24th October: Zambia Independence Day

Zambia declared independence from the UK on this date in 1964. Here are 10 things you might not know about Zambia:

1. Zambia declared its independence on the day of the closing ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics, thereby becoming the first country ever to have entered an Olympic Games as one country (Northern Rhodesia), and left it as another (Zambia).
2. The name Zambia was derived from the Zambezi river. Zambezi is thought to mean "God's river".
3. Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, was originally designed to hold 200,000 people. Today, Lusaka has a population of roughly 1.5 million.
4. Zambia’s Lake Kariba was Africa’s largest man-made lake until Egypt’s Aswan Dam was built in 1971. Lake Kariba is so big that people who don't know Zambia is landlocked think they have reached the sea. In fact, it's 600 miles to the actual sea.
5. The country's highest point is Mafinga Central at 2,339 m or 7,674 ft.
6. The background of the national Flag is Green, symbolic of the country's natural beauty, with three vertical stripes in the lower right corner. The three stripes are: red, symbolic of the country's struggle for freedom; Black, representing the races of the majority of the population; and Orange, symbolic of the country's mineral wealth. A copper-coloured eagle in the upper right corner symbolises the country's ability to rise above its problems.
7. Copper mining was very important to the economy of Zambia, accounting for 80% of its exports in 1996. The saying "Copper is King" was a very common saying in the country for many years.
8. 97% of the population is comprised of seven main tribes and a collection of seventy-five minor tribes. English is the official language, but each of the seventy-five tribes has its own language. The main languages are Bemba, Lozi, Luanda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and Tumbuka.
9. The earliest European to visit the area was the Portuguese explorer Francisco de Lacerda in the late 18th century. He died during his visit. Another early visitor was David Livingstone of "Dr Livingstone I presume" fame (although that meeting took place in neighbouring Tanzania). Livingstone, too, died in Zambia from malaria and dysentary. Although his followers transported most of his body back to England, they first removed his heart and buried it in Zambia, under a Mvula tree.
10. Victoria Falls is situated on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was David Livingstone who was the first European to see them, and named the falls after Queen Victoria. He said of the falls, "Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight". The local name for the falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya (Tokaleya Tonga for the Smoke that Thunders).

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As well as this blog, I also write fiction and have published two novels (Death and Faxes and Glastonbury Swan) and a collection of short stories (Jigsaw). If you like ghost stories, crime stories, a bit of romance and anything slightly bizarre you might enjoy them. 

Further details on my books page