Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. Following European explorers in the eighteenth century, the British colonised the region into the British protectorates of Barotseland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. These were merged in 1911 to form Northern Rhodesia. For most of 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 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.
Zambia contains abundant natural resources, including minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater and arable land. In 2010, the World Bank named Zambia one of the world's fastest economically reformed countries. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka. (Full article...)
Kasanka National Park is a park located in the Chitambo District of Zambia’s Central Province. At roughly 390 km2 (150 sq mi), Kasanka is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks. Kasanka was the first of Zambia’s national parks to be managed by a private-public partnership. The privately funded Kasanka Trust Ltd has been in operation since 1986 and undertakes all management responsibilities, in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW - previously ZAWA). The park has an average elevation between 1,160 m (3,810 ft) and 1,290 m (4,230 ft) above mean sea level. It has a number permanent shallow lakes and water bodies with the largest being Wasa. There are five perennial rivers in the park, with the largest being the Luwombwa River. The Luwombwa is the only river that drains the NP, which flows out in the northwestern corner. It is a tributary of the Luapula, which further upstream also drains the Bangweulu Swamp and forms the main source of the Congo River. Although Kasanka NP is part of the Greater Bangweulu Ecosystem, there is no direct hydrological connection between the park and the Bangweulu Wetlands.
A total of 114 mammal species have been recorded in the park including elephant, hippopotamus and sitatunga. A number of species have been reintroduced in the park by Kasanka Trust - the most successful of which are zebra and buffalo. Close to ten million Eidolon helvum (African straw-coloured fruit bat) migrate to the Mushitu swamp evergreen forest in the park for three months during October to December, making it the largest mammal migration in the world. Over 471 bird species have been identified in the park. An airfield (ICAO: FLKA) lies there. (Full article...)
Image 9Inside 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 12Enormous Ba-Ila settlement. These communities have been of interest to mathematicians due to their fractal pattern design. (from History of Zambia)
Image 13The geopolitical situation during the Rhodesian Bush War in 1965 – countries friendly to the nationalists are coloured orange. (from Zambia)
Image 14Tribal and linguistic map of Zambia (from Zambia)
Image 15The geopolitical situation during the Rhodesian Bush War in 1965 – countries friendly to the nationalists are coloured orange. (from Zambia)
Image 26Seated 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 27Nshima (top right corner) with three types of relish. (from Zambia)
Image 28Batonga fisherwomen in Southern Zambia. Women have and continue to play important roles in many African societies. (from History of Zambia)
Image 30A 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 36A 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 37Nshima (top right corner) with three types of relish. (from Zambia)
Image 38Drawing of the ruler of Lunda, Mwata Kazembe, receiving Portuguese in the royal courtyard in the 1800s (from Zambia)
Image 39GDP per capita (current), compared to neighbouring countries (world average = 100) (from Zambia)
Image 40Inside 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 51Three 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 54A proportional representation of Zambia exports, 2019 (from Zambia)
Image 55Batonga fisherwomen in Southern Zambia. Women have played and continue to play important roles in many African societies. (from Zambia)
Image 56The Kalonga of the Chewa today descends from the Kalonga (rulers) of the Maravi Empire. (from History of Zambia)
Image 57Drawing of the ruler of Lunda, Mwata Kazembe, receiving Portuguese in the royal courtyard in the 1800s (from Zambia)
Image 58A 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 62Inside 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 65Zambia National Assembly building in Lusaka (from Zambia)
Image 66Zambia map of Köppen climate classification. (from Zambia)
Image 67The kalonga (ruler) of the AChewa today descends from the kalonga of the Maravi Empire. (from Zambia)
Image 68Three 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 70The major Nkana open copper mine, Kitwe. (from Zambia)
Image 71Three 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 72Zambia map of Köppen climate classification. (from Zambia)
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Map of Eastern Province
Eastern Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces. The province lies between the Luangwa River and borders with Malawi to the east and Mozambique to the south, from Isoka in the northeast to the north of Luangwa in the south. The provincial capital is Chipata. Eastern province has an area of 51,476 km2 (19,875 sq mi), locally shares border with three other provinces of the country and is divided into eleven districts.
As per the 2010 Zambian census, Eastern Province had a population of 1,592,661, accounting to 12.16% of the total Zambian population. The sex ratio was 1,030 for every 1,000 males. As of 2010, Chewa was the largest community in the region with 39.7 per cent of the total population and Chewa was the most widely spoken language with 34.6 per cent speaking it. On the tourism front, the province has four national parks. The province has two significant traditional ceremonies being the Nc'wala festival celebrated in Chipata District by the Ngoni tribe during February and the Chewa Kulamba ceremony celebrated in Katete District by the Chewa Kingdom which is held annually on the last Saturday in August. The Kulamba ceremony, which is attended by over 200,000 people, was banned by the Colonial regime and gathers Chewa chiefs from across the Kingdom in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique who come to pay homage to their King and update him of events in the Kingdom. Agriculture is the major occupation in the province which accounts for 20.41 per cent of the total area cultivated in Zambia. The province accounted for 19.61 per cent of the total agricultural production in the country with sunflower being the major crop. Chipata Airport and Mfuwe Airport are the two airports in the province. (Full article...)