Grade 11 History Notes

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.
ED) © 2018 Page 1

THE BANTU SPEAKING PEOPLE
 The largest single group of people in Central Africa are Bantu Speaking people. Bantus
are also found in Southern and East Africa. The Word Bantu simply means “People or
Human Beings”.
 The Word Bantu also refers to Similarities in Language characteristics among over 400
languages in Central, East and Southern Africa. The Peoples of these parts of Africa have
over 90% Similarities in their languages.
 The word Bantu is also used to define Culture Similarities among the Peoples of Central,
Southern and Eastern Africa. The conclusion therefore, is that the Bantu Speaking people
had a common parent Language called Proto-Bantu.
ORIGINS OF THE BANTU SPEAKING PEOPE.
 The Bantu Speaking People were part of the Early Iron Age farmers from the Middle
East from the area of the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers.
 They initially settled along the Nile River and later spread to the rest of the Sahara
grasslands in North Africa. However, from the 3 rd century, the ancestors of the Bantu
started migrating from the Sahara due to the fact that the Sahara started to dry up.
 Some Groups moved up North crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Other groups migrated
south of the Sahara towards Lake Chad, Nigeria and the Cameroonian Highlands.
 Other groups migrated to the area of the Great Lakes region in East Africa.
 However, the Major group is the one that settled between Nigeria and Cameroon. This
was the area that was referred to as the Benue Region. It was here that the Bantu
Language and culture is said to have developed.
THE EARLY WAYS OF LIFE OF THE BANTU SPEAKING PEOPLE.
Social way of Life.
Socially, the Bantu speaking people were organized into a family which was the basic unity of
society. Several families formed a family household. Several households combined to form a
clan. A number of clans formed villages. Several villages combined to form a tribe or a
chiefdom/kingdom.
In Bantu Society, Work was divided between the males and females. The males hunted, fished
and herded livestock. The females fetched water, firewood, cooked and cleaned houses and
looked after children.
The Bantu lived in huts made of poles and mud and thatched with grass. These huts were
arranged in a circular form and in the middle was the Kraal to protect the animals. The diet of the
Bantu people included pulp, meat, wild fruits, roots and vegetables, fish, wild insects and beer
made from millet and sorghum.
Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 2

The Bantu celebrated important moments in life or rites of passage such as birth. puberty and
marriages. The Bantu also co-operated during these important moments. Cattle were considered
to be a symbol of wealth though it was used during religious ceremonies and for bride price.
Religious Way of Life.
The Bantu believed in a Supreme Being who created all things and was addressed by different
names. The Bantu also believed in a whole range of spirits for different occasions e.g. ancestral
spirits and rainmaking spirits. These were prayed to through Prophets and priests. Sacrifices of
animals, beer and other foods were made under the Msoro tree, hills or in rivers.
Economic Way of Life.
The Bantu speaking people were agriculturalists and pastoralists. The Bantu grew crops like
beans, sorghum, millet and gourds. They also kept both big and small animals such as goats and
cattle. Besides the above, the Bantu were also fishermen, hunters, food gatherers, and ironsmiths
(smelters of copper and iron). Women were also pottery makers of channel-decorated pots. The
Bantu were also traders who used the barter system initially.
Political Way of Life.

Politically, Bantu society was organized in some form of a hierarchy. Households were under the
leadership of the eldest male member of the household. The clan was controlled the eldest male
member. Clans formed villages that were controlled by a village Headman. Villages formed
tribes, which were herded by chief/King. Chiefs or Kings in Bantu society were considered to be
Semi-divine and because of this, they had a lot of authority. They also acted as priests in
important ceremonies.
CAUSES OF THE BANTU MIGRATIONS

The causes of the Bantu migrations were complex and inter- related, some were long term and
general, others were short term and specific.
(a) Availability of Large empty land: This encouraged widespread movement of people
who developed “culture” of migrations. Whenever and wherever they wanted to.
Gradually mystery of nature made them venture into the unknown and one move led to
another.
(b) Population increase: The increase in population led to the emergency of large
communities that needed more land. The shortage of land was solved by migrating into
empty spaces.
(c) Disputes: Succession disputes, family quarrels, civil wars, rebellions etc. led to the
migrations by losing parties.
(d) Expansion of the Sahara: A possible southward expansion of the Sahara desert brought
about climatic changes that forced people to move away to the South.

(e) Misrule by some chief: Some Bantu Chiefs were cruel to their people and so, some of
their people left in order to be free from them.
(f) Occupations of different Bantu people: farmers migrated in order to look for land,
traders to trade items, hunters for animals and fishermen for fish.
(g) Tribal wars: Some rulers developed the tendency of wishing to conquer and dominate
weaker tribes with a view of getting tributes. Therefore, the rulers of weaker tribes
decided to move away with their followers to go and settle in independent areas.
(h) Fear of punishments: Those people who were suspected of committing crimes such as
theft, witchcraft and adultery migrated for fear of punishments.
(i) Travel and adventure: Some Bantu people migrated simply to see other places and to
start a new life somewhere else.
COURSE OR ROUTES OF BANTU MIGRATIONS
Fig 01.(map showing the Bantu Migrations from Cameroon)
COURSE/DIRECTIONS/NATURE OF THE BANTU MIGRATIONS.

th
By the 16 century, the Bantu people started migrating into Central, Eastern and Southern Africa
due to the above-mentioned reasons.
1. Around 15th century, a group from the Benue region migrated and settled in North East
Africa in the Great Lake Region. These migrated further into Central Africa via Tanzania
and the Western side of Malawi. These were the ancestors of the Tumbuka, Henga

Kamanga, Tonga of Malawi and the Tonga-ila of Zambia. Some proceeded further south
and became the ancestors of the Nguni and the Sotho Speaking people of South Africa.
In the same group, others took a shorter route by crossing the Zambezi River. These were
the ancestors of the Shona, Rozwi or the Karanga people who settled in Zimbabwe. All
these groups that used the eastern route and had settled in the Great Lakes Region in East
Africa are referred to as the Eastern Bantu.
2. Another Group that moved from the Benue region settled in the Katanga/Shaba region
of Present day Congo. These developed the Luba-Lunda Kingdoms. These were also
referred to as the Western Bantu because they used the western route from the Benue
region. The availability of fertile land and mineral resources made them settle in this
region. It was from the Luba-Lunda Kingdoms that most Zambian Kingdoms originated
from.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LUBA AND LUNDA KINGDOMS OF THE KATANGA.

The period between 11th century and the 16th century saw the formation of larger and centralized
kingdoms in Central Africa. Among these Kingdoms were the Luba and Lunda Kingdoms that
developed in the Eastern Congo savannah grasslands. This area was known as the Katanga or
Shaba Region.
THE LUBA KINGDOM.

Origins.
The origins of the Luba Kingdom are not very clear. According to Oral Traditions, the Luba
Kingdom was established by a group of people called the Songye. These people settled North of
the Lubilashi River. The Songye were led by a man called Kongolo. Kongolo was the man who
established the first Luba Kingdom with a strong central government.
According to Oral Traditions, Kongolo married the Queen of the Kalundwe people who were the
owners of the land. Kongolo established his capital at Mwibele near Lake Boya.
Development/Expansion of the First Luba Kingdom.

 Raids- The First Luba Kingdom developed through raiding and conquering weaker tribes
to the east of the Kingdom in search of salt and palm-oil. The Kingdom also inco-
operated and assimilated the defeated tribes. This led to the expansion of the Kingdom.
 The Tribute System- the conquered chiefs were forced to pay tribute to Kongolo and this
increased the political and economic power of the Kingdom.
 The Centralised System of Government- This also contributed to the development of the
Kingdom. Kongolo kept all the political power in his hands. To help him rule, he
appointed a few Kinsmen as chiefs. These were called the Balopwe while Kongolo was
referred to as the Mulopwe. The appointed relatives were extremely loyal to Kongolo.
Kongolo was also considered to have been a Semi-divine ruler. This also increased his
political authority and enabled him to effectively control the Kingdom.

According to Oral Traditions, a more powerful group arrived in the Lualaba area around the 15 th
Century. This group was called the Kunda. The Leader of this Group was called Ilunga Mbili.
He was received well in the Luba Kingdom with his group. According to Oral Traditions, Ilunga
Mbili was given two of Kongolo’s sisters to Marry. These Sisters were Bulanda and Mabele.
Bulanda gave Ilunga Mbili a son called Kalala Ilunga while Mabele had a son called Kisulu
Mabele.
It was Kalala Ilunga who distinguished himself as a great warrior and helped his uncle, Kongolo
to rule the expanding Luba Kingdom. He helped his uncle to further expand the Kingdom by
conquering the Southern Part of Katanga Region. Later because of suspicions that Kalala Ilunga
wanted to overthrow him, Kongolo tried to kill Kalala Ilunga but he escaped to his father’s
country. While there, Kalala Ilunga organized an army and returned to defeat Kongolo. Kongolo
escaped but he was eventually captured and killed. Kalala Ilunga took over the Kingdom and
founded the Second Luba Kingdom. He built his new capital at Mwanza a few kilometers from
Mwibele.
Expansion and Development of the Second Luba Kingdom.
 The Second Luba Kingdom under the Kunda continued to develop through conquests.
The Kunda rulers became more powerful than their predecessors the Songye.
 Involvement in the Long Distance Trade with the Portuguese on the West Coast also
contributed to the further development of the Kingdom.
 The Luba system of collecting tribute from the defeated tribes also contributed to the
development of the Kingdom because this tribute was used in the Long Distance Trade.
 Kalala Ilunga and his Successors also maintained a Centralised System of Government
inherited from the Songye. The King assumed the title of Mulopwe and controlled
matters of warfare, external trade and religious matters.
Decline of the Luba Kingdom.
The decline of the Kingdom was mostly due to succession disputes due to the Matrilineal System of
succession. The Kingdom had a weak political system in that when a king died, all officials were
expected to resign and the new king would choose his own capital and his own officials. Some
old chiefs however, refused to resign or simply migrated away with their supporters.
Sometimes, the ambitious sons of deceased kings who wanted to rule left the Kingdom taking with them
some supporters e.g. Kabinda Ilunga who founded the Lunda Kingdom.
THE LUNDA KINGDOM.

Origins.
The Lunda Kingdom was founded around the middle of the 16 th Century (1550). According to
Oral Traditions, Kabinda Ilunga a Luba Prince left the Second Luba Kingdom with a group of
followers. He had been frustrated in his ambitions to become king. He settled on the Banks of the
Kasai River among the Lunda People.

According to Oral Traditions, a senior Lunda chief Nkondi had two Sons Kinguli and
Chinyama who were lazy and cruel. One day the two beat up their father to the point of death. It
was Luweji their sister who saved their father. Nkondi therefore appointed Luweji as his
successor and she became the Queen of the Lunda after his death.
Around 1550, Kabinda Ilunga who came from the Luba Kingdom married Luweji. Eventually,
he took over the thrown and subdued the Lunda groups to form one Lunda Kingdom. He
established his Capital at Musumba.
However, Luweji was barren and could not provide heirs to the Lunda thrown. Kabinda Ilunga
married another woman called Kamonga Rwasa who bore Kabinda Ilunga a son called Lusengi.
Lusengi succeeded Kabinda Ilunga and continued to the expansion of the Kingdom through
conquests. He also put in measures to strengthen the centralised system of government. His son
called Naweji succeeded Lusengi. Naweji continued with the expansion of the Kingdom
conquests and assumed the new title of Mwatayamvo meaning the master of Wealth or Lord of
Vipers around 1600. Naweji therefore, became the first Mwatayamvo.
The Development/Expansion of the Lunda Kingdom of Mwatayamvo.
Naweji laid the foundation for the further development of the Lunda Kingdom of Mwatayamvo.
The factors for development were;
 Naweji improved on the centralised system of Government. This was done by
introducing two concepts of Positional Succession and Perpetual Kingship. Positional
succession meant that the one who succeeded after the death of a relative inherited
everything e.g. house, title, children, wife etc left by the dead person while perpetual
Kingship meant that anyone who was appointed to a position of authority in the Kingdom
had to be related to the King. This Kind of political structured ensured loyalty to the
ruling King.
 The Mwatayamvo also practiced a system of indirect rule. This was a system where the
conquered chiefs were allowed to continue in their former positions but were required to
be loyal to the Mwatayamvo by paying tribute. This led to the expansion of the Kingdom.
 The Mwatayamvo also developed a system of Tribute collection from the conquered
tribes. This tribute was in form of ivory, salt, slaves and copper. Sometime, the
Mwatayamvo re-distributed the tribute among his sub-chiefs to ensure loyalty.
 The Mwatayamvo also controlled and monopolized the Long Distance Trade with the
Portuguese on the West Coast. The Tribute collected from the defeated tribes such as
ivory, copper and slaves were used as trade items in exchange for European items such as
guns and gunpowder, cloths, beads.
The Mwatayamvo Kingdom was more successful in remaining stable and prosperous for a long
time. The Kingdom reached its peak during the rule of the second Mwatayamvo Muteba around
1680. To expand the Kingdom further, Mwatayamvo Muteba sent his sons to expand the
Kingdom eastwards and southwards. Ishindi, one of the sons established a Lunda kingdom in
East of the Zambezi River in present day Zambia. Another son Kanongesha established a

kingdom in Angola. He also sent some of his war generals to expand the Kingdom in the
Luapula valley i.e. Chinyanta and Mutanda Yembeyembe.
Decline of the lunda kingdom of mwatayamvo
After 1680, Mwatayamvo’s kingdom began to decline due to two main factors;
(j) Luweji’s brothers, Chinyama and Kinguli refused to accept the Luba domination in the
Lunda area. As a result, these two brothers and other people migrated from the Lunda
kingdom into some parts of North-Western province of Zambia and present day Angola.
(k) The Portuguese slave traders caused insecurity in the kingdom as they bought more
slaves. This brought about an increased warfare in the kingdom as people started fighting
against each other with the view of selling the defeated ones to the Portuguese as slaves.
THE LUBA-LUNDA MIGRATIONS INTO CENTRAL AFRICA

The Luba- Lunda Migrations or Dispersal was the movement of the Luba-Lunda people from the
Katanga region into central and southern Africa before 1800. From the First Luba Kingdom, the
migrations started around the 1500 while from the Second Luba Kingdom and the Lunda
Kingdom the migrations started between 1550 and 1600.
REASONS FOR THE LUBA-LUNDA MIGRATIONS
There were many factors that led to the Luba-Lunda Migrations. These can be divide4d into pull
and push factors. Push factors were those that forced the Luba-Lunda People to migrate while the
pull factors were those that attracted them to migrate. These were;
 Increase in population- Population increase forced the Luba-Lunda to migrate to other
areas in search of fertile land. This increase in population was as a result of the
introduction of new agriculture crops such as maize and cassava by the Portuguese on the
west coast. The introduction of new crops and population increase led to a shortage of
land for farming and pastoralism. So many people migrated in search of fertile land.
 Occupation- Occupation could have forced many people to migrate to areas where
opportunities might be better. For example farmers and pastoralists migrated in search of
fertile land and good pasture, hunters migrated to areas with a lot of game, blacksmiths
migrated to areas with mineral resources and traders migrated in search of trade goods.
 Adventure- Adventure could have also attracted some people to certain areas such to
satisfy their curiosity.
 Succession disputes- Succession Disputes also forced many to leave their Kingdoms. For
example, those who were defeated in a succession dispute left with their followers e.g.
the brothers Chinyama and Kinguli who left the Lunda Kingdom after being subdued by
Kabinda Ilunga.
 Ambitious individuals- Ambitious individuals who wanted to dominate or conquer other
groups and bring them under their control also left. For example, Kabinda Ilunga left the

Second Luba Kingdom because of his ambitions to rule. Mwatayamvo Muteba also sent
his sons to expand the Lunda Kingdom due to his ambitions.
 Convicted People- These also left the Luba- Lunda Kingdoms to establish themselves
elsewhere for fear of being punished. These were the people accused of practicing
witchcraft, theft, adultery and other crimes.
 Slave trading and raiding- This contributed to the Luba- Lunda Migrations as people
fled to other areas to maintain their independence for fear of being sold as slaves to the
Portuguese.
 Bantu customs- Bantu customs also contributed to the migrations e.g. the Matrilineal
System of succession could have led to migration. Sons of ruling chiefs who could not
succeed their fathers left to find or to establish their own rule in other area.
 Tribal wars- this also forced many to migrate in search of peace and security in new
areas. Those who were defeated also left for other lands to avoid paying tribute to the
new rulers.
 Cruel rulers- These also forced many to migrate to other areas e.g. Chiti and Nkole the
founders of the Bemba Kingdom fled from their cruel father.
COURSE OF THE LUBA-LUNDA MIGRATIONS
LUBA MIGRATIONS
From the Luba country, migrants came and settled into Zambia’s Central, Copperbelt, Northern
and Lusaka provinces as follows;
 During the 1600s, the Bemba whose chiefly family is called Bena Ng’andu (which
comes from the crocodile clan), were led by Chitimukulu Muluba and established a
Bemba kingdom in present day Chinsali and Kasama districts of Zambia.
 The Bisa of the Ng’ona clan, left Lubaland and settled into Zambia, south-east of Lake
Bangweulu in Mpika district.
 The Chishinga, Unga and Ushi of the Ng’ona clan left Luba kingdom under the
leadership of Kankomba and Makumba. They finally settled in the present day Mansa
and Samfya districts of Zambia.
 The Lala and Lamba also migrated from the Luba country. The Lamba settled in the
Copperbelt province while the Lala settled in Serenje district of the Central province.
 The Chewa migrated from the Luba kingdom into Malawi. Some of these Chewa came
under chief Mkanda, Mwase and Undi who migrated into Eastern Province of Zambia as
a result of succession dispute in Malawi.
THE LUNDA MIGRATIONS
From the Lunda kingdom of Mwatayamvo, various Lunda people left and settled in North-
Western and Western provinces of Zambia. Some of the kingdoms to have developed as a result
of the Lunda migrations were as follows;

 Chinyama led one Lunda group and on the Luena River a tributary of the Zambezi river.
He became the founder of the Luvale people.
 Kinguli moved with his followers and settled in Angola.
 Ishindi one of the sons of Mwatayamvo Muteba founded a Lunda Kingdom in the
Zambezi district. He settled west of the Zambezi River.
 The Luyi Kingdom on the Zambezi Flood plains, which was founded by
Mbuyawamwambwa around 1650.
 Mwatakazembe migrated from the Lunda kingdom and established a Lunda state in the
Luapula valley around 1700.
 A Lunda Kingdom was also established by Kanongesha one of the Sons of Mwatayamvo
Muteba in Mwinilunga district and part of Angola.
 Musokantanda came and established a kingdom in Solwezi and Kasempa districts. He
became the founder of the Kaonde people.
EFFECTS/RESULTS OF THE LUBA-LUNDA MIGRATION.

a) The Luba-Lunda Migrations led to the establishment of powerful centralized Kingdoms
with a well-defined hierarchy in Central Africa e.g. the Bemba, Lozi and Mwatakazembe
Kingdoms.
b) The Luba-Lunda migrations also introduced the concept of Long Distance Trade with the
Portuguese and the Arabs to Central Africa. The Long Distance Trade was very
significant to Central African Kingdoms as it led to the development and the eventual
collapse of Kingdoms.

c) The Luba-Lunda migrations also led to the creation of tribal identities. This was because
various tribal groups identified themselves with groups they migrated with.
d) The Luba-Lunda migrations also led to the introduction new crops and agriculture
methods in Central Africa. New crops such as maize cassava, groundnuts and tomatoes
were introduced.
e) The Luba- Lunda people also introduced a new system of cultivation called the
Chitemene/ Shifting Cultivation which was widely practiced by the Bemba people.
f) The Luba-Lunda migrations also led to the introduction of new customs e.g. the
matrilineal and the patrilineal lines of descent.
g) The Luba-Lunda Migrations also led to the introduction of traditional ceremonies such as
Kuomboka and the Umutomboko.
h) The system of paying tribute to chiefs and kings was started. People paid tribute in form
of items such as given, salt, minerals and others.
i) The coming often Luba-Lunda migrants also led to an increase in the population of
Central Africa, and the displacement of the Late Stone Age people by the Bantu. The
Bushmen fled to the dry part of the region.
j) The knowledge of iron smelting was also introduced in Central Africa by the Bantu
speaking people and iron tools replaced stone tools.
CENTRAL AFRICAN KINGDOMS

THE LUNDA KINGDOM OF MWATAKAZEMBE
ORIGIN OF THE KINGDOM
 The kingdom of Kazembe started out as the expansion of the already existing Lunda
kingdom of Mwatayamvwo Muteba after 1680. Mwatayamvwo Muteba wanted to
expand his kingdom eastwards so as to control the salt and copper deposits in the Luapula
and Katanga regions.
 Hence around 1700, Mwatayamvwo sent Mutanda Yembe Yembe eastwards to conquer
the weak tribes and establish a tributary kingdom on his behalf. After establishing this
new kingdom, Mutanda Yembe Yembe proved to be disloyal to Mwatayamvwo by not
handing over items of trade collected from the conquered people to his master.
 To this effect, Chinyanta, one of Mwatayamvwo’s loyal officials reported Mutanda
Yembe Yembe’s disloyalty to Mwatayamvwo.
 When Mutanda Yembe Yembe heard this, he immediately killed Chinyanta. However,
Mwatayamvwo went ahead and defeated Mutanda Yembe Yembe.
 As a reward for the loyalty of Chinyanta, Mwatayamvwo appointed Ng’anda Bilonda
(son of Chinyanta) as the new chief of the Luapula area and gave him a praise title of
Mwatakazembe.

 Ng’anda Bilonda conquered all the surrounding tribes in the Luapula valley and built his
capital at Mwansabombwe. Ng’anda Bilonda became the first Mwatakazembe.
 During his military campaigns, Nganda Bilonda drowned in the Lualaba River around
1720s and was replaced by his son, Kanyembo who became Mwatakazembe II.
 By about 1760, Kanyembo died and was replaced by Ilunga Lukwesa who became
Mwatakazembe III. Lukwesa ruled the kingdom from 1760 to 1805.
EXPANSION OF THE KINGDOM
Wars of conquest and tribute
 Local people such as the Bisa, Chishinga, Tabwa, Bwile and Mambwe who were
conquered by Kazembe were incorporated into the Kazembe kingdom and paid tribute to
the king. In this way, Kazembe kingdom began to expand.
Availability of natural resources
 The area where Kazembe’s kingdom was located was rich in natural resources which
Mwatakazembe used to exchange with outside goods.
 The area possessed rich copper and salt deposits, ivory from elephants while Lake Mweru
provided fish.
 Soil in the Luapula valley was also fertile for crops such as maize and cassava.
 In this way, salt was obtained from the Tabwa, fish from the Bwile, copper from
Katanga, ivory from the Bisa, iron from the Chishinga and cattle from the Mambwe.
Long Distance Trade
 The presence of natural resources in the kingdom attracted the Portuguese, Arab-Swahili
and Nyamwezi traders to Kazembe. Kazembe monopolised the long distance trade with
the foreigners because he did not allow his sub-chiefs to trade directly with them.
 In order for the Kazembe to effectively control coast to coast trade with the foreigners,
he opened up trade routes through which trade goods passed.
(i) The western route started from Luanda (Angola) and passed through Kasanje and
Mwatayamvwo’s capital onto Kazembe’s capital. The middlemen on this route were
the Imbangala and Portuguese pombeiros. On this trade route, Mwatakazembe
traded with the Portuguese who brought guns, gun powder, cloth, beads, glassware
and other manufactured goods from Luanda and exchanged them with slaves, ivory
and copper at Kazembe’s capital.
(ii) The eastern route started from Kilwa (Tanzania) and proceeded to Sena and Tete
along the Zambezi River in Mozambique to Mwatakazembe’s capital. The
middlemen were the Bisa, who carried similar items as the Imbangala. Here, the
Mwatakazembe traded with Arab-Swahili people.

(iii) Another route branched off from Kazembe’s capital and went northwards through
Tabora or Nyamweziland up to Bagamoyo (Tanzania) in the east coast. The main
middlemen here were the Yao. In this way, Kazembe obtained European goods from
both the west coast and the east coast.
 As a result of this trade, Kazembe became the most powerful chief in Central Africa
before 1850.
 In 1798, a Portuguese trader, Dr Francisco De Lacerda visited Kazembe with the hope
of getting permission to cross over the kingdom to the west coast. However, Kazembe
Ilunga Lukwesa refused De Lacerda permission to cross because he feared that he would
cut off link with his western trade route.
Loyalty of subordinate chiefs
 Kazembe was able to maintain the loyalty of sub-chiefs by rewarding them with foreign
goods such as cloth, beads, bracelets, tobacco and wine which he received from the
Portuguese and the Arab-Swahili people
At its greatest extent, Mwatakazembe’s kingdom stretched from the borders of Mwatayamvwo’s
kingdom on the Lualaba River, across southern Katanga to the Luapula River and beyond into
Zambia. However, after 1850, the kingdom started to decline due to a number of reasons.
DECLINE OF THE KINGDOM
The Kazembe kingdom declined because of the following reasons.

Bemba and Ngoni raids
 Between 1830 and 1840 the Bemba were in the process of expansion. Because the Bemba
were poor in natural resources, they began to attack the Bisa who were Kazembe’s
middlemen for cattle and slavess.
 The expansion of the Bemba kingdom disturbed Kazembe kingdom. People like the Bisa,
Bwile, Tabwa and Nkula joined the Bemba and stopped being Kazembe’s middlemen in
the long distance trade with the east coast.
 The Ngoni also came and started attacking the Bisa. In this way, Kazembe lost control of
European goods from the Bisa.
Msiri and Yeke raids
 In 1850 a powerful Kazembe died and a weak Kazembe, Chinyanta took over. Chinyanta
allowed Msiri and his Yeke warriors to cross Luapula River into Katanga.
 Later, Msiri took part in the trade with the Arabs-Swahili and kazembe’s junior chiefs.
Msiri then started demanding tribute from the people in the kingdom. After acquiring
guns, Msiri became powerful so as to defeat Kazembe. Msiri then cut off Kazembe’s
route from Mwatayamvwo.
 He built his capital at Bunkeya on Kazembe’s trade route to the west coast. Therefore,
Kazembe lost the western trade route which weakened his economy.
Loss of eastern trade route
 The Nyamwezi and Arab-Swahili traders opened new trade routes from the east coast to
the interior. These newly opened routes became popular and traders stopped using the
eastern trade route.
 The loss of both the eastern and western trade routes weakened the Kazembe and the
kingdom finally collapsed.
Disloyalty of subordinate chiefs
 The sub-chiefs took advantage of confusion in the kingdom in that they started trading
directly with the foreigners.
 They acquired guns and other trade items and became more powerful to challenge the
powers of Kazembe. In this way, Kazembe lost monopoly over trade.
Internal political disorder
 In 1862 Kazembe VI died and there followed a long period of quarrelling about the
successor.

 In 1872 Tippo Tip (whose real names were Hamed bin Muhammed el Mujerbi), an Arab
trader entered Luapula valley and replaced Kafuti Chikonkole by a Lunda prince of his
own called Lukwesa.
The BSA Company
 When the BSA Company came in 1890 with British rifles, they expected to find stiff
resistance from Kazembe, but they were surprised to find little resistance and easily took
over the kingdom.
 The once wealthy and great kingdom of Mwatakazembe had been reduced to the area of
the Luapula valley.
THE BEMBA KINGDOM

 The Bemba are believed to have come from the Luba kingdom in about 1600. This was
after the sons of Mukulumpe, Chiti and Nkole fled after quarrelling with their father.
 When they were migrating into Northern Province of Zambia, their leader, Chiti Muluba
was given a praise title of Mukulu (the great). Therefore, he became known as
Chitimukulu Muluba.
 Chitimukulu became the hereditary title of all the Bemba paramount chiefs. Chitimukulu
Muluba led his people eastwards and built his capital east of Kasama.
 They called their newly occupied area as Lubemba and the people became known as the
Bemba. The Bemba people belonged to the royal clan, Bena Ng’andu (or the crocodile
clan).
 Unlike Kazembe’s kingdom, Lubemba was poor in natural resources. The soil was poor
and this prevented good farming. Tsetse flies on the plateau also prevented the keeping of
cattle. Only the Chambeshi River provided them with seasonal fishing. By 1830, the
Bemba kingdom was small. It only comprised Kasama and Chinsali districts.
Wars of conquest
 To obtain items for survival, the Bemba resorted to raiding tribes such as the Lungu,
Namwanga, Tabwa, Bisa, Mambwe and others.
 In this way, the Bemba were getting salt from the Tabwa, cattle from the Mambwe,
Lungu and Namwanga, fish from the Bwile, ivory from the Bisa and iron from the Ushi.
These repeated wars made the Bemba proficient in warfare.
 Through conquests therefore, the Bemba kingdom was founded and began to expand at
the expense of their neighbours.

Good administrative reforms
 In about 1830, Chitimukulu Muluba died and he was succeeded by Chitimukulu chitenta.
However, Chitenta was a weak ruler who failed to unite his people.
 Fortunately, a young and strong chief, Chitimukulu Chileshe Chepela won popularity
among the senior Bemba chiefs who rebelled and overthrew Chitenta and installed
Chileshe Chepela as the new Chitimukulu. Chepela made various political reforms which
contributed to the expansion of the Bemba kingdom. The reforms were that;
a. He abolished short ruling periods and introduced long periods of reign.
b. He restricted succession to the throne only to his clan (the Miti clan).
c. He appointed his brothers, sons and nephews to rule the conquered tribes on his behalf.
As a result of these political reforms, the Bemba kingdom expanded and became centralized
which brought about unity and stability in the kingdom.
Results of the Ngoni raids
 In 1865 Chitimukulu Chileshe Chepela died and was succeeded by Bwembya who was
rather a weak Chitimukulu.
 However, he was quickly overthrown by Chitimukulu Chitapankwa who was a great
leader. During his rule (1865-1883), the Ngoni under Mpezeni and Mpelembe attacked
the Bemba and the Bisa.
 To defend the kingdom effectively, Chitapankwa appealed to his people to unite even
more so as to fight a common enemy, the Ngoni. This strong unity caused by the Ngoni
attacks enabled the Bemba to expand their kingdom over a large area.
Long distance trade
 While Kazembe’s kingdom was declining, both Chepela and Chitapankwa made trade
alliances with the Nyamwezi and Arab-Swahili traders. The Bemba sold slaves and ivory
and got guns, gun powder, cloth, beads and other European goods. Guns more especially,
were used to conquer weaker neighbouring tribes and in defeating the Ngoni people.
Loyalty of subordinate chiefs
 The Chitimukulu was able to develop a system of tribute collection from his subjects and
the conquered people. In order to ensure loyalty from his sub-chiefs, he redistributed
collected tributes and trade items to them.
As a result of the above factors, the Bemba kingdom greatly expanded. By 1883, it included
Bisaland, Mpika district and Lunguland, north of Tabwa and Mambwe areas.

Succession dispute
 After the death of Chitapankwa, there was a succession dispute between Sampa,
Chitapankwa’s young brother and the most senior Bemba chief Mwamba Mubanga
Chipoya who was Chitapankwa’s nephew.
 Although Sampa ascended to the throne, senior chief Mwamba became the most
important ruler and had more political and economic power during this period. He was
even able to conquer some of Sampa’s areas and added them to his territory.
Loss of trade monopoly
 Chitimukulu Sampa who ruled from 1883-1886 failed to control the other Bemba chiefs
who even became more powerful than himself. They engaged in direct trade with the
Arab –Swahili people and acquired guns to challenge the powers of the Chitimukulu.
Loss of centralization of power in the Miti clan
 After the death of Chitapankwa, the centralization of succession to the throne in the
hands of the Miti clan was not followed.
 This resulted into several claimants to the throne, causing a lot of successional wars and
distabilisation of the kingdom.
The BSA Company
 By 1893, a White Father, Bishop Joseph Dupont came to Lubemba and made friendship
with Mwamba.
 In 1896 Dupont influenced the Bemba chief to accept British protection. In the same year
(1896), the BSA Company declared Lubemba a British protectorate and Kasama was
built as an administrative Boma.
 By 1897, the Bemba stopped to be a dominant tribe in north-eastern Zambia.
THE LOZI KINGDOM
 There are two theories connected with the origin of the Luyi or Aluyana people as they
were called before. Luyi or Aluyana means people of the river.
 The first theory associates the Luyi to the Rozwi Empire. According to this theory, the
Lozi are said to have broken away into Western Zambia following the breakup of the
Mwenemutapa Empire in the 17th century.

 The second theory connects the Luyi to the Luba-Lunda people Empires. There seems to
be more evidence in support of this theory because;
a. Many Zambian people came from the Luba-Lunda area.
b. Some Luba-Lunda immigrants, for example, the Lunda and Nkoya, claim a common
origin with the Luyi.
Out of these theories, it can be said that the origin of the Luyi is still uncertain.
 However according to traditions, it is believed that the ancestors of the Lozi people
originated from the Lunda kingdom of Mwatayamvwo. The Lozi are believed to have
been led by a queen mother known as Mwambwa and her daughter, Mbuyawamwambwa.
 By 1650 Mwambwa and Mbuyawamwambwa led the Lozi people into western Zambia
and built the capital in the Zambezi flood plain at Lealui.
ORGANISATION/EXPANSION OF THE KINGDOM
Wars or conquest
 Shortly after reaching Bulozi, Mwambwa died and she was succeeded by her daughter,
Mbuyawamwambwa. However, Mbuyawamwambwa abdicated the throne in favour of
her son, Mboo Muyunda.
 Mboo Muyunda therefore, became the first male Litunga. The Luyi kingdom grew
rapidly from the time of Mboo Muyunda because he conquered weaker tribes such as the
Kwangwa, Nyengo, Imilangu, the Mashi and many others.
Social organization
 The Lozi used to move during the annual floods from the villages in the valley to villages
in surrounding highlands. Thus, the Litunga had two capitals, Lealui in the valley and
Limulunga on the highland.
 When Lealui got flooded, the Litunga moved to Limulunga in a ceremonial canoe called
Nalikwanda. The whole movement was called Kuomboka.
Economic organization
 Unlike most Zambian people, the Luyi were not shifting cultivators. The environmental
conditions of the fertile Zambezi flood plain with an abundant supply of water
contributed to the expansion of the kingdom.
 Good farming methods and the digging of canals for irrigation of crops made the
kingdom economically strong.
 They grew crops like maize, cassava and sibuyuyu, a sort of grass with seeds like rice.
They also kept cattle, most of which was taken from the Tonga and Ila.

 The Luyi people also participated in trade. They sold fish, grain and baskets to the people
around them and in return they got wooden goods iron and cloth.
Political organization
 The Luyi was a social class society. On top was the Litunga and members o the royal
family who were followed by sub-chiefs. Below the sub-chiefs came the village headmen
and the Luyi people in general followed. The lowest was the class of the conquered
people or slaves. Slaves were used in public work projects of the kingdom.
 After the death of Mboo Muyunda, he was succeeded by Ngalama who in turn was
succeeded by Ngambela.
 Ngambela introduced a new system where the southern part of the kingdom was ruled by
a woman with a capital at Nalolo, south of Mongu. This system of government was
called dual kinship.
 The Litunga was further assisted to run the government by a group of senior officials
called indunas. These indunas together formed a national council called Mulongwanji.
The duty of the Mulongwanji was to advise the Litunga and make sure that his orders
were carried out throughout the kingdom.
 Some of the indunas were put in charge of districts which were called Lilaloi.
Religious organization
 The Litunga had religious powers as well. In many ways, the dead kings were more
important than the living ones because they provided the contact between the Litunga and
the God called Nyambe.
 In times of calamities (disasters) in the kingdom such as famine, the Litunga was
consulted who then consulted the dead kings. The dead kings in turn, passed on the
prayers and requests of the Litunga to Nyambe. It was this relationship with Nyambe that
the Litunga was thought to have supernatural powers.
Good communication network
 The Zambezi River encouraged the Lozi to develop good communication system using
canoes. This communication system made it easy for the rulers to move round the
kingdom and organize the people. It also made it easier to keep the royal family together.
Good leadership qualities
 The rapid expansion of the Lozi kingdom came under the leadership of Mulambwa, the
10th Litunga who ruled from 1780-1830.
 He is considered to be the greatest luyi leader before the Kololo invasion from the south.
Mulambwa introduced the following reforms;

a. He introduced a new law whereby a person caught stealing cattle was rewarded more
cattle instead of being punished for he believed that a person can only steal something
because there is need. He would then be watched to it that he did not steal again.
b. He refused to allow the Portuguese and other slave traders entry into his kingdom. This
enabled him to keep slaves who were used for labour in farming.
c. On war, he ordered that it was the king’s duty to provide warriors going to war and those
killed in the war, their relatives were to be compensated with slaves.
d. He encouraged peaceful and loyal immigrants into his kingdom. Hence the Mbunda came
to his kingdom from Angola. These Mbunda introduced effective knowledge of trade in
new weapons such as spears, hoes, axes etc and new crops including cassava. They were
also skilled medicine men.
e. On adultery, he ordered that the offended person should in turn openly commit adultery
with the offender’s wife.
After the death of Mulambwa, the 10th Litunga in 1830, there was a succession dispute between
his sons, Mubukwanu and Silumelume. It was at this time that the Kololo under Sebitwane
entered the Lozi kingdom from the south.
THE LOZI UNDER KOLOLO RULE
 The Kololo were led by Sebitwane from the south. During the time of Mfecane in South
Africa, the Kololo people migrated northwards, crossed the Zambezi river into
Tongaland.
 While in the area, the Kololo were constantly attacked by the Ndebele under Mzilikazi in
Zimbabwe. The Ngoni under Nxaba who had settled in Zimbabwe area after running
away from Shaka’s wars also attacked the Kololo in Tongaland.
Migration into Bulozi
 As a result of the above attacks, Sebitwane moved westwards into present day Zambia’s
western province, in the Zambezi flood plain among the Lozi in about 1831. The Kololo
found it easy to defeat the Lozi because they were divided between the supporters of
Mubukwanu and Silumelume over a succession dispute.
 Sebitwane also found that many of the Tonga speaking people of the south were not
loyal to the Luyi and wished to assist the Kololo to defeat the divided Luyi kingdom.
Change of capital to Linyanti
 While in Barotseland, the Kololo were exposed to a series of raids from Nxaba’s Ngoni
and Mzilikazi’s Ndebele. Sebitwane therefore, moved his capital to the Linyanti swamps
in Botswana. The swamps made it easy for him to defend his capital from external
attacks.

Establishment of Kololo state in Bulozi 1845-1851
After defeating the Lozi and repelling external threats from the Ndebele and Ngoni, Sebitwane’s
first task was to introduce various reforms which brought about unity, peace and stability in his
state. These reforms were that:
a. He placed one or two Kololo families in each conquered village. Sebitwane himself
remained at the Kololo capital, Linyanti with his daughter, Mamochisane who was
placed at Nalolo and his nephew, Mpololo at Sesheke.
b. Sebitwane also allowed some Lozi chiefs to remain as rulers and took some into his
Kololo council.
c. Sebitwane married ‘Makalaka wives’. Makalaka was a new name given to the conquered
Lozi people.
d. He made sure that sesuto, the Kololo indigenous language was widely spoken all over
Bulozi. This ensured national unity.
e. He redistributed tribute paid by his subjects among his people, both slaves and free
people. This made him win loyalty from both the Lozi and Kololo people.
f. He mixed freely with all the people in Bulozi and called all the subject people as
‘children of the chief’
g. The Makalaka were allowed to cultivate their own land and life continued as much as
before the Kololo invasion. Sebitwane further ordered his Kololo headmen to treat the
Makalaka fairly and allowed the Makalaka to leave the village if a Kololo headman was
very cruel.
As a result of all these wise policies of Sebitwane, the Lozi accepted the Kololo as their masters
and settled with them peacefully.
Death of Sebitwane 1851
In 1851 Dr. David Livingstone visited Sebitwane and observed that Sebitwane was the wisest
leader ever heard of in the area.In July 1851 Sebitwane died from an illness after falling from the
back of David Livingstone’s horse.
Collapse of Kololo rule and the restoration of Lozi society 1851-1864
When Sebitwane died in 1851, he was succeeded by his daughter, Mamochisane who later
abdicated the throne in favour of her brother, Sekeletu. However, Sekeletu lacked sebitwane’s
courage and intelligence in that:
a. He did not appoint any Lozi as his headmen nor listen to their advice.
b. He did not marry Makalaka women.

c. He did not care that the Kololo mistreated the Makalaka as their slaves in contrast to what
Sebitwane had done. Many Lozi were therefore, forced to do manual labour for the
Kololo.
d. The older Kololo who were well respected when Sebitwane was the chief were now
ignored. In this way, Sekeletu lost the loyalty of many Kololo.
e. When Sekeletu suffered from leprosy, he stopped trusting the Lozi completely who he
suspected of having bewitching him. Therefore, many Lozi were put to death
All the above unwise and cruel policies made the Lozi develop a hostile attitude towards the
Kololo. They waited for a chance to overthrow the Kololo rule in return.
 In 1863 Sekeletu died and he was succeeded by Mpololo. Before Mpololo consolidated
his power, a succession dispute arose among the Kololo.
 The Lozi induna called Njekwa together with Sipopa, son of Mulambwa rebelled against
the Kololo and overthrew the Kololo authority in Bulozi and the Kololo restored their
rule, now under Sipopa who ruled from 1864 to 1876.
The career and importance of Lewanika
 Lewanika was one of the Lozi indunas in the Lozi society. When Sipopa led a rebellion
against the Kololo, Lewanika was in exile.
 In 1876, the Lozi indunas overthrew Sipopa and replaced him with Mwanawina who
was in turn overthrown and replaced by Lewanika Lubosi.
 Lewanika was temporarily overthrown in 1884, but with the help of the French
missionary, Francois Coillard, he regained position in 1885.
 Later on, the Lozi kingdom was declared a British protectorate under the BSA Company
through a series of treaties.
Treaties signed between Lewanika and the BSA Company
Lochner Treaty, June 1890
Cecil Rhodes (owner of the BSA Company) sent Frank Lochner to the Litunga as his personal
representative to sign a treaty with Lewanika. Lochner had the support of Khama, king of
Bechuanaland as well as the missionary, Francois Coillard. This led to the signing of the Lochner
Treaty between the Litunga and the BSA Company. Its terms were;
 The company was given the right to mine in the kingdom.

 Lewanika was to receive £2 000 per year.
 The company promised Lewanika protection from the Ndebele raids.
 The company was to provide schools for Lozi children and to provide trade and industry
in Bulozi.

Coryndon Treaty, October 1900
In 1900 the BSA Company sent Robert Coryndon to sign the Corydon Treaty with the Litunga in
Barotseland. Its terms were;
 The BSA Company would administer the area.

 Lewanika’s salary was to be reduced from £ 2000 to £ 850 per year.
 The British had to provide schools, industries, transport and postal services to the people
of Barotseland.
 The company was allowed to make land grants to settlers in Choma and Kalomo.
 The Lozi area was closed to European mineral prospecting and hunting.
THE MWENEMUTAPA KINGDOM
ORIGIN
 The empire of Mwenemutapa was founded by the Shona people from Katanga Region
who were believed to have been part of the Early Iron Age period of A.D 1100 because
of the evidence of artifacts of the Congo which were found in the kingdom.
 Around 1400s Chikura Wadyambeu led the Shona people into Zimbabwe where they
conquered early inhabitants of Guruhuswa and set up the capital at Great Zimbabwe
which was later moved to Mount Fura. Chikura Wadyambeu therefore, is believed to
have been the first Mambo or great chief of the Shona.
 The area where the kingdom was located was rich in natural resources such as salt, fertile
soils, silver, ivory and gold. The presence of these natural resources attracted outsiders
such as the Arab-Swahili and the Portuguese to come and trade with the Mwenemutapa.
In addition, the empire had small scale gold and copper mining at Mbire and Guruhuswa.
Long Distance Trade
 The Mwenemutapa was able to take part in the long distance trade in ivory and gold. This
trade had become increasingly important after A.D 1100. Its growth led to an increase in
the power of the Mwenemutapas.
 They used the locally available items in exchange with outside goods such as guns and
gun powder, beads, spices and cloth. The Mwenemutapa was able to redistribute these
items to lesser chiefs and hence he won their loyalty.

Wars of conquest
 Nyatsimba Mutota who ruled from 1420 to 1450 was the next well known leader after
Chikura Wadyambeu. He embarked on a military campaign northwards to the Zambezi
River. He thus conquered and added more territories to the kingdom. The people he
conquered such as the Tavara nicknamed him as the Mwenemutapa which means Master
of Conquered Lands or land which later became Rhodesia.
 Matope succeeded his father, Mutota and ruled from 1450 to 1480. He brought the shona
under his control and authority up to the Eastern Highlands and part of central
Mozambique. He conquered more land and it was during his rule that the kingdom
reached its greatest extent. By the time of his death around 1480, Matope was the
strongest ruler in the whole of Africa, south of the equator. The empire however, failed to
survive after the death of Matope.
Religious organization
 The Shona believed and worshipped their God called Mwari as well as other spirits. The
king was believed to possess divine powers as well as direct link between the people and
Mwari. Spirits were consulted on issues of succession and disputes.
 There were three kinds of spirits in the kingdom i.e. family spirits which were called
Vadzimu, clan spirits called Mhodoro and national spirits called Chaminuka. Chaminuka
was believed to settle disputes between clans and protected people against bad
government and other national disasters.
Tribute
 The Mwenemutapa also received tributes from the conquered people as well as the
subjects.
The following were the main factors which contributed to the decline of the Mwenemutapa
kingdom;
MWENEMUTAPA NYAHUMA (1480-1490)
Lack of leadership qualities
 Nyahuma who was Matope’s son and new Mwenemutapa had no leadership qualities like
Mutota or Matope. He failed to control trade and the sub-chiefs stopped paying tribute
and he did not act.
Vastness of the kingdom

 The kingdom became too large to be ruled and controlled by one person especially in
terms of trade with the foreigners. Communication was also a very big problem. What
was happening on the other side of the kingdom was not known by the Mwenemutapa.
Rebellion of Changa and Togwa (1490)
 Changa became the ruler of Guruhuswa in the far south and Togwa, the ruler of the
central province of Mbire. Due to his (Nyahuma) age, he failed to control these chiefs
because he lacked experience, skill and ability to rule them.
 They rebelled against Nyahuma by killing him and his family in 1490. Changa then
declared himself as the ruler of a separate empire within the kingdom and he took the title
of Changamire I. However, he only ruled for four years and he was killed by Nyahuma’s
son, Chikuyo in 1494.
MWENEMUTAPA CHIKUYO (1494-1530)
 After the killing of Changamire I, the empire was still split into two. Chikuyo controlled
the southern bank of the Zambezi River from the Kariba Gorge to the sea and by forming
alliances with the Barwe and Manyika people. He was able to build up the empire which
the Portuguese came to refer to as Monomutapa.
 To the south however, Changa’s son, Changamire II ruled Guruhuswa and Mbire by
forming an alliance with the Uteve and Madande built up an equally strong empire
known as Rozwi.
THE PORTUGUESE ACTIVITIES IN THE MWENEMUTAPA KINGDOM (1500-1700)
 It was not until 1516 that the Portuguese first heard of the gold, ivory and silver wealth in
the empire of Mwenemutapa from a Portuguese traveler, Antonio Fernandez. He had
reached there during the reign of Mwenemutapa Chikuyo.
 On entering the kingdom, the Portuguese took over trade from the Swahili and set up
Feira, Zumbo, Sena and Tete trading posts in the 1530s.
 Apart from trade, the Portuguese wanted to spread Christianity in the kingdom. They
even tried to push the Arab-Swahili traders out of the interior of Africa.
MWENEMUTAPA NOGOMO (1530-1596)
 In 1560 Gonzalo da Silveira, a Portuguese Jesuit priest reached Mwenemutapa’s capital

and converted Mwenemutapa Nogomo and about 50 Shona people, nobles and court
officials to Christianity.
 Fearing Portuguese influence, Arabs and Swahili people persuaded Nogomo to kill father
Silveira who they accused of being a spy and a sorcerer (wizard). In March 1561, Silveira
and 50 of his Shona converts were killed.

 Father Silveira’s murder provoked anger in Portugal. In 1569, King Sebastian of Portugal
sent 1000 soldiers under Francisco Barreto to conquer the Zambezi valley and take over
control of the ivory and gold trade.
 However, the expedition failed due to resistance from the Manyika people while other
Portuguese soldiers died of malaria.
In 1573, the Portuguese forced Nogomo into signing a treaty with the Mwenemutapa. According
to the terms of this treaty;
a. The Portuguese were allowed to trade freely without restrictions in the empire.
b. The Portuguese were to own some gold and silver mines as compensation for the death of
Father Silveira.
MWENEMUTAPA GATSI RUSERE (1596-1623)
 Gatsi Rusere was a puppet of the Portuguese. During his rule, the Portuguese caused
chaos in the kingdom by acquiring slaves and land. They also built private armies for
themselves and raided villagers forcing them to pay tribute.
 In this way, the Portuguese priests, soldiers and traders became very prosperous and
traded directly with sub-chiefs. Despite the fact that Gatsi Rusere had given the
Portuguese gold and silver mines in 1607, the Portuguese refused to pay annual tax.
MWENEMUTAPA KAPARARIDZE (1623-1628)
 The Portuguese had always been paying annual tribute to the Mwenemutapa. But during
the reign of Kapararidze, they refused to pay tribute. In reaction, Kapararidze closed his
land to all trade with them and also allowed his people to raid them.
 The Portuguese reacted by overthrowing him. They then appointed Mavura as the new
Mwenemutapa. Mavura was a puppet of the Portuguese.
MWENEMUTAPA MAVURA (1628)
In 1629 the Portuguese signed a very humiliating treaty with the Mavura in which Mavura was
to;
a. Send tribute to the Portuguese commander of Mozambique.

b. Give the Portuguese permanent land.
The prazo system

 Prazos were large Portuguese farms or plantations. Prazo system began when the
Portuguese settlers, traders and military adventurers obtained concessions (treaties) from
African rulers by peaceful means or by force.

 The prazeros (land owners) either lived on their land or were absentee landlords in India
or Lisbon (Portugal).
 Prazos were meant to encourage white settlement. Portuguese government formalized the
system by officially recognizing land titles to individual prazeros. Prazeros ruled prazos
as tyrants, collected taxes and used their private armies to capture slaves for sale. Prazo
system worked in a manner bound to destroy structures of African societies.
 By 1800 it was clear that prazos were not working as intended because they failed to
bring about industries, education, religion or commerce (trade). Instead, slave raiding
became rife on the prazos. Slaves were used as a source of cheap labour. The Portuguese
needed prazos to help them defend their colonies.
DECLINE OF PORTUGUESE INFLUENCE IN MWENEMUTAPA’S KINGDOM
 In 1667 there was a decline in gold trade because many Shona people took refuge to other
lands in fear of the Portuguese cruelty and hence there was lack of labour for the
Portuguese.
 Furthermore, Changamire defeated certain parts of Mwenemutapa kingdom.
Mwenemutapa appealed to the Portuguese for help but he was not helped because by the
end of the 17th century, the Portugueses’ powers on the east coast became weaker. So
Changamire was able to take over nearly all the land and chased the Portuguese back into
the Zambezi valley and the coastal lowlands of today’s Mozambique.
 By 1668 Mwenemutapa kingdom had greatly reduced. Most of the Portuguese settlers
and traders had been forced to flee much of the area by Changamire.
 However, by the 17th century, the kingdom of Changamire had been greatly weakened
and was completely destroyed by Zwangendaba’s Ngoni from South Africa on their
northward movement.

THE PORTUGUESE INFLUENCE AND PENETRATION INTO CENTRAL AFRICA
THE KONGO KINGDOM
Kongo kingdom before the Portuguese conquest
The Kongo kingdom developed between 14 th and 15th centuries and was located at the mouth of
the Congo River in Angola. The leader of the kingdom was called Manikongo. The people in the
Kongo kingdom were known as Bakongo and they were required to pay tribute to Manikongo in
form of ivory, slaves, palm oil and hides.
Political and trade relations between the Portuguese and the Kongo kingdom

 The Portuguese were the first Europeans to have political and trade relations with the
Kongo kingdom. By the mid 1400s, the Portuguese were busy trying to find the sea route
to India.
 In 1482 the Portuguese explorer, Diogo Cao arrived at the mouth of the Congo River and
was welcomed by Manikongo. Diogo Cao showed the king some European goods.
Manikongo desired to acquire the goods through trade. To please the king, Diogo Cao left
four Portuguese ambassadors to Manikongo and left the kingdom.
 In 1483 when Diogo Cao returned to the Kongo kingdom, he found that the men he had
left had been held prisoners by Manikongo. Therefore, Diogo Cao also captured four
Bakongo people as hostages and promised that he would bring them back after 15
months.
 In 1484, Diogo Cao returned to the Kongo kingdom taking with him four Bakongo
hostages he had captured.
 Impressed by the return of his people, king Manikongo released the four Portuguese
ambassadors and asked the Portuguese government to send priests and technicians to his
kingdom to come and develop the Kongo kingdom along Portuguese lines. The
Portuguese also wanted to create a Christian kingdom in Central Africa.
 Therefore, in 1490, King John II of Portugal sent three ships to the Kongo kingdom
carrying priests, carpenters, bricklayers and farmers as Manikongo had requested. The
Portuguese even set up mission stations and converted many Bakongo people to
Christianity bearing Portuguese catholic Christian names.
 One such convert to Christianity was Mzinga Mbemba, the son of king Manikongo, who
was baptized and adopted a baptismal name of Don Alfonso I.
Trade alliance with the Portuguese
 Apart from the desire to promote catholic religion in Kongo, the Portuguese wanted to
promote trade relations as well. In 1506 Alfonso I succeeded his father as king of the
Kongo kingdom. Alfonso I was familiar with the Portuguese language and wanted to
introduce Portuguese way of life in the Kongo kingdom.
 Therefore, Alfonso I allowed the Portuguese to buy slaves from his kingdom in exchange
for European goods. However, the Portuguese engaged themselves in active slave trade in
the Kongo kingdom in which hundreds of slaves were taken to work in sugar plantations
of America and West Indies. Consequently, large areas of the Kongo kingdom were
depopulated.
 As a result of the disastrous effects of slave trade, Alfonso I decided to stop the slave
trade in the kingdom with the Portuguese. This anti-slave attitude brought Alfonso I in
conflict with the Portuguese who wanted the slave trade to continue.
 The Portuguese continued to buy slaves from the kingdom to such an extent that they
completely undermined the authority of Alfonso I who died in 1543. In this way, the
kingdom began to collapse.

Collapse of the kongo kingdom
 The Portuguese’s desire to maintain slave trade in Kongo kingdom now began to get rid
of those Kongo rulers who opposed their interests. This led to a number of battles which
rulers of the Kongo kingdom failed to win.
 In 1665 the Portuguese killed many chiefs including Antonio I of the Kongo at the battle
of Mbwila and from there; they began to put puppet rulers on the throne. Therefore, the
Kongo kingdom collapsed due to Portuguese influence, but Christianity was introduced
in the kingdom.
THE NDONGO KINGDOM
The Portuguese activities in Ndongo kingdom
 To the south of Kongo kingdom, another kingdom had developed before the Portuguese
arrived. The kingdom was called Ndongo and was founded by the Mbundu people. The
king of the Ndongo kingdom had a title called Ngola.
 In the 16th century, the Ngola desired to participate in trade with the Portuguese so as to
acquire European goods such as cloth, tobacco and alcohol.
Arrival of the Portuguese
 In 1519 the Ngola asked King Manuel I of Portugal to send priests and traders to his
kingdom.
 In 1560, King Manuel sent an expedition under the leadership of Paulo Dias. Dias was
first kept at the king’s court for five years but was later released and sent back to Portugal
with slaves, copper and ivory. Impressed by such an offer, Dias returned to Angola with
100 Portuguese families.
 In 1576 Dias declared war on Angola. He also actively took part in the slave trade where
about 7500 African slaves were exported every year after having established himself in
Angola directly under Portuguese rule. However, the establishment of Portuguese
colonial rule in Angola did not come until after 1591 when Dias died.
Establishment of colonial rule in Angola
 The decision to bring Angola directly under Portuguese rule was made firm by Domingo
de Abrealt Brito shortly after the death of Paulo Dias. He suggested that Angola should
be taken over by force.
 In 1592 therefore, Angola was declared a Portuguese colony and Francisco D. Amelda
was appointed as the governor general of Angola.
 As it were in Kongo kingdom, the Portuguese continued with active slave trade in Angola
and began killing those chiefs who opposed them.

 Sada Bandeira, the Portuguese prime minister, later made slave trade illegal, but the
Portuguese continued occupying the area until the mid 20th century.
THE KALONGA KINGDOM

 The kingdom originated from Zaire (DRC), Katanga Region. A group of people called
the Maravi or Malawi (comprising Bantu speaking groups e.g. Nsenga, Chikunda,
Chewa, Zimba, Chipeta, Ntumba, Mbo, Manganja etc.) moved away from the Luba
country.
 Mazizi Kalonga led them out of the Luba country but died on the way. His nephew,
Kabunduli Phiri then took over the leadership. They went through northern Zambia and
travelled down to Lake Nyasa (Malawi) where they finally settled around the 15 th
century.
Long distance trade
 Kalonga traded with the Arab-Swahili people who brought in additional wealth and guns
which were used to conquer other tribes. Iron goods increased trade and iron tools like
spears were used to defend and expand the kingdom.
 Kalonga sold ivory and slaves to the Arab-Swahili traders and obtained guns, gun
powder, beads, cloth and other European goods. He used the wealth he obtained from
trade to reward his warriors and lesser chiefs.
 In addition, the production of iron goods like tools helped the people to cultivate more
food for the increasing population.
Leadership qualities of Kalonga Masura
 Kalonga Masura was the most renowned Kalonga between 1600 and 1650. During his
reign, he introduced a centralized system of government under his control. He had to
control ivory and iron trade.
Intermarriages

 In Malawi the Maravi people mixed and intermarried with the people they found like the
earlier Bantu migrants. These intermarriages led to unity in the kingdom.
Concentration on religion
 Religion was another unifying factor which made Kalonga Masura to unite the kingdom.
This is because Masura’s family played a central role in religious matters.
 The Kalonga family controlled the rain making cult (shrine) of the Mbona which was
very important in uniting the people through religious and medical powers such as rain
making.
Well organized army
 Kalonga Masura built a strong and well organized army of about 10,000 men which he
used to conquer other tribes. When Masura formed an alliance with the Portuguese who
had set up trading ports at Sena and Tete along the Zambezi River in Mozambique, he
sent 4,000 of his soldiers in 1608 to help the Portuguese fight against a number of Shona
chiefs who opposed their presence in the kingdom of Mwenemutapa. The Portuguese in
return helped Masura to defeat Lundu, one of his sub-chiefs who opposed him.
 Masura played a double role in dealing with the Portuguese and the Shona of
Mwenemutapa. While he supported the Portuguese against the Mwenemutapa, he at the
same time allowed his people and the Shona to attack the Portuguese traders passing
through his kingdom. By doing this, he encouraged conflicts between the Mwenemutapa
and the Portuguese.
 In 1623 when Mwenemutapa Gatsi Rusere died, Masura tried to overthrow the
Mwenemutapa but he was unsuccessful. His aim was to control the long distance trade in
ivory and gold which would enable him acquire cotton cloth and other manufactured
goods from the Portuguese.
Succession dispute
 In 1650 Kalonga Masura died a succession dispute erupted. Undi who was Masura’s
brother was defeated in the dispute and he became unhappy.
 Therefore, Undi broke away from the kingdom taking with him important female
members of the Phiri or Hill clan. This left Kalonga with no dependable successors to the
throne.
Breakup of religious powers

 The unity of Kalonga partly depended on the Mbona rain cult to unite the people through
religious and medical powers such as rain making. After Undi’s departure, the Mbona
rain makers failed to create real unity among the people.
Loss of trade
 The Yao traders preferred to deal with separate junior chiefs rather than with Kalonga.
This weakened the kingdom economically.
Weak leadership
 Masura’s successor did not have leadership qualities of Masura. The new Kalonga failed
to effectively utilize the Mbona rain making shrine which had been one of the uniting
religious factors among the people of the kingdom.
Disloyalty of sub-chiefs
 The sub-chiefs such as Lundu took advantage of the situation and organized themselves
and rebelled against Kalonga and declared themselves independent.
Killing of Kalonga by the Yao
 In 1860 the final blow that led to the collapse of the Kalonga kingdom came from the
Yao traders who weakened the monopoly of Kalonga because they wanted to control
trade. In 1860 therefore, the Yao killed the last Kalonga and the kingdom finally
collapsed.
CHEWA KINGDOM OF UNDI

 Undi’s Chewa kingdom originated from Kalonga’s kingdom. After the death of Kalonga
Masura in 1650, there was a succession dispute.
 Undi who was Masura’s brother was defeated in the dispute and he became unhappy.
Therefore, Undi broke away from the Kalonga kingdom taking with him important
female members of the Phiri or Hill clan.
 This left Kalonga with no dependable successors to the throne. Undi went and established
his capital at Mano, south of Tete district in Mozambique. This kingdom went s far as
south of Katete district in Zambia’s Eastern province.
 He spread his control throughout Katete and Chadiza districts. In these areas, he
conquered the Mkanda, Chewa, Nsenga of Petauke and Chewa of Tete.
Wars of conquest

 Undi’s kingdom expanded as a result of conquest of local people such as the Nsenga,
Chewa, Mkanda and others. These were added to the kingdom.
Religion
 Undi controlled the important rain making shrine called Masinja or Mbona in Lilongwe
and the Luangwa valley.
 He established a female rain maker called Makewana to be in charge of the shrine. This
made people to respect and fear his powers.
Intermarriages
 Undi married women of other people he conquered and made their brothers, nephews or
cousins become subordinate chiefs. These family relationship ties made these subordinate
chiefs become loyal to Undi.
 Just like Kazembe’s kingdom, Undi’s kingdom was also rich in natural resources such as
iron, gold, wild animals such as elephants which provided ivory.
 In addition, the area where the kingdom was established had fertile soils for cultivation of
crops.
Long distance trade and tribute
 The presence of natural resources in the kingdom attracted the Portuguese traders into the
kingdom. To obtain items for trade, Undi made his subjects to pay tribute to him.
 Undi sold gold, iron, ivory and slaves to the Portuguese through the Chikunda
middlemen and in return he obtained guns, beads, cloth, bracelets, sea shells and other
European manufactured goods.
 It was in the mid 1700s that the Portuguese gold mining in Undi’s kingdom became
important. The Portuguese and their agents, the Chikunda would dig the gold, take their
share for the labour and gave the rest to Undi.
 At about the same time that gold mining had become important, trade in ivory and slaves
also became very vital and profitable. Great numbers of slaves and ivory were being sold
to the Portuguese.
Loyalty of sub-chiefs
 Undi was able to win the loyalty of his sub-chiefs because he was able to redistribute
trade items to them though he did not allow them to trade directly with the Portuguese.
Thus his subordinate chiefs were able to respect and support him because of the foreign
goods they received from him.

By 1750 Undi’s kingdom grew greatly in size. It included much of Zambia’s Eastern province,
Mozambique’s Tete district and also present day Malawi’s central region.
After 1750 Undi’s, kingdom started declining because of both internal and external factors.
INTERNAL FACTORS
Vastness of the kingdom
 The kingdom became too large to govern. What was happening on the other side of the
kingdom was not known by Undi. As a result, communication became difficult and Undi
lost control of his subordinate chiefs.
Disloyalty of sub-chiefs
 The subordinate chiefs started making secret agreements with the Portuguese in respect to
land and trade. Therefore, the powers of Undi’s monopoly and ability to collect tribute
were lost.
Lack of a well organized army
 Much of Undi’s powers were religious and ritual. He had no strong and well established
army for defence. This was a serious internal weakness.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
The effect of slave trade
 By 1800s there was an increase in the demand for slaves. Both the Portuguese and Arab-
Swahili traders began to capture many slaves from Undi’s kingdom.
 The demand for more slaves also increased war in the kingdom. Villages fought against
each other and the defeated ones were captured and taken as slaves.
 Innocent people were accused of being wizards and then sold as slaves. This increased
warfare and instability in the kingdom.
Illegal hunting of elephants for ivory
 The Portuguese and the Chikunda agents started illegal hunting of elephants in the
kingdom.
 According to the custom, they were supposed to give Undi one ivory (tusk) for every
elephant they killed but they now got away with both. Thus Undi had no means of buying
and redistributing trade goods hence he lost his political power.

Illegal mining of gold
 By 1750 the Portuguese had been given the right to mine gold in Undi’s kingdom.
Gradually, the Portuguese used their agents, the Chikunda to make secret agreements
with regard to gold mining without Undi’s permission.
 The Portuguese and the Chikunda also began illegal mining of gold in the kingdom.
Therefore, Undi lost control over the tribute system on which he depended for trade.
The Ngoni invasion
 The Ngoni were responsible for the final destruction of Undi’s kingdom. In 1835,
Zwangendaba’s Ngoni crossed the Zambezi River at Zumbo from South Africa and they
settled for a while on the western borders of Undi’s kingdom where they caused serious
disruption.
 By 1870, Mpezeni’s Ngoni on their downward movement from the north, completely
destroyed Undi’s kingdom. Undi fled Mano to go and hide in the mountains. Many of his
subjects were placed under Ngoni protection and were added to the kingdom.
CENTRAL AFRICAN EXPLORERS
DR. DAVID LIVINGSTONE (1813-1873)
Background

 David Livingstone was born in Blantyre, Scotland in 1813. He had difficulties in
education such that he started work in a cotton factory while attending evening classes.
He continued learning through night school which earned him a place at Glasgow
University where he graduated as a medical doctor.
 He came to Africa in 1840 because of the influence of Robert Moffat of the London
Missionary Society (LMS).
Aims of David Livingstone
 To convert Africans to Christianity

 To end slave trade
 To open a route for missionaries and traders
 To eliminate poverty and diseases
 To spread civilization
 Livingstone first settled at Kuruman in 1840 (where Robert Moffat had settled among
the Tswana as early as 1816).
 Here he married Mary Moffat, the daughter of Robert Moffat in 1844. He opened his
own mission at Kolobeng, north of Kuruman in 1847.
 Livingstone later moved northwards into Bechuanaland (Botswana) where he was well
received by Sekoni, the chief of the Tswana people. He travelled further north to Lake
Ngami in 1849.
 From here he crossed the Kalahari Desert and reached Sebitwane’s capital, Linyanti in
1851 and decided to make Kololo country base for his missionary work.
 He then returned to Cape Town to send his family to England.
LIVINGSTONE’S THREE JOURNEYS
First journey (1852-1856)
 The aim of his first journey was to open a route for missionaries and traders.
 He started off from Cape Town in June 1852 via Kuruman, Kolobeng, Lake Ngami and
arrived at Linyanti in May 1853.
 There he found Sekeletu, the new chief of the Kololo people after the death of Sebitwane
in 1851. In Bulozi, he found that there was no suitable site for a mission station.
 Sekeletu gave him porters and guides who accompanied him to the source of the
Zambezi River and proceeded to the west coast. On the way, he witnessed the devastating
effects of slave trade.
 He reached Luanda, Angola on the west coast in 1854. After reaching the west coast, he
embarked on his journey back and reached Linyanti in 1855 and decided to explore the
Zambezi River up to its mouth.

 On his way to the east coast, he became the first Whiteman to discover the Mosi-o-Tunya
Falls (the smoke that thunders) which he renamed as the Victoria Falls in honour of
queen Victoria of England in 1855.
 He travelled through Tongaland, met Monze, the Tonga rain maker, by passed Cabora
Bassa rapids and reached Quelimane on the east coast in 1856.
 From there, he sailed back to England where he published his famous book, ‟Missionary
Travels and Researches in Central Africa”.
Second journey (1858-1863)
 The aim of David Livingstone’s second journey was to explore the Zambezi River.
 This journey was supported by the British government and it included a number of other
people such as Thomas Baines, Dr. John Kirk and his wife. Livingstone came to Africa
in 1858.
 He realized that the Zambezi River was not navigable because of the Cabora Bassa
rapids he encountered in Mozambique.
 From here he explored the Shire River in Malawi but failed due to the Murchison rapids.
In April 1959, he explored Shire highlands, Lake Chirwa, Lake Chiuta, Lake Nyasa and
met the Yao slave traders.
 Here he recorded the barbaric nature of slave wars and slave trade among the Yao and
Arab slave traders in Central Africa. In 1861 he met the missionaries of UMCA led by
Bishop Charles Mackenzie.
 However, during his second journey, Livingstone suffered difficulties in that his wife,
Mary died from malaria in 1862 and his main steam boat broke down many times.
 In 1863 he went back to England and published another book, ‟Narrative of an
Expedition to the Zambezi and its Tributaries”.
Third journey (1866-1873)
 Livingstone’s aim for the third journey was to discover the source of the White Nile
River.
 Starting from 1866, he moved into Central Africa and passed through Lake Mweru and
Bangweulu and reached Chipata where he found Mpezeni’s Ngoni fighting the Nsenga
people.
 In 1867 his medicine box was stolen. In 1869 he sailed Lake Tanganyika to Ujiji. As a
result of his long absence from Britain, the British government sent Henry Morton
Stanley, a journalist for the New York Herald Newspaper to search for him.
 In 1871, Stanley met Livingstone at Ujiji. He supplied him with medicines and other
essential commodities. He also tried to persuade him to go back to Britain but
Livingstone refused.

 Thereafter, the mosquito bites in the marshes of Lake Bangweulu weakened
Livingstone’s resistance against malaria.
 In May, 1871 he died at Chitambo village in Lalaland, Serenje.
 His faithful African colleagues, Cuma and Susi and a freed slave called Jacob
Wainwright buried his heart and intestines at Chitambo village.
 They then embalmed his body and carried it to the east coast. From there, they sailed with
the body to West Minister Abbey, England, where it was buried in 1874.
Results of David Livingstone’s works
 His writings about the beliefs, customs and traditions of the people of Africa shed more
light about Central Africa to most people of Europe.
 He helped with the abolishment of slave trade
 His works led to the birth of Universities Mission to Central Africa (UMCA) because he
had inspired many missionaries and traders to come to Central Africa.
 He helped to bring about the colonization of Africa.
 Livingstone’s journeys opened routes to future explorers, traders and missionaries.
 His teachings converted many Africans to Christianity.
HENRY MORTON STANLEY (1871-1890)
 He was born in 1841 in England. When Stanley came to Africa in 1871, he came as a
newspaper reporter for the New York Herald, assigned to find David Livingstone.
 In 1871 he met Livingstone at Ujiji but returned to England after failing to persuade him
to go back with him.

 However, in 1874 he came to Africa as an explorer and explored much of the Zaire
Basin (Congo DR) and the Lualaba River.
 Between 1879 and 1885, Stanley worked in the Congo for King Leopold II’s
International African Association. He had been instructed in 1878 by King Leopold II of
Belgium to establish a colony in Congo DR.
 Therefore, after making some treaties with the local rulers, he came to establish the
Congo Free State which came under Belgium rule.
 In 1889 Stanley returned to England where in 1890 he was honoured by Queen Victoria
as Sir Henry Morton Stanley for the work he had done in laying the foundations for
missionaries. He died in 1914.
DR. FRANCISCO DE LACERDA 1798
 De Lacerda was a Portuguese explorer from Sena, Mozambique, where he was the
governor. In 1797 he planned to get to the west coast of Africa, passing through
Kazembe’s and Mwatayamvwo’s kingdoms.
 However, his journey was very difficult because half of his porters ran away from him
and food was not readily available. Nevertheless, the journey went on and he reached
kazembe’s capital in October, 1798.
 However, due to ill health, De Lacerda died of fever on 18 th October 1798 in Kazembe’s
kingdom. Father Pinto led De Lacerda’s group back to Mozambique because the
Mwatakazembe, Ilunga Lukwesa could not allow them cross his kingdom to
Mwatayamvwo’s.

MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES IN CENTRAL AFRICA
Missionaries came to Central Africa largely because of the influence of Dr. David Livingstone.
However, the missionaries faced resistance from slave traders who did not want slave trade to
come to an end. Some African tribes also resisted being converted to Christianity.
MAIN MISSION SOCIETIES IN CENTRAL AFRICA
LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY (LMS)
 The LMS originated from Britain and d the leading figures were Robert Moffat who
established a mission station at Kuruman in Botswana in 1841 and John Smith Moffat
who established a missionary station in Matebeleland at Inyati.
 However, the missionary station at Inyati was not successful because the Ndebele king,
Lobengula was reluctant to allow his people to be converted to Christianity.
 The other mission station was established at Linyanti, the capital of the Lozi kingdom.
This was as a result of the friendship and agreement between David Livingstone and

Sebitwane. This mission station was not successful because of Sekeletu’s negative
attitude and the fact that Linyanti was malaria infested.
 Livingstone’s followers, James Helmore and Roger Price set up a mission station at Ujiji
in 1877. This mission station was very successful and the LMS work was extended to
Lungu and Mambwe areas of Northern Rhodesia.
 Other mission stations that were set up by the LMS were;
 Fwambo mission in1884
 Niamukolo mission near Mpulungu in 1885.
 Kawimbe mission in Mporokoso in 1890.
 Kashinda mission in Mporokoso in 1899
 Mbereshi mission in mwatakazembe in Luapula
 Mable Shaw mission in Kawambwa, Luapula Province.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH/WHITE FATHERS
 Catholics were the earliest missionaries in Central Africa. In the 15 th to 16th centuries,
Portuguese Catholics settled in the Congo, Angola, Mozambique and in the kingdom of
Mwenemutapa in what is now Zimbabwe.
 By the 17th century, Catholic groups such as the White Fathers set up mission stations in
what is now Zambia.
 In 1891 the White Fathers under Father Joseph Dupont arrived in Mambwe and Bemba
areas. The first mission station was opened at Mwela in 1891.
 In 1895 kayambi mission was set up in the area of chief Makasa among the Bemba
people under the influence of Father Dupont in Northern Province and in 1896,
Chilubula mission was also set up.
 Dupont converted many Bembas to Christianity. This was after Chitimukulu Sampa and
senior chief Mwamba allowed the White Fathers into their chiefdom.
 White Fathers were the first missionaries to introduce formal education in Northern
Province by building many schools. They also built clinics, hospitals and home craft
centres.
 White Fathers fought against witchcraft and father Dupont even learnt the skill of
witchcraft so as to understand the community.
 In 1878 the Jesuit missionaries arrived at Matebeleland. However, the Ndebele chief,
Lobengula refused to allow them preach among his subjects. One of the groups therefore,
moved northwards towards the Zambezi valley.
 Later in 1884, Lobengula gave permission to the Jesuits to carry on their mission works
at Empandeni. From here, the Jesuits extended their work to Mashonaland. A mission
station was founded at Chishawasha near modern day Harare in 1892.
 In the meantime, in 1878 the Jesuits had also moved further north to the Zambezi valley
under Father Depelchin. They visited Lewanika, but failed to get permission for carrying
out missionary work.

 They therefore moved to the Tonga chief, Mweemba’s area where they established a
mission station. This however was abandoned because of a number of deaths due to
unhealthy conditions.
 In 1902 the Jesuits under the leadership of Joseph Moreau moved to chief Monze’s area
and established a mission station at Chikuni. It was here that the Jesuits started their first
schooling in Central Africa.
THE UNIVERSITIES MISSION TO CENTRAL AFRICA (UMCA)
 The UMCA was founded by members of Oxford and Cambridge Universities in 1857
that had responded to David Livingstone’s call for evangelism and abolition of slave
trade.
 The UMCA came to Central Africa under the leadership of Bishop Charles Mackenzie.
Mackenzie founded the Mangomero mission station in 1861. However, in 1862 the
mission station was abandoned when Mackenzie and other members of the group died of
malaria.
 In 1863 a new leader of the UMCA, Bishop Tozer transferred the mission station to
Marambala in Mozambique, but it was not a suitable area. Marambala was unhealthy,
hence it was abandoned.
 The UMCA returned to Malawi in 1882 and in 1885, the UMCA set up a mission station
at Likoma Island. The mission station was set up by Chauncy Maples. Likoma Island
succeeded in opening up of schools and carrying on with medical work.
THE PARIS EVANGELICAL MISSION SOCIETY (PEMS)
 The PEMS originated from France. In 1878, Francois Coillard, leader of the PEMS
arrived in Bulozi, but civil war between the supporters of Sipopa and Lubosi Lewanika
from 1864 to 1878 had prevented the setting up of a mission in Bulozi.
 Finally, in 1886 Francois Coillard was permitted by the Lozi chief, Lewanika to open a
mission station in Bulozi. The first station was established at Sefula. Later, PEMS
opened another mission station at Lealui.
 In 1890 Coillard was one of the people who persuaded Lewanika into signing the
Lochner Concession. He spent the rest of his life for missionary work in Bulozi. Though
Lewanika did not accept Christianity, he was friendly to the missionaries.
 In 1891 Lewanika’s son Litia got converted to Christianity and soon many others
followed him. By 1911, about nine mission stations were established by PEMS in
Western province.
THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND (FCS)
 This missionary society was also known as the Livingstonia Mission and it was set up in
honour of David Livingstone.

 In 1875, Robert Laws set up a mission station at Cape Maclear, at the southern tip of
Lake Malawi. Cape Maclear was not successful because of opposition from the Yao slave
traders. In 1881 Cape Maclear was abandoned.
 The missionaries led by Robert Laws moved north to Bandawe, on the western shores of
Lake Malawi. Though the mission succeeded in opening up a number of schools among
the Tonga people of Malawi, their work was made difficult because of the continuous
Ngoni attacks on the Tonga people.
 However, in 1886, a Zulu evangelist, William Koyi succeeded in persuading the Ngoni
chief, Mombera to allow them to work among his people. Like the Tonga, the Ngoni also
became keen students of the Livingstonia mission.
 In 1894 the mission moved further north to kondowe which later came to be known as
Livingstonia. The Livingstonia mission was a great success as it became the centre for
training of evangelists, teachers, skilled craftsmen and medical assistants.
 In Zambia, the FCS established a mission station at Chitambo (Serenje) in 1895 and
another at Lubwa in Northern Province, where David Kaunda (father of Zambia’s first
president) was the first African missionary.

EFFECTS OF THE MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES
 Missionaries converted many Africans to Christianity.

 In areas where the missionaries took the role of protectors, they slowly acquired certain
political rights. In so doing, they took over powers of the local chiefs and thus destroyed
African unity.
 In their mission stations, the missionaries not only preached gospels, but also set up many
mission schools and they began spreading literacy among the African people.
 The early missionaries also helped in the introduction of new crops and vegetables, new
crafts and skills, the use of new tools, and improved standards of hygiene and medical
care.
 Missionaries taught Africans new methods of farming, use of oxen for example. Father
Moreau taught the Tonga how to use oxen.
 Missionaries tried to stop some African customs such as polygamy, witchcraft and
traditional healing.
 The missionary societies were influential in the campaigns against slavery and slave
trade.
 The missionaries pacified warlike tribes while cruel customs were abandoned.
BRITISH OCCUPATION OF CENTRAL AFRICA
Various groups of people acted as agents who helped prepare the way for European governments
to set up colonies in Central Africa. These were missionaries, hunters and concession seekers.
 Missionaries came to Central Africa largely because of the influence of Dr. David
Livingstone. However, the missionaries faced resistance from slave traders who did not
want slave trade to come to an end. Some African tribes also resisted being converted to
Christianity. These types of resistance led the missionaries to seek protection from the
British government by encouraging the government to set up colonies in Africa
 Hunters were especially interested in gaining control of the ivory trade. They also hunted
other large animals, such as lions and buffaloes for their meat and as trophies.
 Concession seekers wanted to get mineral rights. This meant that they wanted to get
concessions (agreements) that gave them control of areas of land where they could the
search for minerals such as copper or gold.
John Cecil Rhodes
John Cecil Rhodes was a British imperialist who made his fortune with his mining company, De
Beers after the discovery of diamond in South Africa. After expanding his business interests in
the South African mining industry, he also became involved in the South African politics. His
dream was to bring most parts of Africa under British rule. He aimed to do this by constructing a

railway line and building a road from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt. However,
his immediate aim was to occupy Mashonaland and Matebeleland in what is now Zimbabwe.
BRITISH COLONISATION OF SOUTHERN RHODESIA
Southern Rhodesia was occupied through signing treaties such as the following;
Grobler Treaty, 1887
In 1887 the Transvaal government sent Pieter Grobler to negotiate for a treaty with the Ndebele
king, Lobengula. Lobengula agreed and the Grobler treaty was signed. The terms were;
 The Boers were allowed to enter the kingdom.

 The Boers were given hunting and trading rights in the kingdom
 The Transvaal government was allowed to maintain a permanent representative at
Bulawayo, Lobengula’s capital.
Moffat Treaty, February, 1888
Rhodes was not happy with the Boers’ move. He immediately sent an assistant high
commissioner for the British Bechuanaland, John Smith Moffat who knew Lobengula well since
his days in Matebeleland as head of the Inyati mission. The aim of the Moffat mission was to ask
Lobengula to drop the Grobler treaty and to enter into a new agreement with the British. He
succeeded by signing the treaty on 11th February 1888. The terms were;
 Lobengula agreed to be friendly to the British queen

 Lobengula agreed not to enter into any agreement with any other country without the
approval of the British High Commissioner
Rudd Concession, October, 1888

To strengthen his position in Matebeleland, Rhodes sent a group of businessmen led by Charles
Rudd to the area to obtain a gold concession from Lobengula. On 30 th October 1888, Lobengula
signed the Rudd Concession. The terms were;
 Lobengula and his successors were to be paid a monthly sum of £ 100, 1000 rifles and
100 000 rounds of ammunition and a gunboat to use on the Zambezi River.
 In return Lobengula agreed to grant Rhodes mineral rights in his kingdom.
The British South Africa (BSA) Company
 Realising that the Rudd Concession was the door into Lobengula’s kingdom, Rhodes
formed the British South Africa (BSA) Company in 1889 as a means to occupy areas
beyond the Limpopo. Cecil Rhodes used his influence to establish colonial control over
the area that is now known as Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
Occupation of Matebeleland and Mashonaland
The BSA Company could now move into Matebeleland with the official approval of the British
government. However, Lobengula refused them entry into the areas under his control. On the
basis of this, Rhodes made two plans to occupy Mashonaland.
a. In 1890 he formed the Pioneer Column-a group of first settlers of concession hunters or
fortune seekers. These were to move in a line, enter and occupy Mashonaland on behalf
of the BSA Company.
b. If Lobengula (chief of the Ndebele) refused the first plan, then the second plan would be
by surprise attack by a force of 500 armed men on Bulawayo, remove Lobengula and
destroy the power of the Ndebele.
Lobengula agreed to the first plan and allowed the pioneer column to pass through Matebeleland
into Mashonaland.
The pioneers and the pioneer column of 1890
 In 1890 the BSA Company moved into Southern Rhodesia. The first white settlers were
known as the Pioneers.
 Rhodes decided to select a small body of pioneers and a much larger body of the police.
The pioneers were chosen for their character as good citizens as well as skilled in horse
riding and shooting. Those selected went for training at Mafeking and Frank Johnson
equipped the pioneer column and organized food supplies.

 In May 1890, 180 pioneers experienced in mining, metal works, and carpentry, each
promised 3, 000 acres of land and up to 15 gold claims were organized. And the whole
group accompanied by 500 of the new British South African police, set off for
Mashonaland from Bechuanaland. All the pioneers were mounted on horse backs.
 Specialists such as scientists, doctors, engineers, geologists and many others travelled
with them.
 200 policemen were left at Fort Victoria to guard against any possible attack from the
back and be ready to protect the column if it retreated.
 Dr. Starry Jameson led the pioneer column as Cecil Rhodes’ representative while
Fredrick Selous acted as a guide, being a hunter and an explorer.
 In September, 1890, the pioneers made their final settlement on the high plateau of
Mashonaland near Fort Salisbury.
 At this point, a small group of pioneers moved to Manicaland where chief Umtasa
promised mineral rights to the company in return for protection and annual payment and
a school.
 However, the pioneers in Manicaland quarreled with the Portuguese who claimed control
of Manicaland and Mashonaland. War broke out and the Portuguese were defeated.
AFRICAN REACTION TO FOREIGN RULE IN CENTRAL AFRICA
African resistance to colonialism
African resistance to colonialism varied from area to area, depending on local condition
 Primary resistance refers to the early stages when Africans were not yet trying to get rid
of the colonial authorities. They mostly protested peacefully against unfair colonial
policies.
 Secondary resistance refers to later stages when Africans tried to overthrow colonial
rule and become independent. They fought for their rights through organizations such as
welfare societies, trade unions and political parties. In some cases, they undertook armed
struggle for independence.
PRIMARY RESISTANCE IN SOUTHERN RHODESIA
THE FIRST NDEBELE WAR AND THE OCCUPATION OF MATEBELELAND-1893
 When the pioneers failed to find the rumoured gold in Mashonaland, they turned their
attention to Matebeleland. But before occupying the land, they had to fight and defeat the
Ndebele in 1893
Causes of the 1893 Ndebele war

 The Ndebele were annoyed because they were stopped by the settlers (British) from
raiding the Shona who were now under protection of the settlers.
 Settlers desired to occupy Matebeleland with a hope of finding gold.
 The killing of Lobengula’s 30 indunas by the settlers who accused them of cutting 457
metres of the telegraph wire at Fort Victoria.
 The killing of Lobengula’s three indunas at Tati in Botswana who were sent to negotiate
for peace with the British high commissioner at the Cape. This was Lobengula’s last
resort to avert war.
With the killing of the three indunas, there was no alternative but to fight. The first battle was in
October, 1893 at Shangani River and the second was in November at Imbembezi. The Ndebele
were defeated and they lost nearly a thousand men.
Results of the war
 The settlers defeated the Ndebele and their land was occupied.
 After setting fire to his kraal, Lobengula fled northwards and died near the Zambezi river
in January 1894.
 The Ndebele however, continued to resist the settler presence in their area although the
Europeans thought that no more trouble would come from them.
NDEBELE UPRISING 1896
Three years after their defeat by the British in 1893, the Ndebele rose against their colonial
masters.
Causes of the Ndebele uprising
a. Loss of land. The British took away the best land from the Ndebele. The Ndebele either
remained on farms as squatters, paying rent in money or labour on their land. Other
Ndebele were pushed into Shangani and Gwaai reserves which were created the Land
Commission of 1894. These areas were infested with tsetse flies and had water shortage.
b. Loss of cattle. Most of the Ndebele cattle were taken by the company (BSA Co). Some
were used as rations for the police while others were sent to South Africa.
c. Brutal treatment of the Ndebele labourers on the farms and in the mines by the British.
Employers and native commissioners used the syambok, a kind of whip on the workers.
Punishments were often threatened just before pay day so that workers would run away
before receiving their little wages.
d. The settlers stopped the Ndebele from raiding the Shona for their grain and cattle.
e. Bad harvest, drought and outbreak of rinderpest (cattle disease) in 1895 caused discontent
and were blamed on settler presence. Mwari priests advised the Ndebele that only when
the Europeans were driven out would the drought and rinderpest end.

f. Failure of the Jameson Raid-1895. The failure of the Jameson Raid encouraged the
rebellion in two ways;
i. The Ndebele came to know that the British were beatable.
ii. Most of the settler police were taken for the raid leaving about 40. This
encouraged the Ndebele that they would easily defeat the British.
In April 1896 the uprising had spread throughout the country. Many Ndebele were defeated
during the rebellion while others fled to the Matopo Hills.
Results of the uprising
The Ndebele were defeated but those who fled into the Matopo Hills remained resistant to the
settlers until Cecil Rhodes decided to negotiate for peace. The meeting became known as the
ʿindabaʾ. After the indaba, Rhodes agreed;
a. To allow some Ndebele indunas to keep their old authority as headmen.

b. To pay indunas some salaries.
c. To provide the Ndebele with food and seeds.
d. That no Shona police would be used on Matebeleland.
e. The Ndebele then in turn gave up their weapons and agreed to hand over ring leaders for
punishment. Mwari priests were punished for their part in the war. This means that the
Ndebeleland was taken over by the British.
SHONA UPRISING-JUNE 1896
Causes of the Shona uprising
a. The Shona were against paying hut tax. Hut tax was used as a means of getting forced
labour as those who failed to pay were made to work or put on prison. Since the Shona
had no money, the tax was paid in form of cattle or sheep. This often left the Shona with
no animals at all.
b. Outbreak of rinderpest, drought and widespread famine made the Shona bitter.
c. Loss of trade. The Shona had for many years been trading with the Portuguese under
which they sold gold and ivory to the Portuguese in turn for guns and other goods.
However, when the British came, they took over this trade and told the Shona to buy
these goods from South Africa which were more expensive. This brought discontent
among the Shona.
d. Loss of land. It had always been the chief’s right to give land. Now land was obtained by
the BSA Company, mission stations or private individuals. They were getting land in
which there was a heavy black population.
e. The role of religious priests who said the natural disasters were an expression of God’s
anger. They warned that unless the British were fought and driven out of the land, the
Africans would continue to suffer.

The war began in June 1896 but towards the end of 1897 the Shona were defeated.
Results of the war
a. The Shona were defeated.

b. Leaders were killed e.g. religious leaders like Nehanda and Kagubi were hanged in May
1898.
c. Some Shona leaders were replaced with the loyal ones.
The Shona war marked the end of African resistance to colonial rule and the beginning of active
colonial rule in Southern Rhodesia.
BRITISH COLONISATION OF NORTHERN RHODESIA
Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) was occupied in two main ways:
 Signing of treaties with some chiefs, especially the Litunga of Bulozi.

 Defeating other chiefs who resisted colonial rule in battle, such as Chitimukulu of the
Bemba, Mpezeni of the Ngoni and Mwatakazembe of the Lunda.
COLONISATION OF NORTH WESTERN RHODESIA
British rule over the Barotseland, the area controlled by the Litunga of the Lozi, was established
through a series of treaties. This area became North Western Rhodesia. Litunga (Lewanika)
accepted British protection because;
 He wanted protection from Ndebele raids

 Of the influence from his friend Khama of the Tswana people who had already received
British protection in 1885
 He wanted protection from internal enemies
 Of the influence from missionary, Francois Coillard
 Of fear of Germans and the Portuguese who were coming inland from Namibia and
Angola respectively.
Treaties signed between Lewanika and the BSA Company
Ware Concession, 1889
 In 1885, Lubosi (Lewanika) was restored as the Litunga of the Lozi. He faced threats
from the Ndebele raids and European hunters and concession seekers. After his

installation as Litunga, Lewanika asked his missionary adviser, Francois Coillard to
write to the British queen requesting her to extend her protection of his country.
 In 1889, Lubosi therefore, asked for British protection through Sidney Shippard, the
British administrator in Bechuanaland (now Botswana).
 Before the British could respond, the Litunga signed the Ware Concession of 1889 with
Henry Ware. According to the Ware Concession, Henry Ware was to prospect for
minerals in Bulozi and if any were found, he was to mine them for a period of twenty
years. In return, Lewanika was to receive an annual salary of £ 200 and mineral royalties.
Henry ware sold the concession to John Cecil Rhodes in 1890.
Lochner Treaty, 1890
Cecil Rhodes sent Frank Lochner to the Litunga as his personal representative. Lochner had the
support of Khama, king of Bechuanaland as well as the missionary, Francois Coillard. This led to
the signing of the Lochner Treaty between the Litunga and the BSA Company. Its terms were;
 The company was given the right to mine in Tonga country

 Lewanika was to receive £2 000 per year
 The company promised Lewanika protection from the Ndebele raids.
 The company was to provide schools for Lozi children and to provide trade and industry
in Bulozi.
Coryndon Treaty, 1900
In 1900 the BSA Company sent Robert Coryndon to sign the Corydon Treaty with the Litunga
in Barotseland. Its terms were;
 The BSA Company would administer the area.

 The British had to provide schools, industries, transport and postal services to the people
of Barotseland.
 The company was given judicial powers to deal with civil cases involving settlers and
Africans.
 The company was allowed to make land grants to settlers in Choma and Kalomo.
 The Lozi area was closed to European mineral prospecting and hunting.
As a result of this treaty, white settlers began to come to the area. The BSA Company started to
mark out farms on the Batoka Plateau, especially in Choma and Kalomo.
Kalomo became the administrative centre of North-Western Rhodesia.
COLONISATION OF NORTH EASTERN RHODESIA

 Occupation of the area that became known as North Eastern Rhodesia was the result of
the British occupation of Nyasaland (now Malawi).
 The occupation of North Eastern Rhodesia did not happen peacefully, as local chiefs
resisted the British. However, the spears of the local tribes were no match for British
weapons.
 The Ngoni people of Mpezeni were defeated in 1897 after a series of battles against the
British.
 Conflicts between the British and the Bemba started after the Nsenga chief, Chiwara
requested British assistance to chase the Bemba raiders from the area.
 In 1899 the British marched into the area of the Lunda chief, Mwata Kazembe by using
force.
 After North Eastern Rhodesia (NER) boundaries were fixed, the area was declared a
British territory in 1900.
 Codrington, as the first administrator, built Fort Jameson (Chipata) as the capital of
NER.
 In 1911, the BSA Company combined North Eastern Rhodesia and North Western
Rhodesia to form Northern Rhodesia with Livingstone as the capital city.
 Lusaka became the capital city of Northern Rhodesia in 1935.
 In 1924 the BSA Company handed over power to the British government which marked
the beginning of colonialism up to 1964. Northern Rhodesia became a British
protectorate.
BRITISH COLONISATION OF NYASALAND
 Two nations were interested in Nyasaland i.e. the Portuguese who wanted coast to coast
colony from Angola to Mozambique and the British who were determined, with the
influence of Rhodes to take the whole of Central Africa.
 Both countries were interested in the fertile Shire area. In 1805 the Portuguese made the
first move and started to make treaties with the African chiefs. In the same year, the
British sent Sir Hurry Johnston and declared Shire area a British protectorate.
 Salisbury, the British prime minister threatened to use force against the Portuguese if
they did not withdraw from Nyasaland.
 In 1890 the Portuguese left the area and in 1891 Britain declared the whole of Nyasaland
a British protectorate.
 Hurry Johnston became the first administrator or high commissioner of Nyasaland. In
1897 he retired in favour of Alfred Sharpe. Thereafter, many Europeans came to open up
farms in Shire area.
PRIMARY RESISTANCE IN NORTHERN RHODESIA AND NYASALAND

In Central Africa, primary resistance was mainly led by independent churches that broke away
from the missionary churches. In Central Africa, independent churches were set up by religious
leaders such as the following:
Willie Mokalapa
 He was a preacher of the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society who visited Basutoland in
1889. Here he founded the South African Ethiopian Movement in 1892 under the
leadership of Mangena Makone.
 When Mokalapa returned to Bulozi, he wanted to establish an Ethiopian Church. In 1900
Mokalapa was given a plot where he built his church. He preached equality for all races
and ‛Africa for Africans’ was his slogan.
 Due to this message, the colonial administration in the area under Robert Coryndon did
not like the church. Soon the church collapsed when Mokalapa failed to return back from
South Africa where he had gone to buy church things.
Elliot Kamwana
 He broke away from the Free Church of Scotland in Nyasaland. On his visit to America
in 1908, he was converted to Jehovah’s Witness-the Watch Tower Society. On his return
to Nyasaland in 1909, he founded the same among his people, the Tonga of Nyasaland
and later among the Ngoni, Nsenga and Tumbuka.
 He criticized colonial administration, taxation, oppressive laws and loss of land. He
preached the ‛new faith’ and claimed that Christ would come in 1914 and that the evil
doers especially the colonial masters would be punished.
 He said that the sufferings of the Africans would end with the coming of Jesus Christ.
This displeased the colonial government which sent Kamwana into exile in South Africa
and later in Mauritius
Charles Domingo
 He was a former student of Robert Laws of the Livingstonia Mission and started the
Seventh Day Adventists in Malawi. Later he joined the British African Congress founded
by Joseph Booth, which supported the interests of Africans against their colonial masters.
 He openly spoke against the white missionaries and the colonial government. Because of
this, he was sent into exile.
Matthew Zwimba
 He formed a church in Southern Rhodesia in 1915 that was called the White Bird. This
church combined traditional beliefs with the Christian faith.
John Chilembwe

 Chilembwe was a follower of Joseph Booth, the founder of the Zambezi Industrial
Mission in Blantyre in 1892. Leaving Booth in Nyasaland, Chilembwe went to America
to study theology from1899 to 1900.
 In 1902 Booth was deported to America for supporting African interests and his stand
against racial segregation and bad treatment of workers on the European farms.
 On his return, Chilembwe founded the Provident Industrial Mission in his home district,
Chiradzulu. Here he preached against colonial injustices; racial segregation, loss of land,
bad treatment of workers etc.
 When he noticed that the colonial government was not paying attention to the African
grievances, he organized a rebellion in 1915 with the aim, “Strike a blow and die, for our
blood will surely mean something at last.”
Causes of Chilembwe uprising
i. Racial discrimination: The colonial government discriminated against Africans and

did not allow them to take on responsible positions in government. Africans were not
allowed to elect their own African representatives in the legislative council
ii. Hut tax: Africans had to pay hut tax which white farmers did not have to do. The hut
tax forced Africans to become labourers on white farms.
iii. Mistreatment of farm labourers: African labourers on white farms were treated very
badly by white supervisors. Workers had to work for very long hours for little pay.
They also had to pay rent for settling on white farms.
iv. Insufficient schools: Chilembwe complained bitterly about the small number of
schools available to Africans. He blamed the missionaries who preached about
equality but they did not practice it.
v. Involvement of Africans in the First World War: The immediate cause of the 1915
rebellion was the recruitment of Africans by the British to serve as soldiers and
porters when the First World War broke out in 1914. Chilembwe protested against the
death of so many Africans during the war.
With these grievances, Chilembwe realized that force was necessary. He knew that his few
followers could not defeat the British Empire, but he hoped to ‛strike a blow and die’ to force the
government to take note of the African grievances.
When the rebellion broke out on 23rd January 1915 three Europeans were killed and the revolt
was soon put down. Chilembwe was killed on the Mozambique border while trying to escape.

SECONDARY RESISTANCE
 Secondary resistance in Central Africa started through Welfare Societies or Native

Associations and trade unions. The welfare societies were formed by mission-educated
Africans.
 They believed that the education they received made them able to take part in the
government of their countries. At first, their aim was just to inform the government about
the complaints of Africans so that the living and working conditions of Africans could be
improved. However, later these welfare societies were changed into political parties that
fought for independence.
SECONDARY RESISTANCE IN NORTHERN RHODESIA (ZAMBIA)
Welfare Societies
Welfare societies in Northern Rhodesia were linked to the native associations in Nyasaland
through missionaries who came to work in Northern Rhodesia. One of these missionaries was
David Kaunda, the father of Zambia’s first president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
 In 1923 the first welfare association was formed at Mwenzo in Northern Province, led by
David Kaunda, Donald Siwale, Hezekiya Kawosa and Peter Sinkala. It became a
platform through which Africans could express their social, economic and political
views. But with the transfer of Siwale and Kawosa, the association became inactive.
 In 1930 the Livingstone Native Association was formed under Isaac Nyirenda and Ernest
Matako.
 In 1946 Dauti Yamba (a primary school teacher) united all welfare societies to form the
Federation of Welfare Societies so that they could work together more effectively.

 In 1948 Northern Rhodesia African National Congress (NRANC), led by Godwin
Mbikusita Lewanika, developed from the Federation of Welfare Societies to become the
first political party.
 In 1951 Africa National Congress (ANC), led by Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula became
the new name for NRANC.
Trade Unions
 Another form of secondary resistance in Northern Rhodesia was through trade unions. On
the Copperbelt, African trade unions were formed in an attempt to secure better working
conditions for Africans.
 The need for African trade unions was made clear by the Copperbelt strikes of 1935 and
1940 and by the 1945 African Railway workers strike.
 In 1949 Northern Rhodesia African Mine workers Union (NRAMWU) was formed
under Lawrence Katilungu. It organized a strike in 1952 and gained higher wages and
better working conditions.
 The NRAMWU worked together with political parties that developed from welfare
societies to resist colonial rule.
SECONDARY RESISTANCE IN NYASALAND (MALAWI)
 In 1912 the colonial government in Nyasaland passed a District Administrative

Ordinance to prevent educated Africans from having a say in the colonial government.
This allowed for district councils in which only chiefs were allowed as representatives.
Chiefs were usually old and did not have missionary education. This was called indirect
rule.
 Indirect rule allowed the chiefs to keep their traditional powers, while at the same time
the colonial powers used these rulers to impose colonial rule on the African people.
Educated Africans felt ignored by this system, which led to the creation of the first welfare
societies:
a. In 1912 the North Nyasaland Native Association under the leadership of Levi Mumba,
with support from Dr Laws was formed.
b. In 1913 the Southern Province Native Association under the leadership of Gresham
Njilima (the son of one of the people killed during the Chilembwe uprising) was formed.
c. In 1920 the Mombera Native Association was formed
In 1944 the Native Associations came together to form the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC).
The NAC led the opposition to federation and later led the struggle for Nyasaland independence.
THE CENTRAL AFRICAN FEDERATION 1953-1963

 The Central African Federation, also known as the Federation of Rhodesia and
Nyasaland was formed in October 1953. Under this system, Nyasaland, Northern
Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia fell under one central government.
 The headquarters of the federation was in Salisbury (now Harare) in Southern Rhodesia.
 Many whites in both Southern and Northern Rhodesia were in favour of the
amalgamation or joining of the three countries. However, not all white settlers wanted to
amalgamate. Some white people believed that the rights of Africans had to be protected,
and that Northern Rhodesia should remain separate.
 The Passfield Memorandum of 1930 stated the principle of paramountcy of African
interests. This meant that the British government was in favour of the policies that
protected the interests of the Africans rather than those of white settlers.
 Africans in Northern Rhodesia had serious concerns about the federation, as they
believed that it would lead to the dominance of Southern Rhodesia. They were concerned
that the racial segregation that was widespread in Southern Rhodesia would spread to
Northern Rhodesia.
 Despite these concerns, the creation of the Central African Federation went ahead and
lasted for about ten (10) years.
 In 1949 representatives of the three governments (Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia
and Nyasaland) met at the Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) to discuss plans for the federation.
The two most important men at the meeting were Godffrey Huggins, the prime minister
of Southern Rhodesia and Roy Welensky, leader of the settlers in Northern Rhodesia.
 The meeting produced a plan for the federation but it was rejected by the Labour Party
government in England because Africans were not consulted.
 In 1951 there was another meeting at the Victoria Falls at which Africans were
represented. Despite opposition from the Africans in the two protectorates, at a further
conference in 1952 and 1953, the details of the federation were finalized and a
constitution was worked out.
 The first prime minister of the federal government was Godfrey Huggins (1953-56). He
was succeeded by Sir Roy Welensky (1956-63)
Reasons for the Federation
a. Most settlers (whites) in Southern Rhodesia supported the federation because they were
sure that their country would prosper or benefit economically from links with copper-rich
Northern Rhodesia
b. Africans in Southern Rhodesia supported federation because they believed that union
with Northern Rhodesia would bring the policy of the paramountcy of African interests to
their area.
c. The conservative government in Britain gave full support to the federation because they
believed that:

 The federation would result in economic stability because each territory was
economically dependent on a single export product i.e. Northern Rhodesia-copper;
Nyasaland-tea and Southern Rhodesia-tobacco. The economy of the federation would
be stronger because it would not rely on one product alone.
 Although Africans in the protectorates were opposed to the federation, the federation
constitution gave them full security. There was an African Affairs Board, which
existed to block bills which discriminated against Africans.
 A strong British state in Central Africa would balance South Africa, where apartheid
policies were being introduced by its Afrikaner government.
Reasons against the federation
a. Africans in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland opposed the federation because;

 They did not want any links with Southern Rhodesia where there were pass laws and
land and labour segregation.
 They feared that federation would be the step to a settler controlled domination of
Central Africa.
 They distrusted the idea of partnership when they had been used to a policy of
paramountcy of African interests. Robinson Nabulayato said, ‟partnership is a ladder
for Europeans to climb on us.”
b. Some of the settlers, the Boers who spoke Afrikaner language and originated from South
Africa did not want Southern Rhodesia to have any links with the protectorates (Northern
Rhodesia and Nyasaland). They had been used to racial segregation and disliked the talk
of partnership between the races.
c. The opposition Labour and Liberal parties in Britain argued that the federation should not
be forced on Africans in the protectorates against their wishes.
d. Both Africans and whites in Northern Rhodesia felt that those in Southern Rhodesia were
just interested in their copper mines.
e. Whites and Africans in Nyasaland felt that the federation would bring little benefit to
them, and would simply use them as a source of labour.

STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN CENTRAL AFRICA
NORTHERN RHODESIA (ZAMBIA)
Steps in the struggle for independence
 In 1948 the Northern Rhodesia African National Congress (NRANC) was formed with
Godwin Mbikusita Lewanika as the first president. The aim was to make petitions against
the proposed federation.
 In 1950 the Federation Committee started in Ndola by a group of young men such as
Justin Chimba, Simon Kapwepwe, Reuben Kamanga and Nephas Tembo to campaign
against the federation.
 In 1951 NRANC changed its name to the African National Congress (ANC) with Harry
Mwaanga Nkumbula as then leader. The ANC’s aim was to prevent the formation of the
federation. In March 1953, Nkumbula burned the British White Paper on the proposed
federation constitution and called for two days on national prayer.
 In 1958 the Zambia African National Congress (ZANC) was formed by young members
such as Simon Mwansa Kapwewe and Munakayumbwa Sipalo who felt that the ANC
was working too closely with the colonial powers. They elected Kenneth Kaunda as the
leader. The aim of ZANC was to unite Africans and to fight for independence. However,
ZANC was banned by the colonial government. Its leaders such as Kenneth Kaunda,
Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe and Munakayumbwa Sipalo were arrested.
 In 1959 the United National Independence party (UNIP) was created. Mainza Chona led
the party until Kenneth Kaunda was released from prison in 1960.
 In 1961 there was civil disobedience campaign called Cha cha cha in Northern, Luapula
and Copperbelt provinces. This led to roads being blocked, bridges destroyed and

government buildings and property burned down. The campaign led to the government
revising the constitution on condition that the violence was stopped.
 In 1962 elections, which were based on the new constitution, UNIP got 14 seats, ANC 7
seats and the United Federal Party (UFP) 10 seats. Kaunda and Nkumbula then formed a
coalition government. In 1964 self government was granted and thereafter, another
election followed on the basis of universal adult franchise (which meant that all adults
could vote). UNIP won 55 seats, the ANC got 10 seats and the NPP (the colonial
government’s National Progressive Party, the new name of the UFP) got 10 seats. UNIP
under Kenneth Kaunda got the majority of the seats. Kenneth Kaunda became the first
African Prime Minister.
 On 24th October 1964, Zambia became independent. Kaunda too over the administration
from Sir Evelyn Hone, the last British governor of Northern Rhodesia.
NYASALAND (MALAWI)
Nyasaland was the first of the three countries in Central Africa to become independent.
Reasons behind the struggle for independence
A number of factors led the people of Nyasaland to fight for independence:
a. Little economic benefit: although Nyasaland had the largest population of the three
countries that made up the Central African Federation, it gained the least from the
federation. It was mostly seen as the source of labour.
b. Unequal representation: the people of Nyasaland were unhappy that there was no
African representative on the Executive Council
c. Taxation: Africans in Nyasaland resented (hated) the loss of land to white settler
farmers, as well as the direct and indirect taxes that the Africans had to pay.
Stages in the struggle for independence
 In 1944 the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) was formed by leaders such as
Wellington Chirwa and Charles Matinga. It was formed basically to fight against
federation.
 In 1955 the Young Turks, a group of younger and more radical leaders such as H.
Chipembe, Chiume Yaleta Dunduza Chisiza and T.D Banda replaced the more moderate
leaders. Their aim was to achieve self-government.
 In March 1959 state of emergency was declared by the governor, Sir Robert Armitage,
after a series of violent clashes between congress members and colonial officials. There
were also strikes, riots and demonstrations.
 In July 1959, a new political party called Malawi Congress Party (MCP) was formed
under the leadership of Orton Chirwa. However, when Dr Hastinga Kamuzu Banda was
released from prison in 1960, he became the new leader of the MCP. Banda declared that

the MCP would continue fighting for the total independence of Malawi. The MCP was
becoming more militant because of widespread violent riots in the territory.
 In 1959 the Devlin Commission was set up by the colonial office in London to
investigate the causes of troubles in Nyasaland in 1955. In its report, the commission
stated that the violence resulted from widespread opposition to the federation and
people’s desire to rule themselves.
 In 1960 the Monckton Commission did further investigations and determined that there
was strong opposition to the federation in Nyasaland as well as Northern Rhodesia. It
recommended that the federation should come to an end.
 On 31st December, 1963 the federation came to an end and Nyasaland became
independent on 6th July 1964 under the name of Malawi with Dr Hastings Kamuzu
Banda as the first president.
SOUTHERN RHODESIA (ZIMBABWE)
Unlike Malawi and Zambia, Zimbabwe only became independent after a long period of armed
struggle. This was because the white settlers in Southern Rhodesia wanted government that did
not include Africans.
However, in 1960s, two important African political parties were formed:
a. Zimbabwe African people’s Party (ZAPU) led by Joshua Nkhomo.

b. Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) led by Ndabaningi Sitholi and Robert
Mugabe.
Stages in the struggle for independence
The main stages in the struggle for independence led by these two political parties are outlined
below:
 In 1962 the Rhodesia Front, led by Winston Field was formed by racist white groups.
 In 1963 ZAPU was banned by the government led by Field, after passing an emergency
law following disturbances in Bulawayo. Nkomo was forced into exile.
 In 1963 ZANU was formed when leaders such as Sithole and Mugabe broke away from
ZAPU because they wanted to start an armed struggle against the colonial government.
They gained the support of the rural African population. The Rhodesia Front government
responded by introducing the death penalty as punishment on any person found guilty of
making the country unstable. However, this did not discourage the nationalist
movements.
 In 1964, Ian Smith became the prime minister of the Rhodesia Front government. He
immediately began fighting for the right of the white government to become independent
from Britain.

 In 1965 the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), which meant that Ian Smith
declared Southern Rhodesia an independent republic, even though the British government
did not agree was declared. UDI was opposed by the British Commonwealth, the United
Nations and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
 In 1972 the Pearce Commission was appointed by the British government to find out
what Africans thought about Home’s proposed agreement. The commission’s findings
were that Africans in Southern Rhodesia were totally opposed to the agreement.
Meanwhile, the armed struggle by Africans against the Smith government continued.
 By 1978 the Liberation Struggle Movement had won the war. After negotiations, an
independent constitution was drawn up in preparation for elections.
 In April, 1980, ZANU won the election and Robert Mugabe became the prime minister
of an independent Zimbabwe until 1988 when they changed to presidency and he became
the first president of Zimbabwe.
STUDY AND EXAM SKILLS
How to approach tests and exams
Planning your time
 Read through your test or exam paper before you start writing
 Plan each time you will spend on each question
How to read questions
 Read the instructions twice to make sure you understand what to do.
 Note the mark allocation: e.g. give four facts if the question is for four marks.
How to answer the different kinds of questions
Questions with short answers
 Give one word only if you are asked to do so.

 Do not write full sentences unless you are asked to do so.
Questions that require longer answers
 Look at the mark allocation.

 Make sure you understand the instructions. For example, do you have to ‟compare” or
‟explain”?
 Plan your answers. Write down a few notes first on a rough piece of paper.
Essay- type questions
 Plan your work first by making a mind map or notes in pencil.

 Plan your ideas in paragraphs. Decide on one main idea for each paragraph.
 Then write your paragraphs. Explain each point clearly. Try to use the correct
vocabulary.
 Do not use unnecessary words- the examiner wants to see facts.
HINTS ON HOW TO CONSTRUCT A GOOD ESSAY IN HISTORY
1. Plan your work first by making a mind map or notes in pencil or pen.
2. Plan your ideas in paragraphs. Decide on one main idea for each paragraph.
3. List down the points by code names on a rough piece of paper e.g. if you are answering a
question on reasons for the partition of Africa, you can write code names like raw
materials, markets, Christianity, investment, labour, prestige etc.
4. Always check the number of marks in brackets; meaning the number of marks indicates
the number of points you are required to raise for a particular question.
5. Marks are not transferable from one part of the question to the other.
6. Always start with the question you think is the easiest for you.
7. Make sure that you attempt all questions in the paper. In this way, you will score more
marks unlike if you leave other questions unattended to.
A well written essay should have three parts namely; the introduction, the main body and the
conclusion.
INTRODUCTION
The introduction gives the reader/marker an idea of what the essay is about. It also indicates to
the reader how the question is going to be answered. The introduction can also contain
definitions and an outline of the points to be discussed. However, the introduction should be very
brief as it does not carry any marks.
MAIN BODY
This is where you now raise and expand points as demanded by the question.
 You write your points in paragraph form.

 Each point should form its own paragraph.
 Never write an essay in point form by using pointers e.g. -, *, numbering or writing sub-
headings. If you do so, you will be penalized by dividing whatever you get out of 20 by 2
 Observe rules of academic writing. Use capital letters where they are supposed to be e.g.
name of a person, country and when starting a sentence.
 Use appropriate punctuation marks e.g. comas, full stops etc
 Never use abbreviations in essays such as govt for government.
 Ensure you use the correct English and spellings.

CONCLUSION
This is the summary of the main body and it should be brief as it does not carry any marks.
GLOSSARY
Concessions: official documents giving concession seekers control of areas of land where they
could then search for minerals such as copper and gold.
Treaty: a formal agreement between one or more countries.
Amalgamation: joining
Paramountcy of African interests: British government policy that protected the interests of
Africans rather than those of white settlers.

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Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.

ED) © 2018 Page 1

ORIGINS OF THE BANTU SPEAKING PEOPE.

THE EARLY WAYS OF LIFE OF THE BANTU SPEAKING PEOPLE.

Social way of Life.

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 2

Religious Way of Life.

Economic Way of Life.

Political Way of Life.

CAUSES OF THE BANTU MIGRATIONS

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 3

Fig 01.(map showing the Bantu Migrations from Cameroon)

COURSE/DIRECTIONS/NATURE OF THE BANTU MIGRATIONS.

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 4

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LUBA AND LUNDA KINGDOMS OF THE KATANGA.

THE LUBA KINGDOM.

Development/Expansion of the First Luba Kingdom.

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 5

THE LUNDA KINGDOM.

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 6

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 7

Decline of the lunda kingdom of mwatayamvo

THE LUBA-LUNDA MIGRATIONS INTO CENTRAL AFRICA

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 8

THE LUNDA MIGRATIONS

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 9

EFFECTS/RESULTS OF THE LUBA-LUNDA MIGRATION.

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 10

CENTRAL AFRICAN KINGDOMS

ORIGIN OF THE KINGDOM

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 11

EXPANSION OF THE KINGDOM

Wars of conquest and tribute

Availability of natural resources

Long Distance Trade

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 12

Loyalty of subordinate chiefs

DECLINE OF THE KINGDOM

The Kazembe kingdom declined because of the following reasons.

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 13

Msiri and Yeke raids

Loss of eastern trade route

Disloyalty of subordinate chiefs

Internal political disorder

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 14

The BSA Company

THE BEMBA KINGDOM

EXPANSION OF THE KINGDOM

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 15

Results of the Ngoni raids

Long distance trade

Loyalty of subordinate chiefs

DECLINE OF THE KINGDOM

Compiled by Mpolwa B (B.A.ED) © 2018 Page 16

Loss of trade monopoly

Loss of centralization of power in the Miti clan

The BSA Company

THE LOZI KINGDOM

ORIGIN OF THE KINGDOM