Eastern Province, Zambia: History
The history of the province is centered around many Bantu groups who originated from Luba in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, the then Zaire. The chieftains of the empires exercised control over the territory in modern times. After the independence of Zambia, during the 1960s, some of the districts in the province had unprecedented growth in infrastructure and agriculture. However, the growth of the province was terminated along with that of the country due falling copper prices.
As of 2020, the Chewa, Tumbuka and Nsenga were the largest communities in the region. The province was claimed as a part of Malawi in 1968 by the then Malawian President, Dr. Hastings Kamazu Banda. The then Zambian president, DrKenneth Kaunda, openly asked Malawi to engage war with Zambia to claim the province and also affirmed that Zambia would not have trade relations with Malawi until the claim on territory was withdrawn. The expansionist ambition of Malawi was discontinued and the Eastern Province remained with Zambia.