Zambia Independence Act 1964

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Zambia Independence Act 1964
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Long title An Act to make provision for, and in connection with, the establishment of Northern Rhodesia, under the name of Zambia, as an independent republic within the Commonwealth.
Citation 1964 c. 65
Introduced by Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
Dates
Royal assent 31 July 1964
Status: Current legislation
Revised text of statute as amended
Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire introduced the bill to Parliament Andrew Robert 11th Duke of Devonshire.jpg
Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire introduced the bill to Parliament

The Zambia Independence Act 1964 (c. 65) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which granted independence to Zambia (formerly the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia) with effect from 24 October 1964. It also provided for the continuation of a right of appeal from Zambia to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. It was introduced by Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations.

Contents

Background

British South Africa Company

In 1888, the British South Africa Company (BSA Company), led by Cecil Rhodes, obtained mineral rights from the Litunga of the Lozi people, the Paramount Chief of the Lozi (Ba-rotse) for the area which later became Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia. [1]

Cecil Rhodes CecilRhodes.jpg
Cecil Rhodes

To the east, in December 1897 a group of the Angoni or Ngoni (originally from Zululand) rebelled under Tsinco, son of King Mpezeni, but the rebellion was put down, [2] and Mpezeni accepted the Pax Britannica. That part of the country then came to be known as North-Eastern Rhodesia. In 1895, Rhodes asked his American scout Frederick Russell Burnham to look for minerals and ways to improve river navigation in the region, and it was during this trek that Burnham discovered major copper deposits along the Kafue River. [3]

North-Eastern Rhodesia and Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia were administered as separate units until 1911 when they were merged to form Northern Rhodesia, a British protectorate. In 1923, the BSA Company ceded control of Northern Rhodesia to the British Government after the government decided not to renew the Company's charter.

British colonisation

In 1923, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), a conquered territory that was also administered by the BSA Company, became a self-governing British colony. In 1924, after negotiations, the administration of Northern Rhodesia transferred to the British Colonial Office.

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

Stamp with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1955 Rodesia e Niassalandia 32.jpg
Stamp with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1955

In 1953, the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland grouped together Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland (now Malawi) as a single semi-autonomous region. This was undertaken despite opposition from a sizeable minority of the population, who demonstrated against it in 1960–61. [4] Northern Rhodesia was the center of much of the turmoil and crisis characterizing the federation in its last years. Initially, Harry Nkumbula's African National Congress (ANC) led the campaign, which Kenneth Kaunda's United National Independence Party (UNIP) subsequently took up.

Independence

A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia's secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new National Assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise.

The federation was dissolved on 31 December 1963, and in January 1964, Kaunda won the only election for Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia. The Colonial Governor, Sir Evelyn Hone, was very close to Kaunda and urged him to stand for the post. Soon after, there was an uprising in the north of the country known as the Lumpa Uprising led by Alice Lenshina – Kaunda's first internal conflict as leader of the nation.

Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964, with Kenneth Kaunda as the first president. At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. This expertise was provided in part by John Willson CMG. There were over 70,000 Europeans resident in Zambia in 1964, and they remained of disproportionate economic significance.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambia</span> Country at the crossroads of Central and Southern Africa

Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.

The history of Zambia experienced many stages from colonization to independence from Britain on October 24, 1964. Northern Rhodesia became a British sphere of influence in the present-day region of Zambia in 1888, and was officially proclaimed a British protectorate in 1924. After many years of suggested mergers, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland were merged into the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Rhodesia</span> 1911–1964 British protectorate in Africa

Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia. It was initially administered, as were the two earlier protectorates, by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), a chartered company, on behalf of the British Government. From 1924, it was administered by the British Government as a protectorate, under similar conditions to other British-administered protectorates, and the special provisions required when it was administered by BSAC were terminated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Rhodesia</span> British colony from 1923 to 1964 and from 1979 to 1980

Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as south Zambesia until annexed by Britain at the behest of Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company, for whom the colony was named. The bounding territories were Bechuanaland (Botswana), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Moçambique (Mozambique), and the Transvaal Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Zambia</span> National flag

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">British South Africa Company</span> 1889–1965 British mining and colonial enterprises company

The British South Africa Company was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expected mineral wealth of Mashonaland but united because of common economic interests and to secure British government backing. The company received a Royal Charter modelled on that of the British East India Company. Its first directors included The 2nd Duke of Abercorn, Rhodes himself, and the South African financier Alfred Beit. Rhodes hoped BSAC would promote colonisation and economic exploitation across much of south-central Africa, as part of the "Scramble for Africa". However, his main focus was south of the Zambezi, in Mashonaland and the coastal areas to its east, from which he believed the Portuguese could be removed by payment or force, and in the Transvaal, which he hoped would return to British control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodesia (region)</span> Historical region in southern Africa

Rhodesia, known initially as Zambesia, is a historical region in southern Africa whose formal boundaries evolved between the 1890s and 1980. Demarcated and named by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), which governed it until the 1920s, it thereafter saw administration by various authorities. It was bisected by a natural border, the Zambezi. The territory to the north of the Zambezi was officially designated Northern Rhodesia by the company, and has been Zambia since 1964; that to the south, which the company dubbed Southern Rhodesia, became Zimbabwe in 1980. Northern and Southern Rhodesia were sometimes informally called "the Rhodesias".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North-Western Rhodesia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lozi people</span> Ethnic group in Zambia and Zimbabwe

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barotseland</span> Place in southern Africa

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Zambia</span> Overview of and topical guide to Zambia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland</span> British territory from 1953 to 1963

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It existed between 1953 and 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lusaka</span> Capital of Zambia

Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about 1,279 metres (4,196 ft). As of 2019, the city's population was about 3.3 million, while the urban population is estimated at 2.5 million in 2018. Lusaka is the centre of both commerce and government in Zambia and connects to the country's four main highways heading north, south, east, and west. English is the official language of the city administration, while Bemba, Tonga, Lenje, Soli, Lozi, and Nyanja are the commonly spoken street languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Zambia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Zimbabwe</span>

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Timeline of Zambia (Northern Rhodesia)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambian nationality law</span>

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References

  1. Livingstone Tourism Association. "Destination:Zambia – History and Culture". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  2. Human Rights & Documentation Centre. "Zambia: Historical Background". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  3. Burnham, Frederick Russell (1899). "Northern Rhodesia". In Wills, Walter H. (ed.). Bulawayo Up-to-date; Being a General Sketch of Rhodesia  . Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. pp. 177–180.
  4. Pearson Education. "Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Federation of" . Retrieved 29 October 2007.