Independent Baptist Friends International

Zambia has been inhabited for thousands of years by hunter-gatherers and migrating tribes and then most likely by descendants from Mzilikazi's tribe. After sporadic visits by European explorers starting in the 18th century, Zambia became, by the agreement of the local chiefs, the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. For most of the colonial period, the country was governed by an administration comprising no more than about 400 expatriate Britons - which could not have happened without the approval of the local population.

On 24 October 1964, the protectorate was granted independence by the United Kingdom and became a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The new name of Zambia was derived from the Zambezi river which flows through the country. Zambia was governed by president Kenneth Kaunda of the socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) from 1964 until 1991. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a one-party state with UNIP the sole legal political party. From 1991 to 2002, Zambia was governed by president Frederick Chiluba of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy. Levy Mwanawasa was the third President of Zambia. He presided over the country from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. He is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the country of the corruption which was introduced (from the highest level) with Independence.

The World Bank in 2010 named Zambia as one of the world's fastest economically reforming countries.

Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zambia
• http://www.flickr.com/places/info/23425003/
• http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=zambia