October 24: Independence Day in Zambia
Prayer Idea
Pray for the people and government of Zambia.
Map by Peter Hermes Furian / Shutterstock.com.
History Note
Based on archeological evidence, people who lived in what is now Zambia centuries ago used iron tools and weapons. They also mined copper, which became a major export.
Zambia’s position in the middle of Southern Africa meant that it interacted with cultures and colonists coming from the west and from the east. Near the end of the 1800s, the area finally came under control of the British, particularly Cecil Rhodes’s British South Africa Company. The area north of the Zambezi River became Northern Rhodesia (modern Zambia). The area south of the Zambezi became Southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe).
The Indigenous population was forced to support the British war effort in both world wars, but white colonists held power in Rhodesia. This began to change in the late 1940s.
In 1953 Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland (modern Malawi) were joined together in the short-lived Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The Indigenous population in Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia felt that the white minority in Southern Rhodesia was not attentive to their concerns and needs. Both countries declared independence in 1964, Malawi on July 6 and Zambia on October 24.
Today Zambia has a population of 21 million people. They belong to numerous ethnic groups and speak many languages, though English is the official language. About 75% of the people belong to a Protestant denomination and 20% are Roman Catholic.
Kenneth Kaunda (1924-2021) served as the first president of Zambia. This photo shows Kaunda speaking during a visit to the Netherlands in 1986. Photo courtesy the Nationaal Archief (Netherlands).
Learn More
Visitors to South Luangwa National Park can see a wide variety of wildlife.
Please Note: This video shows predators eating prey.
Find more resources at Homeschool History.
