Context

Abstract

In the twentieth century, Africa became one of the most missionized regions. However, the experiences of the missionaries when settling in Africa varied based on the geographical, cultural, political, and economic context of the various regions. Consequently, studying long-term missionary influence is contingent on understanding the local conditions in which they settled. In this study, I emphasize that case studies provide a better understanding of the context; therefore, this chapter provides a clearer view of Zambia by introducing the geographical, pre-colonial, and colonial context.

Geography

Zambia is a landlocked country located at the intersection of Southern, Central, and East Africa. Zambia is endowed with various natural resources, wildlife, forestry, freshwater, and arable land. Zambia is characterized by a tropical climate and experiences two main seasons: the rainy season from November to April and the dry season from May/June to October/November. Several studies have shown that a country’s geographical position may affect its economic development (Acemoglu et al., 2002; Bloom et al., 1998; Gallup et al., 1999). In these studies, it is postulated that a region may be endowed poorly with natural resources, unfavorable climate, poor land quality, and a high disease incidence because of its geographical position. Additionally, the geographical position of a country may affect its capacity to access certain technologies and may also affect the prices of certain goods (Venables, 1999). Zambia and other landlocked countries face the challenge of over-dependence on their neighboring countries’ transportation infrastructure, which ultimately increases the cost of transporting goods (Faye et al., 2004).

Though Zambia’s economy is greatly reliant on the copper mining industry, agriculture is the mainstay of livelihood for the majority of the population in the rural areas. This has typically been the case since the colonial period. The farming practices and types of crops grown in the various regions are contingent on the agro-ecological zone that typifies the region. Figure 2.1 shows Zambia’s four main agro-ecological zones: the first is characterized by low rainfall and altitude ranging from 400 to 900 m. Regions in this agro-ecological zone lie along the Lungwa and Zambezi rift valley and are generally hot and dry. The climatic conditions in this zone are mostly suitable for subsistence farming of drought-resistant crops such as sorghum, millet, sesame, and cotton. The area is also prone to flooding and is a habitat of the tsetse fly, limiting cattle rearing in this region. The production of maize, the main staple food in Zambia, is low in this region.

Fig. 2.1

Agroecological zones in Zambia. (Source: Drawn by Author)

The second agro-ecological zone consists of medium rainfall and has an altitude ranging from 900–1300 m. The main farming areas in Zambia are found within this agro-ecological zone; these are regions on the plateau of Central, Eastern, and Southern Provinces. The zone supports the farming of medium- and long-term crops such as maize, tobacco, cotton, wheat, soybean, and groundnuts.¹ Certain parts of this region, especially areas around the Zambezi River, are also suitable for cassava production and fishing. The third agro-ecological zone is characterized by high rainfall, an altitude ranging between 1100 and 1500 m, and comprises some Northern and North-Western provinces. The soils in this zone are moderately fertile. The acidic soils prevalent in some areas of this region are generally suitable for all types of cereals, legumes, tubers, and cassava.

Additionally, because of the high rainfall, other crops cultivated in this region include coffee, sugar cane, rice, and pineapples. The vast forest resources and plantations in this region have contributed to the development of the timber industry. The fourth agro-ecological is typified by medium rainfall, an altitude ranging between 900–1200 m and comprises the Kalahari (Barotse) sand plateau and the Zambezi flood plains. This zone is mostly suitable for crops such as tree fruits and vegetables.

Figure 2.2 is a map depicting the location of the mines and historical rail lines in colonial Zambia. As shown in Fig. 2.2, Zambia is surrounded by eight neighboring countries, namely Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Historically, and at present, Zambia has had to rely on other countries for its maritime trade. During the colonial period, the main ports that gave Northern Rhodesia access to the sea included Cape Town in Cape Province, Lobito Bay and Lunda in Angola, and Beira in Mozambique. Noticeable in Fig. 2.2, in colonial Zambia, there was only one railway line running from Livingstone to the Copperbelt, where all the copper mines were located. In total, there were five mines located in Lunshya, Rhokana, Mufurila, Nchanga, Chibuluma, and Konkola. From the colonial period until present, Zambia’s economy has relied heavily on copper mining. Maize and tobacco plantations were generally located along the railway line—the British colonial government-operated 12 hospitals throughout the colonial period, mostly located in their main administrative centers. The main administration centers are shown in Fig. 2.2. As for the spatial distribution of infrastructure in Fig. 2.2, the colonial infrastructure was mostly developed around the administrative center to cater to the white settlers.

Fig. 2.2

Colonial infrastructure in Northern Rhodesia. (Source: Drawn by author; All maps in this document are produced by the author)

Pre-Colonial Zambia

Before the advent of colonialism, the first European encounter that the Africans had was with the Christian missionaries. The earliest ethnic encounter that the missionaries had was with the Bembas of the Northern province and Lozis of the Barotse plains. Therefore, it is pertinent to understand the pre-colonial context in which missionaries settled. This section also provides context to the pre-colonial ethnic characteristic variables used in some empirical models. For example, in the empirical models, I control for pre-colonial kinship systems, bridal price practice, and agricultural modes. I focus to a greater extent on elaborating these ethnic characteristics for some of the larger tribes, such as the Bembas, Ngoni, and Kololo/Lozi.

The archaeological evidence from Zambia suggests that many of the earliest ethnic societies in Zambia have their origins from the Bantu people of the Great Lakes in East Africa (Wotela, 2010). Figure 2.3 shows the 80 ethnic societies in Zambia, which can be grouped into 13 major ethnic clusters, the Bemba, Lala, Lamba group, Goba group, Kaonde group, Lozi (Kololo), Lunda-Luvale group, Mambwe-Inamwanga group, Nkoya group, Nyanga group, Chewa group, Old Pre-Makololo group, Simaa-Totela group, Swahili group, Tonga-Ila group, Tumbuka group. Roberts (1966) postulates that migration into Zambia began as early as the eleventh century up until the nineteenth century.

Fig. 2.3

Pre-colonial ethnic boundaries in Zambia. (Source: Drawn by author)

The earliest ethnic clusters to settle in Zambia were the Tonga-Ila group and the Mambwe-Ila group, who settled in Southern-Central and North-Eastern Zambia, respectively. Although there is no sufficient archaeological evidence, these earlier ethnic groups are believed to have migrated into Zambia before the twelfth century (Colson, 1958). The largest ethnic society in the early migration were the Tonga people from the Tonga-Ila group. The following major ethnic group to migrate from the Great Lakes Region through Congo into Zambia is the Bemba; from the Great Lakes region, the Bemba had initially settled among the Luba and Lunda Kingdoms in Congo. The Bemba people ultimately settled in Zambia in the seventeenth century (Richards, 1995). Up to now, the Bemba remain the largest ethnic group in Zambia, comprising about 36 percent of an estimated 17.86 million Zambian population.

Historically not only were the Bembas the largest ethnic group in number, but they are also one of the most important ethnic groups in Zambia (Epstein, 1975). From the time of settlement in Zambia, the Bembas conquered many ethnic groups in Northern Zambia through military might and prowess. Over a period of 50 years, they had extended their hegemony over this region. The environmental conditions drove the Bemba expansion. Firstly, the Bemba settled in a tsetse fly-infested region; ultimately, it was challenging to raise cattle in this region. Secondly, the soils in the Bembaland were leached and infertile, which made it difficult to grow grain crops (Langworthy, 1972). In Fig. 2.1, the area occupied by the Bemba is typified by high rainfall and an altitude between 1000–1500 meters. To sustain themselves through periods of hunger, the Bembas were forced to raid and conquer the richer tribes for their grains and cattle (Epstein, 1975). Additionally, the Bemba practiced the matrilineal succession tradition, which meant that the ancestral descent was traced through maternal rather than paternal lines. The predominant farming technique that the Bemba practiced is the citemene or the slash and burn system.

More broadly, many ethnic groups in Zambia either trace their ancestry to the Great Lakes region of South Africa; while their customs and norms can be traced back to their region of origin, to a great extent, many of their customs and norms were shaped by the climatic and environmental conditions of the regions where they settled (Brelsford, 1956). For example, the Ngoni and Kololo tribes were cattle herders by virtue of their places of origin. However, the Ngoni people established themselves in the South-eastern region of Zambia; typically, this land is not suitable for herding cattle because it lies in an area with limited grazing land, has a large population of wild animals, and is a breeding ground for tsetse flies (Wotela, 2010). The climatic conditions in this region are suitable for crop cultivation; essentially, crop cultivation is the main mode of farming in this region. Upon settling in the South-eastern region, the Ngoni tribe ultimately shifted from cattle herding to crop cultivation. Moreover, most tribes under the Ngoni umbrella are matrilineal societies, and the strength of their matrilineal land holding culture cannot be questioned (Berge et al., 2014).

In contrast, the Kololo tribe settled in the flood plains in Southwestern Zambia. The environmental conditions of this region were suitable for cattle herding; in essence, the Kololo people, unlike the Ngoni, continued with the tradition of herding cattle (Roberts, 1976). The dominant ethnic group in the region were the Aluyi people. Upon settling in the region in 1838, the Kololos conquered the Aluyi, and they became the Barotse people under the hegemony of the Kololos. The Barotse defeated the Kololos in 1864, and their umbrella name became the Lozi, which referred to the dominant group, the Barotse people and all their subjects. The Lozi people and other tribes in the Zambezi flood plains developed an economy founded on agriculture, fishing, and animal husbandry. In Fig. 2.1, the region occupied by the Lozis is the area in the agro-ecological zone four, typified by an altitude ranging from 900–1200 m, medium rainfall and typically suitable for growing fruits and vegetables. There is no dominant unilineal kinship system among the Lozi. Children can either identify as patrilineal or matrilineal. However, they have a patrilineal bias (Radcliffe-Brown & Forde, 2015).

Pre-Colonial Health and Education System

In Northern Rhodesia, similar to other pre-colonial African societies, the provision of medical care was the responsibility of traditional medicine men (Burke-Gaffney, 1968). The Indigenous people had developed and implemented their own traditional public health care systems (Jennings, 2008; Waite, 1992). Within African societies, many illnesses were traditionally treated within households, utilizing knowledge passed down through generations. It is important to note that not all illnesses in African communities were attributed to spiritual causes, contrary to Western beliefs.

The traditional medicine men, through either chance or enlightenment, had acquired knowledge on how to treat certain illnesses using various leaves, saps, herbs, and roots (Waite, 1992). However, certain illnesses were believed to have spiritual origins. If the traditional healers determined that neglecting certain ancestral rites had caused a particular disease, the individuals involved would make sacrifices to appease the ancestral spirits (Waite, 1992). During the early stages of missionary presence in Africa, the missionaries aimed to “civilize” and “save the souls” of the Africans by replacing many of the African traditional medical practices that they deemed as heathenistic (Aguwa, 2007; Vaughan, 1991).

The education system in Zambia before colonization was firmly grounded in the native cultures and communities, showcasing a comprehensive method of learning that encompassed practical abilities, moral principles, and cultural customs. Education primarily took place in an informal setting, with the community serving as the platform for knowledge dissemination. The elderly members of the society held a pivotal position as custodians of wisdom, employing oral traditions, storytelling, and practical involvement to pass down knowledge to the younger cohorts. This communal education system aimed to equip individuals with the necessary skills and values to fulfill their respective roles within the community, thereby fostering a profound sense of communal responsibility and unity (Kelly, 1999).

In specific Zambian communities, there were specialized establishments that offered more focused educational opportunities. Particularly, within the Bemba society, cultural initiation rituals like the imbusa were observed and continue to be practiced to some extent in contemporary Zambia. The imbusa serves as a preparatory ceremony for young Bemba women before marriage. The young bride undergoes a period of isolation in a designated house and receives instruction from the banacimbusa for a duration ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months leading up to the wedding. Throughout this timeframe, the young bride is imparted with knowledge on how to ensure a “successful” marriage (Kaunda & Reddy, 2013). The imbusa traditional ceremony exhibited parallels with the specialized education later offered to girls in missionary schools, specifically the subject of “‘home economics’,” which aimed to educate young women on the principles of being Christian wives.

The Arrival of Christian Missionaries in Northern Rhodesia

From 1858 to 1863, a Christian revival began in America and spread across the Atlantic to Europe. This revival gave many Christians a new spiritual calling to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This newfound sense of obligation to take the Gospel of Jesus to the ends of the earth inspired many Christians to leave the comfort of their homes to seek and save “the lost world.” During this period, many missionary societies were formed, and many of the older missionary societies began to receive support to advance their overseas evangelistic endeavors (Neill, 1964).

In Northern Rhodesia, the first encounter with Europeans by the local people was with the Christian missionaries. David Livingstone, a Scottish explorer, was a key figure in paving the way for missionary activity in Northern Rhodesia. The initial drive behind Livingstone’s exploration across the region was his insatiable desire to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the unreached people groups of Africa (Rotberg, 1965). However, in 1851 upon reaching the Zambezi River, Livingstone encountered the horrors of the slave trade. At that time, he unwaveringly decided to dedicate his entire life not only to proselytizing the Africans but also to ending the slave trade in Africa (ibid). In his diary, Livingstone wrote:

You will see what an immense region God in His providence has opened up. If we can enter in and form a settlement, we shall be able to put a stop to the slave trade in that quarter. Providence seems to call me to the regions beyond. (As quoted in Rotberg, 1965, p. 23)

Livingstone’s first visit to the Barotseland in 1853 paved the way for French and British missionaries in Northern Rhodesia (Rotberg, 1965). Upon arrival, the prominent proselytization strategies among the Christian missionaries included the provision of Western-styled education and health care. However, evangelism through the provision of formal education was initially a Protestant strategy since a fundamental impetus for the Protestants was to enable their converts to read the Bible in their languages (Woodberry, 2004).

Christian Missionaries and Education in Northern Rhodesia

In 1883, a Scottish missionary, Fredrick Stanley Arnot, established the first missionary school in Northern Rhodesia among the Lozi people in the Barotse region (Kelly, 1999; Snelson, 1974). The school closed within a very short period. The school’s failure was due to the non-conformity of the local people to the idea of regularly attending school. Francis Coillard of the Paris Evangelical Mission later opened another school in the Barotse expanse in 1886 (Snelson, 1974). Though Coillard faced similar challenges to Arnot, these were overcome when Coillard began to receive support from Chief Lewanika of the Lozi people. Lewanika’s influence led to a proliferation in school enrolments in the region, such that even the commoners had an equal opportunity to access missionary education.

After settling in Northern Rhodesia, like the Paris Evangelical Mission, most mission societies first established schools before establishing health care facilities. The London Mission Society (LMS) established its first school in 1889 at Fwambo in Northern Zambia among the Bemba people. Despite being understaffed and in short of resources, they successfully expanded their educational outreach in Northern Zambia, such that by 1925 they had opened about 240 schools with about 12,000 enrolled pupils and 20 European teachers engaged in education (Snelson, 1974). Their greatest contribution to the development of education in Northern Rhodesia was their active involvement in improving female education. They are recorded as the first Protestant mission society to send a female missionary, Mabel Shaw, to establish a girl’s boarding school at Mbereshi in 1915 (Snelson, 1974; Ragsdale, 1986). Mabel Shaw’s success is said to have encouraged other Protestant missionary societies to send female missionaries for a similar cause.

The Primitive Methodist society reached Northern Rhodesia in 1893 and settled among the Ba-Ila people at Nkala. They established their first school with about 25 pupils at Nkala in 1895. However, the Primitive Methodists faced numerous challenges with regard to establishing schools among the Ila; parents demanded gifts before they would send their children to school, child marriage robbed schools of their girl pupils, and because children played an imperative role in the village economy, school attendance was very poor for most of the year. The attitude towards school nonetheless changed when Chief Lewanika of the Lozi stressed the importance of missionary education to the Ila Chiefs. In a letter to Reverend W. Chapman, Lewanika is chronicled to have said that he advised every Ila Chief that visited him to open a school in their district (Snelson, 1974; Ragsdale, 1986). Lewanika’s intervention propelled the educational success of the Primitive Methodist among the Ila People, such that by 1925, the society was operating 58 schools, with an estimated total of about 2000 children enrolled in the schools. The society contributed greatly to the development of education in Northern Rhodesia. They were the first mission society to operate a formal teacher training college at Kafue under the leadership of Reverend John Fell.

The United Free Church of Scotland extended their work from Nyasaland into North-Eastern Rhodesia in 1895, setting up a mission station at Mwenzo. After establishing a mission station, they established their first school; however, their educational progress was slow because of understaffing. In 1900, Dr James Chisholm, a medical missionary, took over the running of the Mwenzo mission station. Soon after, Dr Chisholm and his wife, Catherine MacGailvary, began to train Indigenous teacher-evangelists to assist them in their educational and proselytization mission (Snelson, 1974). Dr Chisholm and Catherine MacGailvary made great strides such that by 1904, the society, through the assistance of the autochthonous teacher-evangelists, had established about 32 schools with 1000 pupils enrolled.

Under the auspices of the Catholic Church, the White Fathers began their work in Northern Zambia among the Bemba people at Kayambi in 1895. By 1896, the White Fathers had opened their first school at Kayambi with only 14 boys in attendance. Despite such a humble beginning, by 1897, they had 235 children enrolled at the school, many of whom boarded at the school (Snelson, 1974). Like the Protestant missionaries, the White Fathers also had a challenge regarding pupils’ irregular attendance at school. Because the White Fathers were financially resourced, they could afford to pay the children a penny a day for regular attendance.

In 1902, the White Sisters arrived at Chilubula to assist the White Fathers’ evangelistic and educational mission. The White Sisters established a literacy class to train teacher-evangelists a few years later. By 1911, about 300 men were trained as teacher-evangelists. The training of teacher-evangelists greatly increased the number of village schools run by the White Fathers (Carmody, 1999). The White Fathers had unprecedented success in opening village schools, so that, by 1925, they had established more than 500 village schools with about 25,000 children in enrolment; Snelson (1974) avers that the majority of these schools were in the Eastern province of Northern Rhodesia where the White Fathers were in a battle for converts with the Dutch Reformed Church.

The Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) was also considered an influential force in the early development of education in Northern Rhodesia. They began their education work in 1898 when they established their first mission station at Magwero in the Eastern province (Rotberg, 1965). The society brought several African teacher-evangelists trained in Nyasaland to assist them with their evangelistic and educational work in Northern Rhodesia (Snelson, 1974). With the help of the African teacher-evangelists, the Dutch Reformed Society opened many village schools. Under the Northern Rhodesian administrator R. Codrington, a “Sphere of Influence” policy was enacted to settle the conflicts among various societies for territories. The policy entailed that whenever a mission society opened a school in an area, they could claim exclusive rights over the population of that specific area (Carmody, 1999). However, the White Fathers did not abide by this policy; ultimately, they conflicted with the London Mission and Livingstonia Mission in the Northern province of Northern Rhodesia and the Dutch Reformed Church in Northern Eastern Rhodesia (Rotberg, 1965). The competition for turf with the White Fathers gave the Dutch Reformed Church impetus to establish many village schools. The DRC’s educational work was a great success, such that, by 1925, they had established about 250 schools with about 25,000 pupils enrolled (Snelson, 1974).

The educational work of the above-mentioned early missionary societies made it possible for subsequent Christian missionaries to enter the educational scene. By 1900, about seven mission societies were operating only a few schools across the Northern Rhodesian expanse (Rotberg, 1965).

In the years that followed, there was a tremendous proliferation in mission activity throughout the region, such that, in 1946, there existed approximately 21 mission societies running 1061 schools. During the early establishment of mission education in Northern Rhodesia, missionaries experienced similar challenges. Firstly, as previously mentioned, children played an imperative role in the village economy. Consequently, the schools competed for the children’s attention with the various vocational demands (Rotberg, 1965). The children were required to work in the fields during the planting and harvesting seasons. Fundamentally, schools were considered places to go when there was no immediate need for the children in the village economy (Snelson, 1974). Though the missionaries were enthusiastic about providing formal education, the Africans did not deem it necessary until the 1930s and 1940s, when employment opportunities that required a degree of formal education began to open up.

Christian Missionaries and health care in Northern Rhodesia

The educational work of the missionaries preceded health care provision in Northern Rhodesia, more so because healthcare required more resource investment than education. Although the literature on the work of the medical missionaries in Northern Rhodesia is scanty, the available literature emphasizes that Christian missionaries were the initiators and main providers of Western-style health care in Northern Rhodesia (Gann, 1968, 1969; Gelfand, 1961; Walima T Kalusa, 2007). Upon arrival in Northern Rhodesia, missionaries viewed the locals as oppressed by tropical diseases and culturally backward. The missionaries, therefore, believed that they possessed a superior healing system to cure the ills of the locals and the gospel to cure their backwardness (Kalusa, 2014). In the early stages of missionary establishment in Northern Rhodesia, the missionaries had limited human and financial resources to set up fully-fledged medical facilities (Gelfand, 1961). The missionaries established rudimentary healthcare services alongside their homes. These medical dispensaries were mostly used to bandage wounds and dispense medicine (Kalusa, 2003).

Although the pioneer missionaries in the initial stages only provided rudimentary medical services, some of the basic medical procedures performed by the missionaries appeared miraculous to the locals. The Africans were initially opposed to receiving treatment from the missionary dispensaries. Still, as the missionaries demonstrated their ability to alleviate pain and heal the sick, they ultimately gained a reputation among the Africans (Gelfand, 1961). In 1898, Chief Mwamba, a Bemba chief, fell ill, and Father Dupont of the White Father Catholic order was called upon to cure his ailment. After curing the illness that had struck Chief Mwamba, Father Dupont developed a significant level of trust with the Chief to the extent that Chief Mwamba wanted to name Dupont the next heir to his throne, but Father Dupont rejected this offer (Rotberg, 1965).

The efficacy of missionary medicine in curing various illnesses triggered a proliferation in African attendances to missionary medical facilities. The missionaries soon realized that their rudimentary medical services could not meet the medical demands of the locals, and there was a dire need to broaden the scope of their medical services. The provision of medical services had proved to be a powerful evangelizing tool, missionaries began to implore their home churches to send more financial resources and ordained doctors to aid the expansion of their medical work. Though discussions were initiated, it took many years for missionaries to receive the help they requested from the various missionary societies (Rotberg, 1965). The delay was partly because good missionary doctors were difficult to find and expensive to maintain. When available, the doctors were sent to China and India, where the societies were already well-established. Before 1910, only the London Mission Society (LMS), Livingstonia Mission, and Brethren in Christ Mission society had qualified missionary doctors at their main medical centers in Northern Rhodesia. In the years that followed, other missionary societies began to likewise send qualified medical missionary doctors (Gann, 1969).

Colonial Period

The Beginning of Mining Exploration in Northern Rhodesia by the British South African Company

The initial impetus of the British South African company was to gain mining rights in the Katanga region. Still, after a failed attempt due to opposition by rivals financed by King Leopold II of Belgium, they settled and searched for minerals in Northern Rhodesia. The occupation of Northern Rhodesia by the British South African Company was made possible through Francis Coillard, a Paris Evangelical Mission Priest with King Lewanika. During his time in Barotse land, the region experienced many tribal tensions (Gann, 1969). Coillard was convinced that the Lozi people were incapable of governing themselves. To Coillard, establishing a formal government would prevent further tribal unrest in Barotseland and bring about systematic developments in Lewanika’s kingdom (Gann, 1969). Ultimately, Coillard persuaded Lewanika that seeking British Protection would prevent civil wars and hinder the Ndebele from attacking. Chief Kgama, who had been a personal adviser to Lewanika, reinforced Coillard’s advice to the Lozi Chief, and he was quoted to have told Lewanika that:

I have the people of the great Queen with me, and I am glad to have them. I live in peace with them and I have no fear of the Matabele or the Boers any longer attacking me. (As quoted in Snelson, 1974)

In 1890, the British South African Company (BSAC) sent a representative, Frank Eliot Lochner, to obtain Lewanika’s signature on a treaty that the Company had drafted. After several negotiations, Coillard finally convinced the Chief to sign the treaty. Essentially, if it were not for the intervention of Coillard, the signing of the treaty would have taken long and ultimately, British rule in North-Western Rhodesia would have been less peacefully with much bloodshed. The treaty entailed that the Company would pay an annual subsidy to the Lozi Kingdom and offer them protection. The treaty endowed the British South African Company with the exclusive rights to settle in Barotseland, conduct mineral exploitation, and eventually obtain significant control over North-Western Rhodesia (Rotberg, 1965). Exploiting the loopholes in the treaty, the Company also took claim of the mineral-rich Copperbelt in Northern Rhodesia.

In the same year, the BSAC had also endeavored to sign treaties with Chief Mpeseni of the Ngoni in North-Eastern Rhodesia and Chief Chitimukulu, the paramount chief in the Bembaland; the attempts to sign treaties in this region were futile. In 1890, the BSAC managed to sign another treaty with Chief Kazembe in Luapula district, the area in the west of the Northern province of Zambia, as seen in Fig. A3. The successful signing of the various treaties ultimately gave the Company mineral rights. During the Company’s rule in Northern Rhodesia, the Company introduced taxation on the local people to increase their fiscal capacity. As part of the treaty, the British South African Company had promised to develop public infrastructures such as schools and hospitals. However, they failed to follow through on their promise (Gann, 1969).

A great deal of the Company’s revenue was also generated from land sales, selling investment shares, and mining royalties. It is worth noting that the Company easily enforced taxation among people with a strong tribal organization, including the Bemba, Ngoni, and Kazembe people. Although the Company was collecting taxes and was raising revenue from mining royalties and the sale of land, the Company hardly invested in developing the public infrastructures of Northern Rhodesia. Throughout the Company’s rule, Northern Rhodesia was classified as a mono-crop and mono-mineral economy (Gann, 1969). The Company had restricted the autochthonous farmers; the Indigenous farmers were to a great extent only allowed to farm for subsistence purposes. The white settlers were awarded the exclusive right to sell farm produce for profit or cash crops. The Africans were prevented from growing cash crops because the colonial administration feared that their “primitive” agricultural practices would spread disease, ultimately affecting their plantations (Krishna & Mwansa, 2020).

The British South African Company ultimately had little involvement in developing education in Northern Rhodesia; even though they formally conferred the responsibility of providing education to the missionaries, they did not fund them. Apart from the White Fathers, who received a great deal of financial and human resource support from abroad, most missionary societies lacked the financial and human capacity to provide quality education (Carmody, 1999). Additionally, during the British South African Company rule, the Company barely supported the medical missionaries’ work, with a significant amount of the support coming instead from the societies (Gelfand, 1961). The lack of involvement in the provision of public goods by the Company made the missionaries the key providers of health and education among the African population. In the following section, I also accentuate their key involvement in the provision of public goods during the rule of the British colonial administration.

The British Colonial Government in Northern Rhodesia

Following the increase in European white settlers in Northern Rhodesia, the white settler population in Northern Rhodesia began to demand a political voice in the administration of Northern Rhodesia. In addition to the growing pressure from the white settler population, the administration of Northern Rhodesia became a financial burden for the British South African Company. The British South African Company saw this as an opportunity to rid themselves of the financial burden that came with the administrative responsibility of governing Northern Rhodesia (Slinn, 1971). By 1920, negotiations began to hand over the administrative responsibility of Northern Rhodesia to the British colonial government. Following the Devonshire Agreement in 1923, the Company fully handed over the administration obligation of Northern Rhodesia to the colonial government in April 1924 (Frederiksen, 2010). The African population in 1924 was estimated to be at 1.1 million, and the European population stood at 4182 (Colonial Office, 1924). Unlike in the neighboring Southern Rhodesia, where white settlement began with violent conquest then followed by negotiations, in Northern Rhodesia, as earlier indicated, the British South African Company peacefully signed a concession that gave them mineral and administration rights in the territory with the help of the missionaries. By 1964 constituted about 5 percent of the population south of the Sahara, with 80 percent of the white settler population concentrated in South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, and Northern Rhodesia. Though the white settlers constituted the ethnic minority in the colonies, they justified their occupation and extended their hegemony because they brought with them “Western civilization” (Kuper, 1964).

The British colonial government inherited a country with an underdeveloped public service sector. However, unlike the Company, the British colonial government began to give grants to Christian missionaries for education and health provision for the African population (Gelfand, 1961). The British colonial government became greatly involved in developing the African education system. They began by establishing a sub-department of African Education under the Department of African Affairs in 1925 (Snelson, 1974). In 1927, the African Education Department enacted the Native School Code. The code defined a school as “a class or assembly for the teaching or instruction of locals, whether held in a building or not, conducted for not less than 120 days in a year and in which instructions are based on a code approved by the Director of African Education and Advisory Board on African Education” (Carmody, 1999, p. 11). Any school that did not meet the criteria stipulated by the Native School Code was considered a sub-school.

Additionally, the British government only funded schools that fell within the definition of a school. Numerous schools established by the mission societies failed to meet the conditions outlined in the code, which led to a significant reduction in the number of mission schools recognized as formal schools (Snelson, 1974). For example, after the enactment of the Native School Code, only 17 of the 530 White Fathers’ schools were considered to be schools, and the African Education Department considered only 8 out of 545 schools of the Dutch Reformed Church as schools (ibid.).

Moreover, after taking over the administration of Northern Rhodesia from the British South African Company, the British colonial government began to fund missionaries for their medical work among the local people. In the early years, the British colonial government was resource-constrained; therefore, their financial support to the missionaries was greatly limited (Gann, 1969). In the 1933 Northern Rhodesian medical report, it was indicated that the government spent 2950 pounds in aid to all missionary societies that actively provided medical services to the autochthonous population; this amounted to about 5 percent of the total health expenditure.² In the years that followed, the grant offered to the missionaries did not increase significantly; in 1937, the government spent an estimated 3165 pounds on medical grants to the missionaries and 3781 pounds in 1939 which was an average of about 4.5 percent of the total health expenditure (Medical Report, 1939).

The British colonial government had also entrusted the missionaries with the responsibility of training African medical orderlies. Many of the African medical staff that worked in the African government hospital were trained by the missionaries (Gelfand, 1961). The medical reports do not give us the full scope of the number of Africans that worked in both the missionary and African government hospitals; they only include the number of African medical staff that worked in the African colonial hospitals. The medical reports show that, by 1933, about 250 African medical staff were employed in the British colonial government African hospitals. By 1955, an estimated 1200 African staff were employed in the African colonial hospitals. The African medical staff included microscopists, vaccinators, malaria control boys, orderlies, and sleeping sickness guards (Medical Report, 1938).

Throughout the colonial period, Christian missionaries continued to be the main providers of medical services among the African population. In 1933, the medical reports show that the missionaries had established 27 hospitals across the territory; by 1952, the various missionary societies ran about 85 hospitals in Northern Rhodesia. The British government had only established 12 African hospitals throughout the colonial period. They relied greatly on the missionary to provide various medical services to the majority of the African populations. In 1946, the Chief medical doctor in the territory reported:

There is a great volume of medical activity by the missionary societies, and these activities are more widely spread over the territory than those of the Health Department itself. The main activities of missions which are related to the work of the Health Department are in the domain of curative medicine. However, missionary schools all include instruction in simple hygiene in their curriculum. (Medical Report, 1946)