History of Malawi
Encyclopedia
The History of Malawi covers the area of present-day Malawi
. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. In colonial times it was known as British Central Africa
and Nyasaland
and was at one time part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
. The country reached full independence, as Malawi, in 1964.
Oil was first found there in the late 19th century.
remains and stone implements have been identified in Malawi dating back more than one million years, and early humans inhabited the vicinity of Lake Malawi
50,000 to 60,000 years ago. Human remains at a site dated about 8000 BC show physical characteristics similar to peoples living today in the Horn of Africa
. At another site, dated 1500 BC, the remains possess features resembling Bushmen
people. These short people with copper colored skin were known as the Akafula or Batwa. They are responsible for rock paintings found south of Lilongwe
in Chencherere and Mphunzi.
people in the late 15th century. The Amaravi, who eventually became known as the Chewa (a word possibly derived from a term meaning "foreigner"), migrated to Malawi from the region of the modern day Republic of Congo to escape unrest and disease. The Chewa attacked the Akafula, who settled in small family clans without a unified system of protection. Using a system of destruction they would later employ in hunting predatory animals, the Chewa hunted down and butchered the Akafula.
Eventually encompassing most of modern Malawi, as well as parts of modern day Mozambique
and Zambia
, the Maravi Empire began on the southwestern shores of Lake Malawi. The head of the empire during its expansion was the Kalonga (also spelt Karonga
). The Kalonga ruled from his headquarters in Mankhamba. Under the leadership of the Kalonga, sub-chiefs were appointed to occupy and subdue new areas. The empire began to decline during the early 18th century when fighting among the sub-chiefs and the burgeoning slave trade weakened the Maravi Empire's authority.
and sorghum
. It was during the Maravi Empire, some time during the 16th century, that European
s first came into contact with the people of Malawi. Under the Maravi Empire, the Chewa had access to the coast of modern day Mozambique. Through this coastal area, the Chewa traded ivory
, iron
, and slaves with the Portuguese
and Arabs. Trade was enhanced by the common language of Chewa which was spoken throughout the Maravi Empire.
The Portuguese reached the area via the Mozambican port of Tete
in the 16th century and gave the first written reports on the people of Malawi. The Portuguese were also responsible for the introduction of maize
to the region. Maize would eventually replace sorghum as the staple of the Malawian diet. Malawian tribes traded slaves with the Portuguese. These slaves were sent mainly to work on Portuguese plantations in Mozambique or to Brazil.
and their chief Zwangendaba arrived from the Natal
region of modern day South Africa
. The Angoni were part of a great migration, known as the mfecane
, of people fleeing from the head of the Zulu Empire
, Shaka
Zulu. The Ngoni people settled mostly in what is modern day central Malawi; particularly Ntcheu and parts of Dedza districts. However, some groups proceeded north; entering Tanzania and settling around Lake Victoria
. But splinter groups broke off and headed back south; settling in modern day northern Malawi, particularly Mzimba district
where they mixed with another migrant group coming from across Lake Malawi
called the Bawoloka. Clearly, the mfecane
had a significant impact on Southern Africa. The Angoni adopted Shaka's military tactics to subdue the lesser tribes, including the Maravi, they found along their way. Staging from rocky areas, the Ngoni impis would raid the Chewa (also called Achewa) and plunder food, oxen and women. Young men were drawn in as new fighting forces while older men were reduced to domestic slaves and/or disposed off to Arab slave traders operating from the Lake Malawi regions.
(or Yao). The Yao came to Malawi from northern Mozambique to escape famine and conflict with the Makua tribe. The Makua tribe had become enemies of the Yao because of the wealth the Yao were amassing through trading ivory and slaves to Arabs from Zanzibar
. The Yao, upon migrating to Malawi, soon began attacking both the Achewa and Angoni people to capture prisoners who they later sold as slaves. The Yao were the first, and for a long while, the only group to use firearms in conflict with other tribes. The Yao ruling class chose in 1870 to follow Islam
like their Arab trading partners rather than the traditional animism
. As a benefit of their conversion, the Yao were provided with sheikhs who promoted literacy and founded mosques. The Arab traders also introduced the cultivation of rice
, which became a major crop in the lake region.
by an Arabic trader from the coast, Jumbe Salim Bin Abdalla. During the height of his power, Jumbe transported between 5,000 and 20,000 slaves through Nkhotakota annually. From Nkhotakota, the slaves were transported in caravans of no less than 500 slaves to the small island of Kilwa Kisiwani off the coast of modern day Tanzania
. The founding of these various posts effectively shifted the slave trade in Malawi from the Portuguese in Mozambique to the Arabs of Zanzibar
.
Although the Yao and the Angoni continually clashed with each other, neither was able to win a decisive victory. The remaining members of the Maravi Empire, however, were nearly wiped out in attacks from both sides. Some Achewa chiefs saved themselves by creating alliances with the Swahili people
who were allied with the Arab slave traders.
in Malawi. Theirs was also a story of hunger largely instigated by the Portuguese settlers moving into the neighbourhoods of uLomwe. To escape from the ill-treatment (including the Portuguese physically pounding to death live infants in wooden mortars to extract local allegiance), the Lomwe headed north and entered Malawi through the southern tip of lake Chilwa; settling in Phalombe
and Mulanje
areas. In Mulanje they found gainful employment on teas estates that various British companies were establishing on the foothills of Mount Mulanje. Later they spread into Thyolo
[again getting employment on tea estates] and Chiradzulu
. The Lomwe readily mixed with the local Manga'nja tribes, as there are no reported cases of tribal conflict. Indeed, the tribal network with the Manga'nja was very good so that when John Chilembwe
, the revolutionary clergyman, ran foul with the British planters at Nguludi
in Chiradzulu, he used this network to escape towards Mozambique. Unfortunately, the British terrirotial forces caught up with him before he could cross the border.
arrival in the area in the 16th century, the next significant Western contact was the arrival of David Livingstone
along the shore of Lake Malawi in 1859.
Subsequently, Scottish
Presbyterian churches established missions in Malawi, such as the one in Blantyre
founded in 1876. One of their objectives was to end the slave trade to the Persian Gulf
that continued until the end of the 19th century. In 1878, a number of traders, mostly from Glasgow
, formed the African Lakes Company to supply goods and services to the missionaries. Other missionaries, traders, hunters, and planters soon followed.
.
In 1907 the name was changed to Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate. (Nyasa
is the Chiyao word for "lake").
. A growing European and United States-educated African elite. This included John Chilembwe
; taken and educated in the USA by a missionary family. Later he returned to Nyasaland
to resist the British practices of 'recruiting' African men into the Kings African Rifles (KAR) as forced labor and carriers. After John Chilembwe's tragic death other more vocal and politically active groups-first through associations-emerged. In 1944, the Nyasaland African Congress
(NAC), inspired by the African National Congress
[South Africa] Peace Charter of 1914, emerged. NAC soon spread across Southern African with powerful branches emerging among migrant Malawian workers in Salisbury (now Harare
) in Rhodesia
and Lusaka
, in Zambia
. When the cash strapped NAC Executive Council voted to send a team to London to persuade Dr. Banda to return to Malawi and lead the movement, the powerful Salisbury Branch raised the funds required for the two men, Masauko Chipembere and Harry Bwanausi, to make the boat trip to England. They finally rendezvous with Dr. Banda at the Port of Liverpool
(on his way from Ghana) to sort out the mess in his private life over the former Mrs. French. Banda agreed to return to Malawi whereupon the team returned to Nyasaland. However, it would be months before Dr. Banda's whereabouts could be known leading to his scheduled arrival at Chileka Airport in 1958 being postponed twice; causing the local white Police to forcefully remove 'disappointed' crowds that had threatened to storm the BOAC
flight, inside of which they had believed Dr. Banda was being held hostage! Finally Dr. Banda arrived in Nyasaland on 6 July 1958 and proceeded to cause a storm and a shiver among the local British settlers with his powerful speeches and demand that the 'Stupid Federation' be abandoned 'Now! Now! Now!' His trips across the country attracted large crowds of Africans and the country was in a state of turmoil. However, the British weathered some of his vociferous talk and Dr. Banda gradually settled for a long slog by opening a medical surgery in Limbe
where, to thank John Kadzamira (one of the main organizers of the Harare NAC Branch), Dr. Banda dutifully took in Cecilia Kadzamira
(a newly trained nurse from Salisbury Hospital) as his first nursing staff member! To control the volatile political situation Dr. Banda created, through an emotive public speech (while suffering from a rare bout of malaria): that the British intended his death, the Federation Government arrested Dr. Banda and sent him to Gwelo in Rhodesia.
It took a different kind of tinder to ignite the struggle for political independence in Malawi. Alec Russell says: '...for the many colorful episodes in Banda's rise to power..[one can be attributed to the] tale of 'the bruising of Miss Phombeya's toe' [Alec Russell - Big Men, Little People]. She was a young woman who came to the Ryall's Hotel in Blantyre, where Harold Macmillan
was lunching on the homeward leg of his famous 'wind of change' tour in Cape Town
. A junior officer in Macmillan's advance entourage owed Miss Phombeya some money for 'services rendered'. But instead of paying up, local police officers panicked and tried to get rid of Miss Phombeya (now visibly parading her anger in front of the verandah restaurant) in the process hurting her toe; whereupon a crowd soon gathered outside Ryall's Hotel and quickly the mood shifted from the 'hurting toe' to protesting the imprisonment of Banda and other local leaders by the federation government.
and Southern Rhodesia
in 1953 to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
. In July 1958, Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda returned to the country after a long absence in the United States (where he had obtained his medical degree at Meharry Medical College
in Nashville, Tennessee
in 1937), the United Kingdom (where he practised medicine), and Ghana
. He assumed leadership of the NAC, which later became the Malawi Congress Party
(MCP). In 1959, Banda was sent to Gwelo Prison for his political activities but was released in 1960 to participate in a constitutional conference in London.
On 15 April 1961, the MCP won an overwhelming victory in elections for a new Legislative Council. It also gained an important role in the new Executive Council and ruled Nyasaland in all but name a year later. In a second constitutional conference in London in November 1962, the British Government agreed to give Nyasaland self-governing status the following year.
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved on 31 December 1963.
(formerly the British Commonwealth) on 6 July 1964. Two years later, Malawi adopted a republican constitution and became a one-party state with Hastings Banda as its first president.
of the MCP, and in 1971 Banda consolidated his power and was named President for life of Malawi itself. The paramilitary wing of the Malawi Congress Party, the Young Pioneers
, helped keep Malawi under authoritarian control until the 1990s.
Banda, who was always referred to as "His Excellency the Life President Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda", was a dictator
. Allegiance to him was enforced at every level. Every business building was required to have an official picture of Banda hanging on the wall. No other poster, clock, or picture could be placed higher on the wall than the president's picture. The national anthem was played before most events - including movies, plays, and school assemblies. At the movie theaters, a video of His Excellency waving to his subjects was shown while the anthem played. When Banda visited a city, a contingent of women were expected to greet him at the airport and dance for him. A special cloth, bearing the president's picture, was the required attire for these performances. The one radio station in the country aired the president's speeches and government propaganda. People were ordered from their homes and told to lock all windows and doors, by police, at least an hour prior to President Banda passing by...we were expected to wave.
Among the laws enforced by Banda, it was illegal for women to wear see-through clothes, pants of any kind or skirts which showed any part of the knee. There were two exceptions to this: if they were at a Country Club (a place where various sports were played) and if they were at a holiday resort/hotel...which meant that with the exception of the resort/hotel staff, they were not seen by the general populace. Men were not allowed to have hair below the collar; when men whose hair was too long, arrived in the country from overseas, they were given a hair cut before they could leave the airport. Churches had to be government sanctioned. Members of certain religious groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses
, were persecuted and kicked around the country at one time. All Malawian citizens of Indian heritage were forced to leave their homes and businesses and move into designated Indian areas in the larger cities. At one time, they were all told to leave the country, then hand-picked ones, were allowed to return. It was illegal to transfer or take privately earned funds out of the country unless approved through proper channels; proof had to be supplied to show that one had already brought in the equivalent or more, in foreign currency in the past. When some left, they gave up goods and earnings.
All movies shown in theaters were first viewed by the Malawi Censorship Board. Content considered unsuitable — particularly nudity or political content — was edited. Mail was also monitored by the Censorship Board. Some overseas mail was opened, read, and sometimes edited. Videotapes had to be sent to the Censorship Board to be viewed by censors. Once edited, the movie was given a sticker stating that it was now suitable for viewing, and sent back to the owner. Telephone calls were monitored and disconnected if the conversation was politically critical. Items to be sold in bookstores were also edited. Pages, or parts of pages, were cut out or blacked out of magazines such as Newsweek
and Time
.
Tourism
"In global terms Africa, and Southern Africa in particular, is a small player in travel and tourism. With little over 3% of world tourist arrivals (and less than 2% if one excludes South Africa) Africa remains an undeveloped market in global terms. In the year 2000 only 10 million visitors came to countries in the region of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Using the overall SADC figures as a comparative benchmark, an even smaller number came to Malawi – 219,000 in 1998, 254,000 in 1999 and 222,526 in 2000. Despite these small numbers, the number of visitors has doubled over the last decade.
Quoted from:
http://www.acdivoca.org/acdivoca/Amapbds.nsf/26e7005b12eaab498525738e006e9b90/f671c17851ce15f385256e78004e6d20/$FILE/Uni.%20of%20Durham,%20Tourism%20Value%20Chain%20-%20Malawi.pdf
While Malawi was the 10th poorest country in the world during much of Banda's tenure, he managed to keep peace in the country for most of the time he was in power. He was a wealthy man, like most if not all world leaders. He owned houses (and lived in a palace), businesses, private helicopters, cars and other such luxuries. Speaking out against the president was strictly prohibited. Those who did so were often deported or imprisoned. Banda and his government were criticized for human rights violations by Human Rights Watch
and Amnesty International
. After he was deposed, Banda was put on trial for murder and attempts to destroy evidence.
During his rule, Banda was one of the very few post-colonial African leaders to maintain diplomatic relations with apartheid South Africa
.
democracy
or the continuation of a one-party state. On June 14, 1993, the people of Malawi voted overwhelmingly in favor of multi-party democracy
. Free and fair national elections were held on May 17, 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year.
Bakili Muluzi
, leader of the United Democratic Front
(UDF), was elected President in those elections. The UDF won 82 of the 177 seats in the National Assembly and formed a coalition government with the Alliance for Democracy
(AFORD). That coalition disbanded in June 1996, but some of its members remained in the government. The President was referred to as Dr Muluzi, having received an honorary degree at Lincoln University
in Missouri
in 1995. Malawi's newly written constitution (1995) eliminated special powers previously reserved for the Malawi Congress Party. Accelerated economic liberalization
and structural reform accompanied the political transition.
On June 15, 1999, Malawi held its second democratic elections. Bakili Muluzi was re-elected to serve a second five-year term as President, despite an MCP-AFORD Alliance that ran a joint slate against the UDF.
The aftermath of elections brought the country close to the brink of civil strife. Disgruntled Tumbuka, Ngoni and Nkhonde Christian tribes dominant in the north were irritated by the election of Muluzi, a Muslim from the south. Conflict between Christians and Muslims of the Yao tribe (Muluzi tribe) begun. Property, valued at over millions of dollars, were either vandalized or stolen and 200 mosques were torched down.
Malawi saw its first transition between democratically elected presidents in May 2004, when the UDF's presidential candidate Bingu wa Mutharika
defeated MCP candidate John Tembo
and Gwanda Chakuamba
, who was backed by a grouping of opposition parties. The UDF, however, did not win a majority of seats in Parliament, as it had done in 1994 and 1999 elections. It successfully secured a majority by forming a "government of national unity" with several opposition parties. Bingu wa Mutharika left the UDF party on 5 February 2005 citing differences with the UDF, particularly over his anti-corruption campaign. He won a second term outright in the 2009 election as the head of a newly founded party, the Democratic Progressive Party
.
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. In colonial times it was known as British Central Africa
British Central Africa
The British Central Africa Protectorate existed in the area of present-day Malawi between 1893 and 1907.-History:The Shire Highlands south of Lake Nyasa and the lands west of the lake had been of interest to the British since they were first explored by David Livingstone in the 1850s, and...
and Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
and was at one time part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation , was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia,...
. The country reached full independence, as Malawi, in 1964.
Oil was first found there in the late 19th century.
Prehistory
HominidHominidae
The Hominidae or include them .), as the term is used here, form a taxonomic family, including four extant genera: chimpanzees , gorillas , humans , and orangutans ....
remains and stone implements have been identified in Malawi dating back more than one million years, and early humans inhabited the vicinity of Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
50,000 to 60,000 years ago. Human remains at a site dated about 8000 BC show physical characteristics similar to peoples living today in the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
. At another site, dated 1500 BC, the remains possess features resembling Bushmen
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
people. These short people with copper colored skin were known as the Akafula or Batwa. They are responsible for rock paintings found south of Lilongwe
Lilongwe
Lilongwe, estimated population 902,388 as of 2009, is the capital and largest city of Malawi. It lies in the country's central region, on the Lilongwe River, near the border of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, and on the main north-south highway of Malawi, the M1.-History:The city started life as a...
in Chencherere and Mphunzi.
The Maravi Empire
The name Malawi is thought to derive from the word Maravi. The people of the Maravi Empire were iron workers. Maravi is thought to mean "rays of light" and may have come from the sight of many kilns lighting up the night sky. A dynasty known as the Maravi Empire was founded by the AmaraviAmaravi
The Amaravi were a Bantu tribe, living around Lake Nyasa in what is now Malawi in the 15th century.They founded a dynasty known as the Maravi Empire. The Amaravi, who eventually became known as the Chewa , migrated to Malawi from the region of the modern day Republic of Congo to escape unrest and...
people in the late 15th century. The Amaravi, who eventually became known as the Chewa (a word possibly derived from a term meaning "foreigner"), migrated to Malawi from the region of the modern day Republic of Congo to escape unrest and disease. The Chewa attacked the Akafula, who settled in small family clans without a unified system of protection. Using a system of destruction they would later employ in hunting predatory animals, the Chewa hunted down and butchered the Akafula.
Eventually encompassing most of modern Malawi, as well as parts of modern day Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, the Maravi Empire began on the southwestern shores of Lake Malawi. The head of the empire during its expansion was the Kalonga (also spelt Karonga
Karonga
Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2008 estimates, Karonga has a population of 42,555.-History:...
). The Kalonga ruled from his headquarters in Mankhamba. Under the leadership of the Kalonga, sub-chiefs were appointed to occupy and subdue new areas. The empire began to decline during the early 18th century when fighting among the sub-chiefs and the burgeoning slave trade weakened the Maravi Empire's authority.
The Portuguese
Initially the Maravi Empire's economy was largely dependent on agriculture, the majority being the production of milletMillet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
and sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
. It was during the Maravi Empire, some time during the 16th century, that European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s first came into contact with the people of Malawi. Under the Maravi Empire, the Chewa had access to the coast of modern day Mozambique. Through this coastal area, the Chewa traded ivory
Ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, and slaves with the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Arabs. Trade was enhanced by the common language of Chewa which was spoken throughout the Maravi Empire.
The Portuguese reached the area via the Mozambican port of Tete
Tete
-External links:* *...
in the 16th century and gave the first written reports on the people of Malawi. The Portuguese were also responsible for the introduction of maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
to the region. Maize would eventually replace sorghum as the staple of the Malawian diet. Malawian tribes traded slaves with the Portuguese. These slaves were sent mainly to work on Portuguese plantations in Mozambique or to Brazil.
The Angoni
The decline of the Maravi Empire resulted from the entrance of two powerful groups into the region of Malawi. In the 19th century, the Angoni or Ngoni peopleNgoni people
The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, in east-central Africa. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Zulu people of kwaZulu-Natal in South Africa...
and their chief Zwangendaba arrived from the Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
region of modern day South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The Angoni were part of a great migration, known as the mfecane
Mfecane
Mfecane , also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane or Lifaqane, was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous tribes in southern Africa during the period between 1815 to about 1840....
, of people fleeing from the head of the Zulu Empire
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
, Shaka
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
Zulu. The Ngoni people settled mostly in what is modern day central Malawi; particularly Ntcheu and parts of Dedza districts. However, some groups proceeded north; entering Tanzania and settling around Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
. But splinter groups broke off and headed back south; settling in modern day northern Malawi, particularly Mzimba district
Mzimba District
Mzimba is a district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Mzimba. The district covers an area of 10,430 km.² and has a population of 610,944.-Government:...
where they mixed with another migrant group coming from across Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
called the Bawoloka. Clearly, the mfecane
Mfecane
Mfecane , also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane or Lifaqane, was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous tribes in southern Africa during the period between 1815 to about 1840....
had a significant impact on Southern Africa. The Angoni adopted Shaka's military tactics to subdue the lesser tribes, including the Maravi, they found along their way. Staging from rocky areas, the Ngoni impis would raid the Chewa (also called Achewa) and plunder food, oxen and women. Young men were drawn in as new fighting forces while older men were reduced to domestic slaves and/or disposed off to Arab slave traders operating from the Lake Malawi regions.
The Ayao
The second group to take power around this time were the AyaoYao (ethnic group in Africa)
The Yao people, Wayao, are a major ethnic and linguistic group based at the southern end of Lake Malawi, which played an important part in the history of East Africa during the 19th century. The Yao are a predominantly Muslim people group of about 2 million spread over three countries, Malawi,...
(or Yao). The Yao came to Malawi from northern Mozambique to escape famine and conflict with the Makua tribe. The Makua tribe had become enemies of the Yao because of the wealth the Yao were amassing through trading ivory and slaves to Arabs from Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
. The Yao, upon migrating to Malawi, soon began attacking both the Achewa and Angoni people to capture prisoners who they later sold as slaves. The Yao were the first, and for a long while, the only group to use firearms in conflict with other tribes. The Yao ruling class chose in 1870 to follow Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
like their Arab trading partners rather than the traditional animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
. As a benefit of their conversion, the Yao were provided with sheikhs who promoted literacy and founded mosques. The Arab traders also introduced the cultivation of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, which became a major crop in the lake region.
The Arabs and their Swahili allies
Using their strong partnership with the Yao, the Arab traders set up several trading posts along the shore of Lake Malawi. The largest of these posts was founded in 1840 at NkhotakotaNkhotakota
Nkhotakota is a town and one of the districts in the Central Region of Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi and is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi. As of 2008, Nkhotakota had a population estimated at 33,150...
by an Arabic trader from the coast, Jumbe Salim Bin Abdalla. During the height of his power, Jumbe transported between 5,000 and 20,000 slaves through Nkhotakota annually. From Nkhotakota, the slaves were transported in caravans of no less than 500 slaves to the small island of Kilwa Kisiwani off the coast of modern day Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. The founding of these various posts effectively shifted the slave trade in Malawi from the Portuguese in Mozambique to the Arabs of Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
.
Although the Yao and the Angoni continually clashed with each other, neither was able to win a decisive victory. The remaining members of the Maravi Empire, however, were nearly wiped out in attacks from both sides. Some Achewa chiefs saved themselves by creating alliances with the Swahili people
Swahili people
The Swahili people are a Bantu ethnic group and culture found in East Africa, mainly in the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya, Tanzania and north Mozambique. According to JoshuaProject, the Swahili number in at around 1,328,000. The name Swahili is derived from the Arabic word Sawahil,...
who were allied with the Arab slave traders.
The Lomwe of Malawi
The Lomwe of Malawi are a recent introduction having arrived as late as 1914, during the first World War. The Lomwe came from a hill in Mozambique called uLomwe, north of the Zambezi River and south east of Lake ChilwaLake Chilwa
Lake Chilwa is the second-largest lake in Malawi after Lake Malawi. It is in eastern Zomba District, near the border with Mozambique. Approximately 60 km long and 40 km wide, the lake is surrounded by extensive wetlands....
in Malawi. Theirs was also a story of hunger largely instigated by the Portuguese settlers moving into the neighbourhoods of uLomwe. To escape from the ill-treatment (including the Portuguese physically pounding to death live infants in wooden mortars to extract local allegiance), the Lomwe headed north and entered Malawi through the southern tip of lake Chilwa; settling in Phalombe
Phalombe
Phalombe is a town approx. 40 km northeast of Mulanje in southern Malawi.It is situated below the Fort Lister Gap between the two larger parts of the Mulanje Massif. Due to this location it is vulnerable for flash floods, which can easily occur during the rainy season...
and Mulanje
Mulanje
Mulanje is a town in the Southern Region of Malawi close to the border of Mozambique. It is near the Mulanje Massif.Mulanje is the headquarters of the conservation group, the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust....
areas. In Mulanje they found gainful employment on teas estates that various British companies were establishing on the foothills of Mount Mulanje. Later they spread into Thyolo
Thyolo
Thyolo is a town located in the Southern Region of Malawi. It is the administrative capital of Thyolo District. The current President of Malawi, Bingu wa Mutharika, was born in Thyolo.Economy...
[again getting employment on tea estates] and Chiradzulu
Chiradzulu
Chiradzulu is a town in Malawi, and the administrative capital of the Chiradzulu District....
. The Lomwe readily mixed with the local Manga'nja tribes, as there are no reported cases of tribal conflict. Indeed, the tribal network with the Manga'nja was very good so that when John Chilembwe
John Chilembwe
Reverend John Chilembwe was a Baptist educator and an early figure in resistance to colonialism in Nyasaland, now Malawi. Today John Chilembwe is celebrated as a hero for independence, and John Chilembwe Day is observed annually on January 15 in Malawi.-Early Life and Education:Chilembwe attended...
, the revolutionary clergyman, ran foul with the British planters at Nguludi
Nguludi
Nguludi is a village in southeastern Malawi, several kilometres east of Limbe and Blantyre. During the colonial area it was renowned for its plantations. A mountain surrounds the village of the same name. A mission hospital has been established in Nguludi as well as a church; the mission was...
in Chiradzulu, he used this network to escape towards Mozambique. Unfortunately, the British terrirotial forces caught up with him before he could cross the border.
European explorers, missionaries and traders
After the PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
arrival in the area in the 16th century, the next significant Western contact was the arrival of David Livingstone
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
along the shore of Lake Malawi in 1859.
Subsequently, Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Presbyterian churches established missions in Malawi, such as the one in Blantyre
St Michael and All Angels Church, Blantyre, Malawi
St Michael and All Angels Church was constructed from 1888 to 1891 of brick at the Blantyre Mission in Blantyre, Malawi. It is located on the original Scottish mission site, off Chileka Rd, and is in the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian’s Blantyre Synod. Since 1991, it has been partnered with...
founded in 1876. One of their objectives was to end the slave trade to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
that continued until the end of the 19th century. In 1878, a number of traders, mostly from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, formed the African Lakes Company to supply goods and services to the missionaries. Other missionaries, traders, hunters, and planters soon followed.
British Central Africa Protectorate
In 1883, a consul of the British Government was accredited to the "Kings and Chiefs of Central Africa" and in 1891, the British established the British Central Africa ProtectorateBritish Central Africa
The British Central Africa Protectorate existed in the area of present-day Malawi between 1893 and 1907.-History:The Shire Highlands south of Lake Nyasa and the lands west of the lake had been of interest to the British since they were first explored by David Livingstone in the 1850s, and...
.
Nyasaland
Nyasa
Nyasa, also spelled Nyassa or Niassa, is a common word for "lake" in the languages spoken around what is now known as Lake Malawi. In the colonial period that lake was called Lake Nyasa and Malawi was named Nyasaland....
is the Chiyao word for "lake").
The independence struggle
The history of Nyasaland was marked by a number of unsuccessful Malawian attempts to obtain independenceIndependence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
. A growing European and United States-educated African elite. This included John Chilembwe
John Chilembwe
Reverend John Chilembwe was a Baptist educator and an early figure in resistance to colonialism in Nyasaland, now Malawi. Today John Chilembwe is celebrated as a hero for independence, and John Chilembwe Day is observed annually on January 15 in Malawi.-Early Life and Education:Chilembwe attended...
; taken and educated in the USA by a missionary family. Later he returned to Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
to resist the British practices of 'recruiting' African men into the Kings African Rifles (KAR) as forced labor and carriers. After John Chilembwe's tragic death other more vocal and politically active groups-first through associations-emerged. In 1944, the Nyasaland African Congress
Nyasaland African Congress
The Nyasaland African Congress was an organization that evolved into a political party in Nyasaland during the colonial period. The NAC was suppressed in 1959, but was succeeded in 1960 by the Malawi Congress Party, which went to on decisively win the first universal suffrage elections in 1961,...
(NAC), inspired by the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
[South Africa] Peace Charter of 1914, emerged. NAC soon spread across Southern African with powerful branches emerging among migrant Malawian workers in Salisbury (now Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
) in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
, in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
. When the cash strapped NAC Executive Council voted to send a team to London to persuade Dr. Banda to return to Malawi and lead the movement, the powerful Salisbury Branch raised the funds required for the two men, Masauko Chipembere and Harry Bwanausi, to make the boat trip to England. They finally rendezvous with Dr. Banda at the Port of Liverpool
Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed 7.5 mile dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river...
(on his way from Ghana) to sort out the mess in his private life over the former Mrs. French. Banda agreed to return to Malawi whereupon the team returned to Nyasaland. However, it would be months before Dr. Banda's whereabouts could be known leading to his scheduled arrival at Chileka Airport in 1958 being postponed twice; causing the local white Police to forcefully remove 'disappointed' crowds that had threatened to storm the BOAC
Boac
Boac may refer to:* Boac, Marinduque, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* Boac , an American rapper* British Overseas Airways Corporation, a former British state-owned airline...
flight, inside of which they had believed Dr. Banda was being held hostage! Finally Dr. Banda arrived in Nyasaland on 6 July 1958 and proceeded to cause a storm and a shiver among the local British settlers with his powerful speeches and demand that the 'Stupid Federation' be abandoned 'Now! Now! Now!' His trips across the country attracted large crowds of Africans and the country was in a state of turmoil. However, the British weathered some of his vociferous talk and Dr. Banda gradually settled for a long slog by opening a medical surgery in Limbe
Limbe, Malawi
Limbe is a town in Malawi. It is located in Blantyre District. It is the operational headquarters and workshops for Malawi Railways.- Overview :Limbe is 7 miles east of Blantyre and was founded in 1909. Blantyre Briefly merged with Limbe in 1956....
where, to thank John Kadzamira (one of the main organizers of the Harare NAC Branch), Dr. Banda dutifully took in Cecilia Kadzamira
Cecilia Kadzamira
Cecilia Tamanda Kadzamira was the official hostess of Malawi during the reign of Kamuzu Banda. Whilst she and Dr. Banda were not officially married, she served as the first lady or official hostess for several years. For several years, she was the most powerful woman in Malawi...
(a newly trained nurse from Salisbury Hospital) as his first nursing staff member! To control the volatile political situation Dr. Banda created, through an emotive public speech (while suffering from a rare bout of malaria): that the British intended his death, the Federation Government arrested Dr. Banda and sent him to Gwelo in Rhodesia.
It took a different kind of tinder to ignite the struggle for political independence in Malawi. Alec Russell says: '...for the many colorful episodes in Banda's rise to power..[one can be attributed to the] tale of 'the bruising of Miss Phombeya's toe' [Alec Russell - Big Men, Little People]. She was a young woman who came to the Ryall's Hotel in Blantyre, where Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
was lunching on the homeward leg of his famous 'wind of change' tour in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. A junior officer in Macmillan's advance entourage owed Miss Phombeya some money for 'services rendered'. But instead of paying up, local police officers panicked and tried to get rid of Miss Phombeya (now visibly parading her anger in front of the verandah restaurant) in the process hurting her toe; whereupon a crowd soon gathered outside Ryall's Hotel and quickly the mood shifted from the 'hurting toe' to protesting the imprisonment of Banda and other local leaders by the federation government.
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
During the 1950s, pressure for independence increased when Nyasaland was joined with NorthernNorthern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
and Southern Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
in 1953 to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation , was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia,...
. In July 1958, Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda returned to the country after a long absence in the United States (where he had obtained his medical degree at Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College, located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, is a graduate and professional institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church whose mission is to educate healthcare professionals and scientists. Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in 1937), the United Kingdom (where he practised medicine), and Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. He assumed leadership of the NAC, which later became the Malawi Congress Party
Malawi Congress Party
The Malawi Congress Party is a political party in Malawi.It was the successor to the Nyasaland African Congress , which was banned in 1959.The MCP was founded by Hastings Banda and other NAC leaders in 1960....
(MCP). In 1959, Banda was sent to Gwelo Prison for his political activities but was released in 1960 to participate in a constitutional conference in London.
On 15 April 1961, the MCP won an overwhelming victory in elections for a new Legislative Council. It also gained an important role in the new Executive Council and ruled Nyasaland in all but name a year later. In a second constitutional conference in London in November 1962, the British Government agreed to give Nyasaland self-governing status the following year.
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved on 31 December 1963.
Self-governing status for Nyasaland
Hastings Banda became Prime Minister on 1 February 1963, although the British still controlled the country's financial, security, and judicial systems. A new constitution took effect in May 1963, providing for virtually complete internal self-government.Malawian independence
Malawi became a fully independent member of the CommonwealthCommonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
(formerly the British Commonwealth) on 6 July 1964. Two years later, Malawi adopted a republican constitution and became a one-party state with Hastings Banda as its first president.
One-party rule
In 1970 Hastings Banda was declared President for lifePresident for Life
President for Life is a title assumed by some dictators to remove their term limit, in the hope that their authority, legitimacy, and term will never be disputed....
of the MCP, and in 1971 Banda consolidated his power and was named President for life of Malawi itself. The paramilitary wing of the Malawi Congress Party, the Young Pioneers
Malawi Young Pioneers
The Malawi Young Pioneers was the paramilitary wing of the Malawi Congress Party. Their Commander-in-Chief was President Hastings Kamuzu Banda. The Young Pioneers were a major instrument for the operationalisation of Dr Banda's one party state dictatorship and domestic terrorism...
, helped keep Malawi under authoritarian control until the 1990s.
Banda, who was always referred to as "His Excellency the Life President Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda", was a dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
. Allegiance to him was enforced at every level. Every business building was required to have an official picture of Banda hanging on the wall. No other poster, clock, or picture could be placed higher on the wall than the president's picture. The national anthem was played before most events - including movies, plays, and school assemblies. At the movie theaters, a video of His Excellency waving to his subjects was shown while the anthem played. When Banda visited a city, a contingent of women were expected to greet him at the airport and dance for him. A special cloth, bearing the president's picture, was the required attire for these performances. The one radio station in the country aired the president's speeches and government propaganda. People were ordered from their homes and told to lock all windows and doors, by police, at least an hour prior to President Banda passing by...we were expected to wave.
Among the laws enforced by Banda, it was illegal for women to wear see-through clothes, pants of any kind or skirts which showed any part of the knee. There were two exceptions to this: if they were at a Country Club (a place where various sports were played) and if they were at a holiday resort/hotel...which meant that with the exception of the resort/hotel staff, they were not seen by the general populace. Men were not allowed to have hair below the collar; when men whose hair was too long, arrived in the country from overseas, they were given a hair cut before they could leave the airport. Churches had to be government sanctioned. Members of certain religious groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, were persecuted and kicked around the country at one time. All Malawian citizens of Indian heritage were forced to leave their homes and businesses and move into designated Indian areas in the larger cities. At one time, they were all told to leave the country, then hand-picked ones, were allowed to return. It was illegal to transfer or take privately earned funds out of the country unless approved through proper channels; proof had to be supplied to show that one had already brought in the equivalent or more, in foreign currency in the past. When some left, they gave up goods and earnings.
All movies shown in theaters were first viewed by the Malawi Censorship Board. Content considered unsuitable — particularly nudity or political content — was edited. Mail was also monitored by the Censorship Board. Some overseas mail was opened, read, and sometimes edited. Videotapes had to be sent to the Censorship Board to be viewed by censors. Once edited, the movie was given a sticker stating that it was now suitable for viewing, and sent back to the owner. Telephone calls were monitored and disconnected if the conversation was politically critical. Items to be sold in bookstores were also edited. Pages, or parts of pages, were cut out or blacked out of magazines such as Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
.
Tourism
"In global terms Africa, and Southern Africa in particular, is a small player in travel and tourism. With little over 3% of world tourist arrivals (and less than 2% if one excludes South Africa) Africa remains an undeveloped market in global terms. In the year 2000 only 10 million visitors came to countries in the region of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Using the overall SADC figures as a comparative benchmark, an even smaller number came to Malawi – 219,000 in 1998, 254,000 in 1999 and 222,526 in 2000. Despite these small numbers, the number of visitors has doubled over the last decade.
Quoted from:
http://www.acdivoca.org/acdivoca/Amapbds.nsf/26e7005b12eaab498525738e006e9b90/f671c17851ce15f385256e78004e6d20/$FILE/Uni.%20of%20Durham,%20Tourism%20Value%20Chain%20-%20Malawi.pdf
While Malawi was the 10th poorest country in the world during much of Banda's tenure, he managed to keep peace in the country for most of the time he was in power. He was a wealthy man, like most if not all world leaders. He owned houses (and lived in a palace), businesses, private helicopters, cars and other such luxuries. Speaking out against the president was strictly prohibited. Those who did so were often deported or imprisoned. Banda and his government were criticized for human rights violations by Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. After he was deposed, Banda was put on trial for murder and attempts to destroy evidence.
During his rule, Banda was one of the very few post-colonial African leaders to maintain diplomatic relations with apartheid South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Multi-party democracy
Increasing domestic unrest and pressure from Malawian churches and from the international community led to a referendum in which the Malawian people were asked to vote for either a multi-partyMulti-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
or the continuation of a one-party state. On June 14, 1993, the people of Malawi voted overwhelmingly in favor of multi-party democracy
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. Free and fair national elections were held on May 17, 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year.
Bakili Muluzi
Bakili Muluzi
Elson Bakili Muluzi is a Malawian politician. He was the President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004 and was Chairman of the United Democratic Front until 2009.-Presidency:...
, leader of the United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (Malawi)
The United Democratic Front claims to be a liberal party in Malawi and is mainly strong in the southern region populated by ethnic Yao. Until 2009 the party was a member of Liberal International, which it joined at the latter's Reykjavík Congress in 1994...
(UDF), was elected President in those elections. The UDF won 82 of the 177 seats in the National Assembly and formed a coalition government with the Alliance for Democracy
Alliance for Democracy (Malawi)
The Alliance for Democracy is a political party in Malawi, mainly strong in the northern region populated by ethnic Tumbuka.At the last general elections, 20 May 2004, the party won 6 out of 194 seats.**...
(AFORD). That coalition disbanded in June 1996, but some of its members remained in the government. The President was referred to as Dr Muluzi, having received an honorary degree at Lincoln University
Lincoln University (Missouri)
Lincoln University, a historically black college, is located in Jefferson City, Missouri. In 2007, according to U.S. News and World Report, Lincoln University was ranked #3 for economic diversity, #5 for campus ethnic diversity, and #9 for most international students among master's level...
in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
in 1995. Malawi's newly written constitution (1995) eliminated special powers previously reserved for the Malawi Congress Party. Accelerated economic liberalization
Liberalization
In general, liberalization refers to a relaxation of previous government restrictions, usually in areas of social or economic policy. In some contexts this process or concept is often, but not always, referred to as deregulation...
and structural reform accompanied the political transition.
On June 15, 1999, Malawi held its second democratic elections. Bakili Muluzi was re-elected to serve a second five-year term as President, despite an MCP-AFORD Alliance that ran a joint slate against the UDF.
The aftermath of elections brought the country close to the brink of civil strife. Disgruntled Tumbuka, Ngoni and Nkhonde Christian tribes dominant in the north were irritated by the election of Muluzi, a Muslim from the south. Conflict between Christians and Muslims of the Yao tribe (Muluzi tribe) begun. Property, valued at over millions of dollars, were either vandalized or stolen and 200 mosques were torched down.
Malawi in the 21st century
In 2001, the UDF held 96 seats in the National Assembly, while the AFORD held 30, and the MCP 61. Six seats were held by independents who represent the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) opposition group. The NDA was not recognized as an official political party at that time. The National Assembly had 193 members, of whom 17 were women, including one of the Deputy Speakers.Malawi saw its first transition between democratically elected presidents in May 2004, when the UDF's presidential candidate Bingu wa Mutharika
Bingu wa Mutharika
Bingu wa Mutharika is a Malawi economist who is President of Malawi. He took office on 24 May 2004 after winning a disputed presidential election...
defeated MCP candidate John Tembo
John Tembo
John Zenus Ungapake Tembo is a Malawian politician and the President of the Malawi Congress Party , the strongest opposition party in Malawi. Tembo comes from the Dedza District in central Malawi, and he is a teacher by profession...
and Gwanda Chakuamba
Gwanda Chakuamba
Gwandaguluwe "Gwanda" Chakuamba Phiri is a prominent Malawian politician who is currently the leader of the New Republican Party . He is from the lower Shire Valley area in southern Malawi....
, who was backed by a grouping of opposition parties. The UDF, however, did not win a majority of seats in Parliament, as it had done in 1994 and 1999 elections. It successfully secured a majority by forming a "government of national unity" with several opposition parties. Bingu wa Mutharika left the UDF party on 5 February 2005 citing differences with the UDF, particularly over his anti-corruption campaign. He won a second term outright in the 2009 election as the head of a newly founded party, the Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
.
See also
- Heads of Government of MalawiHeads of government of Malawi-List of Heads of Government of Malawi:-See also:*List of heads of state of Malawi*Lists of incumbents...
- History of AfricaHistory of AfricaThe history of Africa begins with the prehistory of Africa and the emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. Agriculture began about 10,000 BCE and metallurgy in about 4000 BCE. The history of early...
- History of Southern Africa
- List of Presidents of Malawi
- Politics of MalawiPolitics of MalawiPolitics of Malawi takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Malawi is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the...