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14
General Information
The discovery and development of the rich underground
mineral ore bodies along the Zambian Copperbelt in the
late 1920’s and 1930’s would turn the small region - 120
km long by 40 km wide – into one of the worlds’ most
infamous concentrated and mineral rich mining regions.
Over the years, the industry came to be controlled by
two large groups, the South African Anglo American
Corporation, and Roan Selection Trust with a predomi-
nantly US shareholders.
Extraction of minerals required a large labour force,
which drew on Zambians from all over the territory
that were attracted to the Copperbelt by such employ-
ment opportunities. In 1948, the first African Minework-
ers Union was formed; in 1955 there was a complete
shutdown of mining operations over pay conditions that
lasted 58 days - ending with victory for the miners. As
a result the mining companies seriously began to ac-
commodate workers needs and facilitated the move of
Africans into management positions.
African nationalist sentiments had been growing since
the First World War, in which many Zambians fought for
the Allies in Burma. The end of the 1940’s gave way to
the formation of the Northern Rhodesia African Nation-
alist Congress. Led by Harry Nkumbula, the Congress
was formed by various WelfareAssociations initiated by
the ‘mission graduates’ of the pre-war decades to ad-
dress the need of independence.
The nationalist movement was thrust forward in
the early 1950’s when the Colonial Office agreed
to merge Northern Rhodesia into a Federation with
Nyasaland (Malawi), a British ‘protectorate’, and
Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). Southern Rho-
desia, under White settler rule, was bankrupt, and
sought to exploit Northern Rhodesia and its copper
wealth.
Zambian opposition to such Federation was not
strong enough to prevent its imposition in 1953. Dur-
ing its ten years of existence, the White settlers de-
veloped an impressive economic structure.
In the mid-fifties, the failed campaign against Fed-
eration became a struggle transformed into a move-
ment for full independence. When battle-weary
Nkumbula seemed weary to step up to the task,
he bore witness to a split of the ANC. Younger and
more dynamic nationalists formed first the Zambia
African National Congress (which was banned and
its leaders imprisoned) and then in 1958, the United
National Independence Party. Emerging from deten-
tion, the charismatic activist, Kenneth David Kaunda,
became leader the new party. UNIP engaged in a
continuous and largely peaceful campaign for inde-
pendence.
By 1960 the British Government had acknowledged
that the days of colonial (or minority) rule on the
Copper
Federation
Freedom statue
Nchelenge - slave trade cavesent