed with good manners; he does not eat in public, controls his language and his behaviour, and keeps
6525-579: The region. The Lunda, like its parent state Luba, also traded with both coasts, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. While ruler Mwaant Yaav Naweej had established trade routes to the Atlantic coast and initiated direct contact with European traders eager for slaves and forest products and controlling the regional Copper trade, and settlements around Lake Mweru regulated commerce with the East African coast. The Luba-Lunda states eventually declined as
6612-586: The title Mwata Yav now equivalent to 'Paramount Chief'or King, the monarchy with its annual Mutomboko festival stands out in the Luapula Valley and Lake Mweru in present-day Zambia , though its history in colonial times is an example of how Europeans divided traditional kingdoms and tribes without regard to the consequences. Around 1740 the first Mwata, Ng'anga Bilonda of the Luba - Lunda Kingdom headed by Mwata Yamvo (or 'Mwaant Yav') 300 km west of
6699-454: The traditions that would become Nyau secret society from Upemba . The Nyau form the cosmology or indigenous religion of the people of Maravi. The Nyau society consists of ritual dance performances and masks used for the dances; this belief system spread around the region. The Maravi declined as a result of succession disputes within the confederacy, attack by the Ngoni and slave raids from
6786-596: Was David Livingstone , who had a vision of ending the slave trade through the "3 Cs": Christianity, Commerce, and Civilisation. He was the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River in 1855, naming them the Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. He described them thus: "Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight". Locally
6873-599: Was appointed District Commissioner in Kawambwa and later, Provincial Political Secretary. The fish and labour economic booms in the forties, fifties and sixties gave way to recessions and stagnation from the mid-seventies onwards as fish catches declined, Copperbelt employment contracted and national problems had an effect. However, the construction in the late sixties of the 'Zambia Way', a road connecting Mansa to Nchelenge - Kashikishi through Mwansabombwe, and its surfacing and linking to Kawambwa, Samfya and Serenje over
6960-511: Was clothed in a coarse blue and white Manchester print edged with red baize, and arranged in large folds so as to look like a crinoline put on wrong side foremost. His arms, legs and head were covered with sleeves, leggings and cap made of various coloured beads in neat patterns: a crown of yellow feathers surmounted his cap ... He then assured me that I was welcome to his country, to go where I liked, and do what I chose. We then went (two boys carrying his train behind him) to an inner apartment, where
7047-577: Was governor of the British Central Africa Protectorate ( Nyasaland ), 1000 km away. It was he who had failed to secure Msiri's Garanganza kingdom as a British Protectorate by negotiation, and had later seen it taken from under British noses by the rival CFS through force. In 1899, in conjunction with Robert Codrington , acting BSAC Administrator of North-Eastern Rhodesia, Sharpe sent British officers with Sikh and Nyasaland troops who burnt Mwata Kazembe's capital to
7134-780: Was inhabited by the Khoisan and Batwa peoples until around AD 300, when migrating Bantu began to settle the areas. It is believed the Khoisan people originated in East Africa and spread southwards around 150,000 years ago. The Twa people were split into two groups: the Kafwe Twa lived around the Kafue Flats and the Lukanga Twa who lived around the Lukanga Swamp . Many examples of ancient rock art in Zambia, like
7221-698: Was not now as prosperous as the Portuguese had reported. The next year he again visited Mwata, who was the first to tell him that the Chambeshi , Lake Bangweulu , the Luapula, Lake Mweru and the Luvua - Lualaba were all one system. This sent Livingstone exploring Bangweulu, then the Lualaba which he thought may flow into the Nile, and Tanganyika, then back to Bangweulu and his death five years later, still trying to discover how its rivers link up and for any evidence that it
7308-571: Was part of the Nile rather than the Congo Basin . In the 18th and 19th centuries Arab and Swahili traders visited Mwata Kazembe to trade in copper, ivory and slaves. Trade routes such as that from Zanzibar via Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika were well established, and the Sultan of Zanzibar's name carried weight. Livingstone was held up southeast of Lake Tanganyika by a conflict between Tippu Tip (Ahmed bin Mohamed, whom Livingstone called Tipo Tipo) and
7395-489: Was reached when the Portuguese attempted to influence the kingdoms internal affairs by establishing markets in the kingdom and converting the population to Christianity. This action caused outrage by the Muslim WaSwahili living in the capital, this chaos gave the Portuguese the excuse they were searching for to warrant an attack on the kingdom and try to control its gold mines and ivory routes. This attack failed when
7482-629: Was the most accessible city for the Kazembe, connected as it was by road to the Congolese port of Kasenga on the Luapula, and by boat from there up the river to Lake Mweru. There was migration from the British-administered side to the Belgian one. For further details, see the articles on the Congo Pedicle and Congo Pedicle road . Mwata Kazembe XIV Shadreck Chinyanta Nankula in the 1940s did much to change this situation. He developed
7569-412: Was the source of the Nile or whether some other lake further south was the source). From 'Nyasaland' ( Malawi ) and past the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika , through country ravaged by the slave trade, he reached the northeastern shore of Lake Mweru. He continued south down the eastern shore. Mwata Kazembe VII had been alerted to his arrival and received him at his capital which was then at Kanyembo near
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