Alternative History
Republic of Zambia
Timeline: Differently
Flag of Zambia Coat of Arms of Zambia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: 
"One Zambia, one nation"
Anthem: 
Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free
Zambia map Differently
Map of Zambia
Capital
(and largest city)
Lusaka
Official languages English, Swahili
Government Unitary presidential republic
 -  President Hakainde Hichilema
 -  Vice President Inonge Wina
Establishment
 -  Independence from the United Kingdom October 24, 1964 
Area
 -  Total 752,618 km2 
290,587 sq mi 
Population
 -  Estimate 17,003,000 (2018) (72nd)
Drives on the left

Zambia (/ˈzæmbiə, ˈzɑːm-/), officially the Republic of Zambia (Tonga: Cisi ca Zambia; Nyanja: Dziko la Zambia), is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, but it is usually considered as being in South-Central Africa (although some sources consider it part of East Africa). Its neighbours are Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Nyasaland to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south and Angola to the west. The capital city 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 northwest, the core economic hubs of the country.

Its surface area of 752,618 square kilometers makes Zambia the 13th-largest country in Africa and the 41st-largest in the world. With a population of over 17 million inhabitants, it is the 20th-most populous country in Africa and the 72nd in the world.

History[]

Pre-colonization[]

Zambia once was inhabited by the Khoisan and Batwa peoples until around AD 300 when migrating Bantu began to settle the areas. It is believed the Khoisan people originated in East Africa and spread southwards around 150,000 years ago. The Twa people were split into the Kafwe Twa lived around the Kafue Flats, and the Lukanga Twa who lived around the Lukanga Swamp. Examples of rock art like the Mwela Rock Paintings, Mumbwa Caves, and Nachikufu Cave, are attributed to these hunter-gatherers. The Khoisan and the Twa formed a patron-client relationship with farming Bantu peoples across central and southern Africa and were eventually either displaced by or absorbed into the Bantu groups. A Kingdom known as Barotesland had formed in the western portion of Zambia and it became a vassal of the Kongo Empire after the Empire had conquered it.

The Kingdom of Barotseland had remained a vassal of the Kongo Empire until being taken over by the British during the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century.

Colonization[]

The British had colonized the area in the 19th Century, the Kingdom of Barotseland had become a British puppet state in order to protect itself from the expansionist Belgian ruled Congo who had defeated its former master state of the Kongo Empire and abolished it. In the 1930s, there was trouble between the Barotse and the Balovale and Balunda tribes who occupied the land to the north of the land occupied by the Barotse. The Barotse claimed that these were vassal tribes, while they claimed that they were not. Eventually, the Government set up a Commission to adjudicate, and the Barotse won and this resulted in the Balovale and Balunda leaning Republican. The British had decided to make Barotseland an independent Kingdom and the Barotse had made the British promise to keep them an independent nation which the British decided to honor that promise no matter what the League of Nations decides.

Republican Revolution[]

A revolution against the Kingdom by the Balovale and Balunda tribes had resulted in the Kingdom of Barotseland being abolished and the royals ousted from power. The British had the desire to honor their promise to Barotseland and wage war against the republicans in order to keep Barotseland independent. However the League of Nations ordered Britain to stop it as they feared that the Soviet Union could intervene in the conflict on the side of Balovale and Balunda tribes and use them to establish a communist regime that could cause trouble for British colonial interests in the region. Britain had no choice but to stop backing Barotseland, and Britain had told Barotseland's royals that they were forbidden to honor their promise to Barotseland by the League of Nations in order to prevent a civil war. Barotseland realizing the League of Nations had forced Britain to break their promise to keep them independent had decided to send their royals into exile and allow the Republicans to annex them and create the nation of Zambia.

Socialist Rule (1964 - 1975)[]

Zambia was established as a Republic in the year of 1964 and the first president of the Republic was Kenneth Kaunda. Supported by the Soviet Union, Kaunda would successfully lead Zambia's independence movement to victory in 1964 after leading a large-scale civil disobedience campaign across the colony of Northern Rhodesia (what would become Zambia). As President, Kaunda would support nationalization of key industries in Zambia, such as mineral extraction and chemicals. Kaunda sought to avoid becoming too dependent on the League of Nations for development, fearing Zambia going into debt to foreign powers. However, many liberal critics of Kaunda believed his hesitance to embrace free markets stunted Zambia's growth early on. However, supporters of Kaunda have argued that Zambia ended up developing stronger domestic institutions as a result of Kaunda's nationalization efforts.

The University of Zambia would be established in Lusaka in 1966 as part of the Kaunda government's efforts to increase education in a post-colonial Africa. These measures would prove widely popular among the Zambian public. Despite this initial popularity, Kaunda's popularity would continue to decline the longer he stayed in office. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1975, discontent grew in Zambia and people began calling for multi-party elections. Under pressure from military and civilian leadership, Kaunda called an election to be held on November 10th, 1975.

Multi-Party Democracy (1975 - 2018)[]

The 1975 elections were the first free and fair elections held in Zambian history. Kaunda under the United National Independence Party would lose re-election to Frederick Chiluba and the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy Party. The Movement for Multi-Party Democracy Party would hold power for over 30 years until 2005. During this period. the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy Party would attempt to emulate the reforms seen within the Congo.

War in Zambia (2018 - 2022)[]

After a border skirmish with Warrenia turned violent, the Swartist Brotherhood would begin a full-scale invasion of the country on March 6th, 2018. Fighting would last for about 4 weeks and ended in a ceasefire. The Swartist Brotherhood would occupy the western portions of the country up to the city of Kalabo. Border skirmishes would continue for the next 5 years, usually along the Zambezi River.

Great African War (2022 - Present)[]

In 2022, a dispute between Avizia and the Congo would trigger the Great African War, leading to the resumption of full-scale conflict in Zambia and across the rest of Southern Africa. Zambia, with the aid of their partners in the Congolese Coalition, successfully repelled invasion. The entirety of Zambia would be united once more after the conclusion of the war.

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