Last modified: 2005-07-16 by bruce berry
Keywords: northern rhodesia | zambia |
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The pre-colonial history of what was to become Northern Rhodesia at the end of the 19th century is fragmentary and based largely on tribal oral tradition. Later early European explorers, such as Dr Lacarda who led an expedition to Lake Miveru in 1789, and later Dr David Livingstone who traveled from Bechuanaland through Barotseland to Luanda in 1853 and returned to Mozambique in 1855, also gave account of what they had seen and found. In 1899 the British South Africa Company received a Royal Charter which empowered it to exercise complete administrative control over what became known as Southern Rhodesia and Northern Bechuanaland. From this date onwards the Company extended its activities across the Zambezi River into what became known as Northern Rhodesia. The Company exercised complete administrative and legislative control over the territory until 1923 when it surrendered its buildings, assets and all its land and other monopolistic rights, other than mineral rights, in return for a cash payment from the British Government. In 1924 the Office of Governor of Northern Rhodesia was created and executive and legislative councils were established in the territory which became a British Protectorate. There were progressive constitutional developments in the composition of these two b