{"id":9232,"date":"2022-06-28T04:00:09","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/?p=9232"},"modified":"2022-06-28T10:53:32","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T17:53:32","slug":"zambia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/zambia\/","title":{"rendered":"Zambia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/h2>\n

Zambia, officially the\u00a0Republic of Zambia, is a\u00a0landlocked country<\/a>\u00a0at the crossroads of\u00a0Central<\/a>,\u00a0Southern<\/a>\u00a0and East Africa.<\/sup>\u00a0Its neighbors are the\u00a0Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a>\u00a0to the north,\u00a0Tanzania<\/a>\u00a0to the north-east,\u00a0Malawi<\/a>\u00a0to the east,\u00a0Mozambique<\/a>\u00a0to the southeast,\u00a0Zimbabwe<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Botswana<\/a>\u00a0to the south,\u00a0Namibia<\/a>\u00a0to the southwest, and\u00a0Angola<\/a>\u00a0to the west. The capital city of Zambia is\u00a0Lusaka<\/a>, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around\u00a0Lusaka<\/a>\u00a0in the south and the\u00a0Copperbelt Province<\/a> to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.<\/p>\n

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Downtown Lusaka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Originally inhabited by\u00a0Khoisan<\/a>\u00a0peoples, the region was affected by the\u00a0Zambie expansion<\/a>\u00a0of the thirteenth century. Following\u00a0European explorers<\/a>\u00a0in the eighteenth century, the British\u00a0colonized<\/a>\u00a0the region into the\u00a0British protectorates<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Barotseland-North-Western Rhodesia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0North-Eastern Rhodesia<\/a>\u00a0towards the end of the nineteenth century. These were merged in 1911 to form\u00a0Northern Rhodesia<\/a>. For most of the colonial period, Zambia was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the\u00a0British South Africa Company<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Zambia on the Globe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On 24 October 1964, Zambia became independent of the United Kingdom and prime minister\u00a0Zambie<\/a>\u00a0became the inaugural\u00a0president<\/a>. Kaunda’s\u00a0socialist<\/a>\u00a0United National Independence Party<\/a>\u00a0(UNIP) maintained power from 1964 until 1991. Kaunda played a key role in regional diplomacy, cooperating closely with the United States in search of solutions to conflicts in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia.<\/sup>\u00a0From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a\u00a0one-party state<\/a>\u00a0with UNIP as the sole legal political party under the motto “One Zambia, One Nation” coined by Kaunda. Kaunda was succeeded by\u00a0Frederick Chiluba<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0social-democratic<\/a>\u00a0Movement for Multi-Party Democracy<\/a>\u00a0in 1991, beginning a period of social-economic growth and government\u00a0decentralization<\/a>. Zambia has since become a multi-party state and has experienced several\u00a0peaceful transitions of power<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zambia contains abundant natural resources, including minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater and arable land.<\/sup>\u00a0In 2010, the\u00a0World Bank<\/a>\u00a0named Zambia one of the world’s fastest economically reformed countries.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa<\/a>\u00a0(COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka.<\/p>\n

History:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Prehistoric era:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Archaeological excavation<\/a>\u00a0work on the\u00a0Zambezi Valley<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Kalambo Falls<\/a>\u00a0show a succession of human cultures. Ancient camping site tools near the\u00a0Kalambo Falls<\/a>\u00a0have been\u00a0radiocarbon dated<\/a>\u00a0to more than 36,000 years ago.<\/p>\n

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Homo rhodesiensis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fossil skull remains of\u00a0Broken Hill Man (also known as Kabwe Man)<\/a>, dated between 300,000 and 125,000 years BC, further shows that the area was inhabited by early humans.\u00a0Broken Hill Man<\/a>\u00a0was discovered in Zambia to be specific in Kabwe District.<\/p>\n

Khoisan and Batwa:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Ancient Rock Art in Nsalu Cave, Kasanka National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The area of modern Zambia is known to have been inhabited by the <\/span>Khoisan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Batwa<\/a>\u00a0peoples until around AD 300, when migrating\u00a0<\/span>Bantu<\/a>\u00a0began to settle around these areas.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0It is believed the\u00a0<\/span>Khoisan<\/a>\u00a0people groups originated in East Africa and spread southwards around 150,000 years ago. The Twa people were split into two groups. One, the\u00a0<\/span>Kafwe Twa<\/a>, lived around the\u00a0<\/span>Kafue Flats<\/a>\u00a0while the other, the\u00a0<\/span>Lukanga Twa<\/a>, lived around the\u00a0<\/span>Lukanga Swamp<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Many examples of ancient rock art in Zambia, like those of the\u00a0<\/span>Mwela Rock Paintings<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Mumbwa Caves<\/a>, and Nachikufu Cave, are attributed to these early\u00a0<\/span>hunter-gatherer<\/a>\u00a0groups. The Khoisan and especially the Twa formed a\u00a0<\/span>patron-client relationship<\/a>\u00a0with farming Bantu peoples across central and southern Africa but were eventually either displaced by or absorbed into the Bantu groups.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span>The Bantu (Abantu):<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Bantu people or Abantu (meaning people) are an enormous and diverse\u00a0ethnolinguistic group<\/a>\u00a0that comprise the majority of people in much of\u00a0East<\/a>,\u00a0Southern<\/a>\u00a0and Central Africa. Due to Zambia’s location at the crossroads of Central Africa, Southern Africa, and the\u00a0African Great Lakes<\/a>, the history of the people that constitute modern Zambians is a history of these three regions.<\/p>\n

Many of the historical events in these three regions happened simultaneously, and thus Zambia’s history, like many African nation’s, cannot be presented perfectly chronologically. The early history of the peoples of modern Zambia is deduced from oral records,\u00a0archaeology<\/a>, and written records, mostly from non-Africans.<\/p>\n

Bantu origins<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
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Batonga fisherwomen in Southern Zambia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Bantu people originally lived in\u00a0West<\/a>\u00a0and Central Africa around what is today\u00a0Cameroon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Nigeria<\/a>. Around 4000 to 3000 years ago they began a millennia-long expansion into much of the continent. This event has been called the\u00a0Bantu expansion<\/a>; it was one of the largest human migrations in history. The Bantu are believed to have been the first to have brought\u00a0iron working<\/a>\u00a0technology into large parts of Africa. The Bantu Expansion happened primarily through two routes: a western one via the\u00a0Congo Basin<\/a> and an eastern one via the African Great Lakes.<\/p>\n

First Bantu settlement:<\/span><\/h4>\n

The first Bantu people to arrive in Zambia came through the eastern route via the African Great Lakes. They arrived around the first millennium C.E, and among them were the\u00a0Tonga people<\/a>\u00a0(also called Ba-Tonga, “Ba-” meaning “men”) and the\u00a0Ba-Ila<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Namwanga<\/a>\u00a0and other related groups who settled around\u00a0Southern Zambia<\/a>\u00a0near\u00a0Zimbabwe<\/a>. Ba-Tonga oral records indicate that they came from the east near the “big sea”.<\/p>\n

They were later joined by the\u00a0Ba-Tumbuka<\/a>\u00a0who settled around\u00a0Eastern Zambia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Malawi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These first Bantu people lived in large villages. They lacked an organized unit under a chief or headman and worked as a community and help each other in times of field preparation for their crops. Villages moved around frequently as the soil became exhausted as a result of the slash-and-burn<\/a> technique of planting crops. The people also keep large herds of cattle, which formed an important part of their societies.<\/p>\n

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Ruins of\u00a0Great Zimbabwe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The first Bantu communities in Zambia were highly self-sufficient. Early <\/span>European missionaries<\/a>\u00a0who settled in\u00a0<\/span>Southern Zambia<\/a>\u00a0noted the independence of these Bantu societies. One of these missionaries noted: “[If] weapons for war, hunting, and domestic purposes are needed, the [Tonga] man goes to the hills and digs until he finds the iron ore. He smelts it and with the iron thus obtained makes axes, hoes, and other useful implements. He burns wood and makes charcoal for his forge. His bellows are made from the skins of animals and the pipes are clay tile, and the anvil and hammers are also pieces of the iron he has obtained. He molds, welds, shapes, and performs all the work of the ordinary blacksmith.” <\/sup>These early Bantu settlers also participated in the trade at the site\u00a0<\/span>Ingombe Ilede<\/a>\u00a0(which translate sleeping cow in\u00a0<\/span>Chi-Tonga<\/a>\u00a0because the fallen baobab tree appears to resembles a cow) in\u00a0<\/span>Southern Zambia<\/a>. At this trading site they met numerous\u00a0<\/span>Kalanga<\/a>\/<\/span>Shona<\/a>\u00a0traders from\u00a0<\/span>Great Zimbabwe<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Swahili<\/a>\u00a0traders from the East African\u00a0<\/span>Swahili coast<\/a>. Ingombe Ilede was one of the most important trading posts for rulers of Great Zimbabwe, others being the Swahili port cities like\u00a0<\/span>Sofala<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The goods traded at Ingombe Ilede included fabrics, beads, gold, and bangles. Some of these items came from what is today southern\u00a0Democratic Republic of Congo<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Kilwa Kisiwani<\/a>\u00a0while others came from as far away as\u00a0India<\/a>, China and the\u00a0Arab world<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The African traders were later joined by the\u00a0Portuguese<\/a> in the 16th century.<\/p>\n

The decline of Great Zimbabwe, due to increasing trade competition from other\u00a0Kalanga<\/a>\/Shona<\/a>\u00a0kingdoms like\u00a0Khami<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mutapa<\/a>, spelt the end of\u00a0Ingombe Ilede<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Second Bantu settlement:<\/span><\/h4>\n

The second mass settlement of\u00a0Bantu people<\/a>\u00a0into Zambia was of people groups that are believed to have taken the western route of the Bantu migration through the\u00a0Congo Basin<\/a>. These Bantu people spent the majority of their existence in what is today the\u00a0Democratic Republic of Congo<\/a> and are ancestors of the majority of modern Zambians.<\/p>\n

While there is some evidence that the\u00a0Bemba people<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0AbaBemba<\/a>\u00a0have a strong ancient connection to the\u00a0Kongo Kingdom<\/a>\u00a0through\u00a0BaKongo<\/a>\u00a0ruler\u00a0Mwene Kongo VIII Mvemba<\/a>, this is not well documented.<\/p>\n

Luba-Lunda states:<\/span><\/h5>\n
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Drawing of the ruler of\u00a0Lunda,\u00a0Mwata Kazembe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Bemba, along with other related groups like the <\/span>Lamba<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Bisa<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Senga<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Kaonde<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Swaka<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Nkoya<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Soli<\/a>, formed integral parts of the\u00a0<\/span>Luba Kingdom<\/a>\u00a0in Upemba part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and have a strong relation to the\u00a0<\/span>BaLuba people<\/a>. The area which the Luba Kingdom occupied has been inhabited by early farmers and iron workers since the 300s C.E.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Over time these communities learned to use\u00a0nets<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0harpoons<\/a>, make\u00a0dugout canoes<\/a>, clear\u00a0canals<\/a>\u00a0through swamps and make dams as high as 2.5 meters. As a result, they grew a\u00a0diverse economy<\/a>\u00a0trading fish, copper and iron items and salt for goods from other parts of Africa, like the\u00a0Swahili coast<\/a>\u00a0and, later on, the Portuguese. From these communities arose the\u00a0Luba Kingdom<\/a> in the 14th century.<\/p>\n

The Luba Kingdom was a large kingdom with a\u00a0centralized government<\/a>\u00a0and smaller independent\u00a0chiefdoms<\/a>. It had large trading networks that linked the forests in the\u00a0Congo Basin<\/a>\u00a0and the mineral-rich plateaus of what is today\u00a0Copperbelt Province<\/a>\u00a0and stretched from the\u00a0Atlantic coast<\/a> to the Indian Ocean coast. The arts were also held in high esteem in the kingdom, and artisans were held in high regard.<\/p>\n

Literature was well developed in the\u00a0Luba Kingdom<\/a>. One renowned\u00a0Luba<\/a>\u00a0genesis story that articulated the distinction between two types of Luba emperors goes as follows:<\/p>\n

“Nkongolo Mwamba<\/a>, the red king, and\u00a0Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe<\/a>, a prince of legendary black complexion. Nkongolo Mwamba is the drunken and cruel despot, Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe the refined and gentle prince. Nkongolo the Red is a man without manners, a man who eats in public, gets drunk, and cannot control himself, whereas [Ilunga] Mbidi Kiluwe is a man of reservation, obsessed with good manners; he does not eat in public, controls his language and his behaviour, and keeps a distance from the vices and modus vivendi of ordinary people. Nkongolo Mwamba symbolizes the embodiment of tyranny, whereas Mbidi Kiluwe remains the admired caring and compassionate kin.”<\/p>\n

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A drawing of\u00a0Lunda\u00a0houses by a Portuguese visitor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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In the same region of Southern Congo the <\/span>Lunda people<\/a>\u00a0were made into a satellite of the\u00a0<\/span>Luba empire<\/a>\u00a0and adopted forms of Luba culture and governance, thus becoming the\u00a0<\/span>Lunda Empire<\/a>\u00a0to the south. According to Lunda genesis myths, a Luba hunter named\u00a0<\/span>Chibinda Ilunga<\/a>, son of\u00a0<\/span>Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe<\/a>, introduced the Luba model of statecraft to the Lunda sometime around 1600 when he married a local Lunda princess named Lueji and was granted control of her kingdom. Most rulers who claimed descent from Luba ancestors were integrated into the Luba empire. The Lunda kings, however, remained separate and actively expanded their political and economic dominance over the region.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Lunda, like its parent state Luba, also traded with both coasts, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. While ruler\u00a0Mwaant Yaav Naweej<\/a>\u00a0had established trade routes to the Atlantic coast and initiated direct contact with European traders eager for\u00a0slaves<\/a>\u00a0and forest products and controlling the regional Copper trade, and settlements around\u00a0Lake Mweru<\/a>\u00a0regulated commerce with the\u00a0East African coast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Luba-Lunda states eventually declined as a result of both\u00a0Atlantic slave trade<\/a>\u00a0in the west and\u00a0Indian Ocean slave trade<\/a>\u00a0in the east and wars with breakaway factions of the kingdoms. The\u00a0Chokwe<\/a>, a group that is closely related to the\u00a0Luvale<\/a>\u00a0and formed a Lunda satellite state, initially suffered from the European demand for slaves, but once they broke away from the Lunda state, they themselves became notorious slave traders, exporting slaves to both coasts.<\/p>\n

The Chokwe eventually were defeated by the other ethnic groups and the Portuguese.<\/sup>\u00a0This instability caused the collapse of the Luba-Lunda states and a dispersal of people into various parts of Zambia from the\u00a0Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a>. The majority of Zambians trace their ancestry to the Luba-Lunda and surrounding Central African states.<\/p>\n

The Maravi Confederacy:<\/span><\/h5>\n

In the 1200s, before the founding of the Luba-Lunda states, a group of Bantu people started migrating from the\u00a0Congo Basin<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Lake Mweru<\/a>\u00a0then finally settled around\u00a0Lake Malawi<\/a>. These migrants are believed to have been one of the inhabitants around the\u00a0Upemba<\/a>\u00a0area in the\u00a0Democratic Republic of Congo<\/a>. By the 1400s these groups of migrants collectively called the Maravi, and most prominently among them was the\u00a0Chewa people<\/a>\u00a0(AChewa), who started assimilating other Bantu groups like the\u00a0Tumbuka<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The kalonga (ruler) of the\u00a0AChewa\u00a0today descends from the kalonga of the Maravi Empire.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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In 1480 the <\/span>Maravi<\/a>\u00a0Empire was founded by the kalonga (paramount chief of the Maravi) from the Phiri clan, one of the main clans, with the others being Banda, Mwale and Nkhoma. The Maravi Empire stretched from the Indian Ocean through what today is\u00a0<\/span>Mozambique<\/a>\u00a0to Zambia and large parts of\u00a0<\/span>Malawi<\/a>. The political organization of the Maravi resembled that of the Luba and is believed to have originated from there. The primary export of the Maravi was ivory, which was transported to Swahili brokers.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Iron was also manufactured and exported. In the 1590s the\u00a0Portuguese<\/a> endeavored to take monopoly over Maravi export trade. This attempt was met with outrage by the Maravi of Lundu, who unleashed their WaZimba armed force. The WaZimba sacked the Portuguese trade towns of Tete, Sena and various other towns.<\/p>\n

The Maravi are also believed to have brought the traditions that would become\u00a0Nyau<\/a>\u00a0secret society from\u00a0Upemba<\/a>. The Nyau form the cosmology or indigenous religion of the people of Maravi. The\u00a0Nyau<\/a> society consists of ritual dance performances and masks used for the dances; this belief system spread around the region.<\/p>\n

The Maravi declined as a result of succession disputes within the confederacy, attack by the\u00a0Ngoni<\/a>\u00a0and slave raids from the\u00a0Yao<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mutapa Empire and Mfecane<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n
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Three young\u00a0Ngoni\u00a0chiefs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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As <\/span>Great Zimbabwe<\/a>\u00a0was in decline, one of its prince’s,\u00a0<\/span>Nyatsimba Mutota<\/a>, broke away from the state forming a new empire called\u00a0<\/span>Mutapa<\/a>. The title of Mwene Mutapa, meaning “Ravager of the Lands”, was bestowed on him and subsequent rulers.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Mutapa Empire ruled territory between the\u00a0Zambezi<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Limpopo<\/a>\u00a0rivers, in what is now Zambia,\u00a0Zimbabwe<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mozambique<\/a>, from the 14th to the 17th century. By its, peak Mutapa had conquered the Dande area of the\u00a0Tonga<\/a>\u00a0and Tavara. The Mutapa Empire predominately engaged in the Indian Ocean transcontinental trade with and via the\u00a0WaSwahili<\/a>. The primary exported gold and ivory for silk and ceramics from Asia.<\/p>\n

Like their contemporaries in\u00a0Maravi<\/a>, Mutapa had problems with the arriving\u00a0Portuguese<\/a>\u00a0traders. The peak of this uneasy relationship was reached when the Portuguese attempted to influence the kingdoms internal affairs by establishing markets in the kingdom and converting the population to Christianity. This action caused outrage by the\u00a0Muslim<\/a>\u00a0WaSwahili living in the capital, this chaos gave the Portuguese the\u00a0excuse they were searching for<\/a> to warrant an attack on the kingdom and try to control its gold mines and ivory routes. This attack failed when the Portuguese succumbed to disease along the Zambezi river.<\/p>\n

In the 1600s internal disputes and civil war began the decline of Mutapa. The weakened kingdom was finally conquered by the Portuguese and was eventually taken over by rival\u00a0Shona<\/a>\u00a0states.<\/sup><\/p>\n

The Portuguese also had vast estates, known as Prazos, and they used slaves and ex-slaves as security guards and hunters. They trained the men in military tactics and gave them guns. These men became expert elephant hunters and were known as the\u00a0Chikunda<\/a>. After the decline of the Portuguese the Chikunda made their way to Zambia.<\/p>\n

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Inside the palace of the Litunga, ruler of the Lozi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Portuguese presence in the region was also a major reason for the founding of the\u00a0Rozvi Empire<\/a>, a breakaway state of Mutapa. The ruler of the Rozvi,\u00a0Changamire Dombo<\/a>, became one of the most powerful leaders in South-Central Africa’s history. Under his leadership, the Rozvi defeated the Portuguese and expelled them from their trading posts along the Zambezi river.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the most notable instance of this increased militarization was the rise of the\u00a0Zulu<\/a>\u00a0under the leadership of\u00a0Shaka<\/a>. Pressures from the\u00a0English colonialists<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Cape<\/a>\u00a0and increased militarization of the Zulu resulted in the\u00a0Mfecane<\/a>\u00a0(the crushing). The Zulu expanded by assimilating the women and children of tribes they defeated, if the men of these\u00a0Nguni tribes<\/a> escaped slaughter, they used the military tactics of the Zulu to attack other groups.<\/p>\n

This caused mass displacements, wars and raids throughout Southern, Central and Eastern Africa as\u00a0Nguni<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Ngoni<\/a>\u00a0tribes made their way throughout the region and is referred to as the\u00a0Mfecane<\/a>. The arriving Nguni under the leadership of\u00a0Zwagendaba<\/a>\u00a0crossed the Zambezi river moving northwards. The Ngoni were the final blow to the already weakened\u00a0Maravi<\/a>\u00a0Empire. Many Nguni eventually settled around what is today Zambia,\u00a0Malawi<\/a>,\u00a0Mozambique<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Tanzania<\/a> and assimilated into neighboring tribes.<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0western part<\/a>\u00a0of Zambia, another Southern African group of\u00a0Sotho-Tswana<\/a>\u00a0heritage called the\u00a0Kololo<\/a>\u00a0manage to conquer the local inhabitants who were migrants from the fallen\u00a0Luba<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Lunda states<\/a>\u00a0called the\u00a0Luyana<\/a>\u00a0or Aluyi. The Luyana established the\u00a0Barotse Kingdom<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0floodplains of the Zambezi<\/a>\u00a0upon their arrival from Katanga. Under the Kololo, the Kololo language was imposed upon the Luyana until the Luyana revolted and overthrew the Kololo by this time the Luyana language was largely forgotten and a new hybrid language emerged,\u00a0SiLozi<\/a>\u00a0and the Luyana began to refer to themselves as\u00a0Lozi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the end of the 18th century, some of the\u00a0Mbunda<\/a>\u00a0migrated to\u00a0Barotseland<\/a>,\u00a0Mongu<\/a>\u00a0upon the migration of among others, the\u00a0Ciyengele<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The Aluyi and their leader, the Litunga Mulambwa, especially valued the Mbunda for their fighting ability.<\/p>\n

By the late 19th century, most of the various peoples of Zambia were established in their current areas.<\/p>\n

Colonial Period:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Europeans:<\/span><\/h4>\n
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David Livingstone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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One of the earliest recorded Europeans to visit the area was the <\/span>Portuguese<\/a>\u00a0explorer\u00a0<\/span>Francisco de Lacerda<\/a>\u00a0in the late 18th century. Lacerda led an expedition from Mozambique to the Kazembe region in Zambia (with the goal of exploring and to crossing Southern Africa from coast to coast for the first time),<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0and died during the expedition in 1798. The expedition was from then on led by his friend Francisco Pinto.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0This territory, located between\u00a0<\/span>Portuguese Mozambique<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Portuguese Angola<\/a>, was claimed and explored by Portugal in that period.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Other European visitors followed in the 19th century. The most prominent of these was\u00a0David Livingstone<\/a>, who had a vision of ending the\u00a0slave trade<\/a> through the “3 Cs”: Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization. He was the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River<\/a>\u00a0in 1855, naming them the\u00a0Victoria Falls<\/a>\u00a0after\u00a0Queen Victoria<\/a> of the United Kingdom. He described them thus: “Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight”.<\/p>\n

Locally the falls are known as\u00a0“Mosi-o-Tunya”<\/a>\u00a0or “thundering smoke” in the Lozi or Kololo dialect. The town of\u00a0Livingstone<\/a>, near the Falls, is named after him. Highly publicized accounts of his journeys motivated a wave of European visitors, missionaries and traders after his death in 1873.<\/p>\n

British South Africa Company:<\/b><\/h5>\n

In 1888, the\u00a0British South Africa Company<\/a>\u00a0(BSA Company), led by\u00a0Cecil Rhodes<\/a>, obtained mineral rights from the\u00a0Litunga<\/a>\u00a0of the Lozi people, the Paramount Chief of the\u00a0Lozi (Ba-rotse)<\/a>\u00a0for the area which later became\u00a0Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Cecil Rhodes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
To the east, in December 1897 a group of the <\/span>Angoni or Ngoni<\/a>\u00a0(originally from Zululand) rebelled under Tsinco, son of King\u00a0<\/span>Mpezeni<\/a>, but the rebellion was put down,<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Mpezeni<\/a>\u00a0accepted the\u00a0<\/span>Pax Britannica<\/a>. That part of the country then came to be known as\u00a0<\/span>North-Eastern Rhodesia<\/a>. In 1895, Rhodes asked his American scout\u00a0<\/span>Frederick Russell Burnham<\/a>\u00a0to 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\u00a0<\/span>Kafue River<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

North-Eastern Rhodesia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia<\/a>\u00a0were administered as separate units until 1911 when they were merged to form\u00a0Northern Rhodesia<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

British colonization:<\/span><\/h4>\n

In 1923,\u00a0Southern Rhodesia<\/a>\u00a0(now\u00a0Zimbabwe<\/a>), a conquered territory which 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\u00a0Colonial Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland:<\/b><\/h5>\n

In 1953, the creation of the\u00a0Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland<\/a>\u00a0grouped together Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and\u00a0Nyasaland<\/a>\u00a0(now\u00a0Malawi<\/a>) as a single semi-autonomous region. This was undertaken despite opposition from a sizeable minority of the population, who demonstrated against it in 1960\u201361.<\/sup>\u00a0Northern Rhodesia was the center of much of the turmoil and crisis characterizing the federation in its last years. Initially,\u00a0Harry Nkumbula<\/a>‘s\u00a0African National Congress<\/a>\u00a0(ANC) led the campaign, which\u00a0Kenneth Kaunda<\/a>‘s United National Independence Party (UNIP) subsequently took up.<\/p>\n

Independence:<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Kenneth Kaunda, first Republican president, on a state visit to\u00a0Romania\u00a0in 1970<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
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 <\/span>National Assembly<\/a> based on a broader, more democratic franchise.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The federation was dissolved on 31 December 1963, and in January 1964, Kaunda won the only election for Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia. The\u00a0Colonial Governor<\/a>, Sir\u00a0Evelyn Hone<\/a>, 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\u00a0Lumpa Uprising<\/a>\u00a0led by\u00a0Alice Lenshina<\/a> \u2013 Kaunda’s first internal conflict as leader of the nation.<\/p>\n

Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964, with\u00a0Kenneth Kaunda<\/a>\u00a0as 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\u00a0John Willson CMG<\/a>.<\/sup> There were over 70,000 Europeans resident in Zambia in 1964, and they remained of disproportionate economic significance.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Post Independence:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Kaunda’s endorsement of\u00a0Patriotic Front<\/a> guerrillas conducting raids into neighboring\u00a0(Southern) Rhodesia<\/a> resulted in political tension and a militarization of the border, leading to its closure in 1973.\u00a0The\u00a0Kariba hydroelectric<\/a>\u00a0station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the country’s requirements for electricity, despite Rhodesian management.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
The geopolitical situation during the\u00a0Rhodesian Bush War in 1965 \u2013 countries friendly to the nationalists are colored orange.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
On 3 September 1978, civilian airliner, <\/span>Air Rhodesia Flight 825<\/a>, was shot down near Kariba by the\u00a0<\/span>Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army<\/a>\u00a0(ZIPRA). 18 people, including children, survived the crash only for most of them to be shot by militants of the\u00a0<\/span>Zimbabwe African People’s Union<\/a>\u00a0(ZAPU) led by\u00a0<\/span>Joshua Nkomo<\/a>. Rhodesia responded with\u00a0<\/span>Operation Gatling<\/a>, an attack on Nkomo’s guerilla bases in Zambia, in particular, his military headquarters just outside Lusaka; this raid became known as the Green Leader Raid. On the same day, two more bases in Zambia were attacked using\u00a0<\/span>air power<\/a>\u00a0and elite\u00a0<\/span>paratroops<\/a> and helicopter-borne troops.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A\u00a0railway<\/a>\u00a0(TAZARA\u00a0\u2013 Tanzania Zambia Railways) to the Tanzanian port of\u00a0Dar es Salaam<\/a>, completed in 1975 with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railway lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled\u00a0Portuguese Angola<\/a>. Until the completion of the railway, Zambia’s major artery for imports and the critical export of copper was along the TanZam Road, running from Zambia to the port cities in Tanzania. The\u00a0Tazama oil pipeline<\/a>\u00a0was also built from Dar es Salaam to\u00a0Ndola<\/a>\u00a0in Zambia.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Tazara Railway in Zambia in the year 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Rhodesia’s predominantly white government, which issued a\u00a0Unilateral Declaration of Independence<\/a>\u00a0in 1965, accepted majority rule under the\u00a0Lancaster House Agreement<\/a>\u00a0in 1979.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Civil strife in both Portuguese colonies and a mounting\u00a0Namibian War of Independence<\/a>\u00a0resulted in an influx of refugees<\/sup>\u00a0and compounded transportation issues. The\u00a0Benguela railway<\/a>, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to Zambian traffic by the late 1970s. Zambia’s support for\u00a0anti-apartheid<\/a>\u00a0movements such as the\u00a0African National Congress<\/a>\u00a0(ANC) also created security problems as the\u00a0South African Defence Force<\/a> struck at dissident targets during external raids.<\/p>\n

Economic troubles:<\/span><\/h4>\n

In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambia’s principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. In Zambia’s situation, the cost of transporting the copper great distances to the market was an additional strain. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but, as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia’s per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.<\/p>\n

Democratization:<\/span><\/h4>\n

In June 1990 riots against Kaunda accelerated. Many protesters were killed by the regime in breakthrough June 1990 protests.\u00a0In 1990 Kaunda survived an\u00a0attempted coup<\/a>, and in 1991 he agreed to reinstate multiparty democracy, having instituted one-party rule under the Choma Commission of 1972. Following multiparty elections, Kaunda was removed from office.<\/p>\n

In the 2000s, the economy stabilized, attaining single-digit inflation in 2006\u20132007, real GDP growth, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of trade. Much of its growth is due to foreign investment in mining and to higher world copper prices. All this led to Zambia being courted enthusiastically by aid donors and saw a surge in investor confidence in the country.<\/p>\n

Geography:<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Zambia Topography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Zambia is a\u00a0landlocked<\/a>\u00a0country in southern Africa, with a\u00a0tropical climate<\/a>, and consists mostly of high\u00a0plateaus<\/a>\u00a0with some hills and mountains, dissected by river valleys. At 752,614\u00a0km2<\/sup> (290,586\u00a0sq\u00a0mi) it is the 39th-largest country in the world, slightly smaller than Chile.<\/p>\n

Zambia is drained by two major river basins: the\u00a0Zambezi<\/a>\/Kafue basin in the center, west, and south covering about three-quarters of the country; and the\u00a0Congo<\/a>\u00a0basin in the north covering about one-quarter of the country. A very small area in the northeast forms part of the internal drainage basin of\u00a0Lake Rukwa<\/a>\u00a0in Tanzania.<\/p>\n

In the Zambezi basin, there are a number of major rivers flowing wholly or partially through Zambia: the\u00a0Kabompo<\/a>,\u00a0Lungwebungu<\/a>,\u00a0Kafue<\/a>,\u00a0Luangwa<\/a>, and the Zambezi itself, which flows through the country in the west and then forms its southern border with\u00a0Namibia<\/a>, Botswana and\u00a0Zimbabwe<\/a>. Its source is in Zambia but it diverts into Angola, and a number of its tributaries rise in Angola’s central highlands. The edge of the\u00a0Cuando River<\/a>\u00a0floodplain (not its main channel) forms Zambia’s southwestern border, and via the\u00a0Chobe River<\/a> that river contributes very little water to the Zambezi because most are lost by evaporation.<\/p>\n

Two of the Zambezi’s longest and largest tributaries, the Kafue and the Luangwa, flow mainly in Zambia. Their confluences with the Zambezi are on the border with Zimbabwe at Chirundu and\u00a0Luangwa town<\/a>\u00a0respectively. Before its confluence, the Luangwa River forms part of Zambia’s border with\u00a0Mozambique<\/a>. From Luangwa town, the Zambezi leaves Zambia and flows into Mozambique, and eventually into the\u00a0Mozambique Channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Zambezi falls about 100 meters (328 ft) over the 1.6-kilometre-wide (1-mile)\u00a0Victoria Falls<\/a>, located in the southwest corner of the country, subsequently flowing into\u00a0Lake Kariba<\/a>. The Zambezi valley, running along the southern border, is both deep and wide. From Lake Kariba going east, it is formed by\u00a0grabens<\/a>\u00a0and like the Luangwa, Mweru-Luapula,\u00a0Mweru-wa-Ntipa<\/a>\u00a0and Lake Tanganyika valleys, is a\u00a0rift valley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The north of Zambia is very flat with broad plains. In the west the most notable being the\u00a0Barotse Floodplain<\/a>\u00a0on the Zambezi, which floods from December to June, lagging behind the annual rainy season (typically November to April). The\u00a0flood<\/a>\u00a0dominates the natural environment and the lives, society, and culture of the inhabitants and those of other smaller, floodplains throughout the country.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Victoria Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
In Eastern Zambia the plateau which extends between the Zambezi and <\/span>Lake Tanganyika<\/a>\u00a0valleys is tilted upwards to the north, and so rises imperceptibly from about 900\u00a0m (2,953\u00a0ft) in the south to 1,200\u00a0m (3,937\u00a0ft) in the center, reaching 1,800 m (5,906 ft) in the north near Mbala.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Eastern Zambia shows great diversity. The Luangwa Valley splits the plateau in a curve north-east to south-west, extended west into the heart of the plateau by the deep valley of the\u00a0Lunsemfwa River<\/a>. Hills and mountains are found by the side of some sections of the valley, notably in its north-east the Nyika Plateau (2,200\u00a0m or 7,218\u00a0ft) on the Malawi border, which extend into Zambia as the\u00a0Mafinga Hills<\/a>, containing the country’s highest point,\u00a0Mafinga Central<\/a> (2,339\u00a0m or 7,674\u00a0ft).<\/p>\n

The Muchinga Mountains, the watershed between the Zambezi and Congo drainage basins, run parallel to the deep valley of the Luangwa River and form a sharp backdrop to its northern edge, although they are almost everywhere below 1,700\u00a0m (5,577\u00a0ft). Their culminating peak Mumpu is at the western end and at 1,892\u00a0m (6,207\u00a0ft) is the highest point in Zambia away from the eastern border region. The border of the\u00a0Congo Pedicle<\/a>\u00a0was drawn around this mountain.<\/p>\n

The southernmost headstream of the Congo River rises in Zambia and flows west through its northern area firstly as the\u00a0Chambeshi<\/a>\u00a0and then, after the\u00a0Bangweulu Swamps<\/a>\u00a0as the\u00a0Luapula<\/a>, which forms part of the border with the\u00a0Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a>. The Luapula flows south then west before it turns north until it enters\u00a0Lake Mweru<\/a>. The lake’s other major tributary is the\u00a0Kalungwishi River<\/a>, which flows into it from the east. The\u00a0Luvua River<\/a>\u00a0drains Lake Mweru, flowing out of the northern end to the\u00a0Lualaba River<\/a>\u00a0(Upper Congo River).<\/p>\n

Lake Tanganyika<\/a>\u00a0is the other major\u00a0hydrographic<\/a>\u00a0feature that belongs to the Congo basin. Its south-eastern end receives water from the\u00a0Kalambo River<\/a>, which forms part of Zambia’s border with Tanzania. This river has Africa’s second highest uninterrupted waterfall, the\u00a0Kalambo Falls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Economy:<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Zambia Export Treemap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Presently, Zambia averages between $7.5\u00a0billion and $8\u00a0billion of exports annually.<\/sup> It totaled $9.1\u00a0billion worth of exports in 2018.<\/sup> About 60.5% of Zambians live below the recognized national poverty line,<\/sup>\u00a0with rural poverty rates standing at about 77.9%<\/sup>\u00a0and urban rates at about 27.5%.<\/sup>\u00a0Unemployment and underemployment in urban areas are serious problems. Most rural Zambians are\u00a0subsistence farmers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zambia ranked 117th out of 128 countries on the 2007\u00a0Global Competitiveness Index<\/a>, which looks at factors that affect economic growth.<\/sup> Social indicators continue to decline, particularly in measurements of life expectancy at birth (about 40.9 years) and maternal mortality (830 per 100,000 pregnancies).<\/p>\n

Zambia fell into poverty after international copper prices declined in the 1970s. The socialist regime made up for falling revenue with several abortive attempts at\u00a0International Monetary Fund<\/a>\u00a0structural adjustment<\/a> programs (SAPs). The policy of not trading through the main supply route and line of rail to the sea\u00a0\u2013 the territory was known as Rhodesia (from 1965 to 1979), and now known as Zimbabwe\u00a0\u2013 cost the economy greatly. After the Kaunda regime, (from 1991) successive governments began limited reforms. The economy stagnated until the late 1990s. In 2007 Zambia recorded its ninth consecutive year of economic growth. Inflation was 8.9%, down from 30% in 2000.<\/p>\n

Zambia is still dealing with economic reform issues such as the size of the\u00a0public sector<\/a>, and improving Zambia’s social sector delivery systems.<\/sup>\u00a0Economic regulations and\u00a0red tape<\/a> are extensive, and corruption is widespread. The bureaucratic procedures surrounding the process of obtaining licenses encourages the widespread use of facilitation payments.<\/sup>\u00a0Zambia’s total foreign debt exceeded $6\u00a0billion when the country qualified for\u00a0Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative<\/a>\u00a0(HIPC) debt relief in 2000, contingent upon meeting certain\u00a0performance criteria<\/a>. Initially, Zambia hoped to reach the HIPC completion point, and benefit from substantial debt forgiveness, in late 2003.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The major Nkana open copper mine, Kitwe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In January 2003, the Zambian government informed the International Monetary Fund and\u00a0World Bank<\/a> that it wished to renegotiate some of the agreed performance criteria calling for privatization of the Zambia National Commercial Bank and the national telephone and electricity utilities. Although agreements were reached on these issues, subsequent overspending on civil service wages delayed Zambia’s final HIPC debt forgiveness from late 2003 to early 2005, at the earliest. In an effort to reach HIPC completion in 2004, the government drafted an austerity budget for 2004, freezing civil service salaries and increasing the number of taxes. The tax hike and public sector wage freeze prohibited salary increases and new hires. This sparked a nationwide strike in February 2004.<\/p>\n

The Zambian government is pursuing an economic diversification program to reduce the economy’s reliance on the copper industry. This initiative seeks to exploit other components of Zambia’s rich resource base by promoting agriculture, tourism, gemstone mining, and hydro-power.<\/p>\n

Transportation:<\/h2>\n

Zambia has a fairly well developed railway network that includes connections to four neighboring countries (DRC, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe).<\/p>\n

In the 1970s, Zambia had one of the best roadway systems in Africa but in more recent years it has heavily deteriorated due to delayed maintenance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Road Map of Zambia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Zambia has 8 airports with paved runways as well as 80 more airports that do not have paving.\u00a0 The national carrier, Zambia Airways failed and since 2009 small regional airlines provide charter and some scheduled services.\u00a0 International services reach at least 8 countries, 3 in the Middle East, and are concentrated at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport<\/a> outside Lusaka.<\/p>\n

Flag of Zambia:<\/h2>\n

The\u00a0flag of Zambia\u00a0is the\u00a0national flag<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Zambia<\/a>. It was adopted upon independence on 24 October 1964, by the first Republican President Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda. Before that, Zambia was the British protectorate of\u00a0Northern Rhodesia<\/a>\u00a0and used a defaced\u00a0Blue Ensign<\/a> as its flag.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Flag of Zambia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The current flag is used as both\u00a0national flag<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and\u00a0ensign<\/a>.<\/sup> It is green with an orange-colored\u00a0African fish eagle<\/a> in flight over a rectangular block of three vertical stripes, colored, from left to right: red, black and orange. The placement of the eagle and block of stripes at the flag’s\u00a0fly<\/a> is notable as most emblems and devices on flags are placed at center or at the hoist. Green stands for the nation’s lush flora, red for the nation’s struggle for\u00a0freedom<\/a>, black for the Zambian people, and orange for the land’s\u00a0natural resources<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mineral<\/a>\u00a0wealth. Additionally, the\u00a0eagle<\/a> flying above the colored stripes is intended to represent the people’s ability to rise above the nation’s problems.<\/sup><\/p>\n

The Zambian flag was slightly modified in 1996. The shade of green used in the 1964 flag was replaced with brighter and lighter green and the eagle was slightly altered so as to be more like the one used in the\u00a0Zambian coat of arms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The flag of Zambia is the national flag of Zambia. It was adopted upon independence on 24 October 1964, by the first Republican President Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda. Before that, Zambia was the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and used a defaced Blue Ensign as its flag.<\/p>\n

The current flag is used as both national flag and ensign. It is green with an orange-colored African fish eagle in flight over a rectangular block of three vertical stripes, colored, from left to right: red, black and orange. The placement of the eagle and block of stripes at the flag’s fly is notable as most emblems and devices on flags are placed at center or at the hoist. Green stands for the nation’s lush flora, red for the nation’s struggle for freedom, black for the Zambian people, and orange for the land’s natural resources and mineral wealth. Additionally, the eagle flying above the colored stripes is intended to represent the people’s ability to rise above the nation’s problems.<\/p>\n

The Zambian flag was slightly modified in 1996. The shade of green used in the 1964 flag was replaced with brighter and lighter green and the eagle was slightly altered so as to be more like the one used in the Zambian coat of arms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[19,59,5,6,7,18,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9232"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9232"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9724,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9232\/revisions\/9724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}