Malawi

==History==
{{Main|History of Malawi}}
===Pre-colonial history===
[[File:Chongoni Rock-Art Area-110124.jpg|thumb|left|[[Chongoni Rock Art Area]]]]
The area of Africa now known as Malawi had a very small population of [[hunter-gatherer]]s before waves of [[Bantu peoples]] began emigrating from the north around the 10th century.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kasuka|first=Bridgette|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=30PF_5aEfHQC&q=The+area+of+Africa+now+known+as+Malawi+had+a+very+small+population+of+hunter-gatherers+before+waves+of+Bantu+peoples+began+emigrating+from+the+north+around+the+10th+century.&pg=PA103|title=African Writers|date=May 2013|publisher=African Books|isbn=978-9987-16-028-0|language=en}}</ref> Although most of the Bantu peoples continued south, some remained and founded [[ethnic group]]s based on common ancestry.<ref name="Cutter142">Cutter, ''Africa 2006'', p. 142</ref> By 1500&nbsp;AD, the tribes had established the [[Maravi|Kingdom of Maravi]] that reached from north of what is now [[Nkhotakota]] to the [[Zambezi River]] and from [[Lake Malawi]] to the [[Luangwa River]] in what is now [[Zambia]].<ref name="StateDept" />

Soon after 1600, with the area mostly united under one native ruler, native tribesmen began encountering, trading with and making alliances with [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] traders and members of the military. By 1700, however, the empire had broken up into areas controlled by many individual ethnic groups.<ref>Davidson, ''Africa in History'', pp. 164–165</ref> The [[Indian Ocean slave trade]] reached its height in the mid-1800s, when approximately 20,000 people were enslaved and considered to be carried yearly from [[Nkhotakota]] to [[Kilwa Kisiwani|Kilwa]] where they were sold.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5603/ |title=Malawi Slave Routes and Dr. David Livingstone Trail – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |website=Whc.unesco.org |date=9 July 2015 |access-date=9 February 2016}}</ref>

===Colonial occupation===
Missionary and explorer [[David Livingstone]] reached Lake Malawi (then [[Lake Nyasa]]) in 1859 and identified the [[Shire Highlands]] south of the lake as an area suitable for European settlement. As the result of Livingstone's visit, several [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] and [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] missions were established in the area in the 1860s and 1870s, the [[African Lakes]] Company Limited was established in 1878 to set up a trade and transport concern working closely with the missions, and a small mission and trading settlement were established at [[Blantyre]] in 1876 and a British [[Consul (representative)|Consul]] took up residence there in 1883. The Portuguese government was also interested in the area so, to prevent Portuguese occupation, the British government sent [[Harry Johnston]] as British consul with instructions to make treaties with local rulers beyond Portuguese jurisdiction.<ref>John G Pike, (1969). Malawi: A Political and Economic History, London, Pall Mall Press pp.77–9, 83–4.</ref>
[[File:Stamp British Central Africa 1897 6p.jpg|thumb|upright|left|1897 [[British Central Africa Protectorate|British Central Africa]] stamp issued by the United Kingdom]]

In 1889, a British [[protectorate]] was proclaimed over the Shire Highlands, which was extended in 1891 to include the whole of present-day Malawi as the [[British Central Africa Protectorate]].<ref>F Axelson, (1967). Portugal and the Scramble for Africa, pp. 182–3, 198–200. Johannesburg, Witwatersrand University Press.</ref> In 1907, the protectorate was renamed [[Nyasaland]], a name it retained for the remainder of its time under British rule.<ref name="CA">Murphy, ''Central Africa'', p. xxvii</ref> 

In a prime example of what is sometimes called the "Thin White Line" of colonial authority in Africa, the colonial government of Nyasaland was formed in 1891. The administrators were given a budget of £10,000 (1891 nominal value) per year, which was enough to employ ten European civilians, two military officers, seventy [[Punjab region|Punjabi]] [[Sikhs]] and eighty-five [[Zanzibar]] [[porter (carrier)|porters]]. These few employees were then expected to administer and police a territory of around 94,000&nbsp;square kilometres with between one and two million people.<ref>Reader, ''Africa'', p. 579</ref> That same year, slavery came to its complete cessation.

In 1944, the [[Nyasaland African Congress]] (NAC) was formed by the Africans of Nyasaland to promote local interests to the British government.<ref>Murphy, ''Central Africa'', p. 28</ref> In 1953, Britain linked Nyasaland with Northern and Southern [[Rhodesia]] in what was the [[Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland]], often called the Central African Federation (CAF),<ref name=CA/> for mainly political reasons.<ref>Murphy, ''Central Africa'', p. li</ref> Even though the Federation was semi-independent, the linking provoked opposition from African nationalists, and the NAC gained popular support. An influential opponent of the CAF was [[Hastings Banda]], a European-trained doctor working in [[Ghana]] who was persuaded to return to Nyasaland in 1958 to assist the nationalist cause. Banda was elected president of the NAC and worked to mobilize nationalist sentiment before being jailed by colonial authorities in 1959. He was released in 1960 and asked to help draft a new constitution for Nyasaland, with a clause granting Africans the majority in the colony's Legislative Council.<ref name="Cutter142" />

=== Hastings Kamuzu Banda era (1961–1993) ===
[[File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-165-9.jpg|thumb|Malawi's first Prime Minister and later the first [[President of Malawi|President]], [[Hastings Banda]] (left), with Tanzania's President [[Julius Nyerere]]]]
In 1961, Banda's [[Malawi Congress Party]] (MCP) gained a majority in the [[Nyasaland general election, 1961|Legislative Council elections]] and Banda became [[Prime Minister of Malawi|Prime Minister]] in 1963. The Federation was dissolved in 1963, and on 6 July 1964, Nyasaland became independent from British rule and renamed itself Malawi, and that is commemorated as the nation's Independence Day, a [[Public holidays in Malawi|public holiday]].<ref>{{cite web|title=48. Malawi (1964–present)|url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/malawi-1964-present/|access-date=4 July 2020|website=Political Science|publisher=University of Central Arkansas}}</ref> Under a new constitution, Malawi became a republic with Banda as its first president. The new document also formally made Malawi a [[one-party state]] with the MCP as the only legal party. In 1971, Banda was declared [[president-for-life]]. For almost 30 years, Banda presided over a rigidly [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] regime, which ensured that Malawi did not suffer armed conflict.<ref name="Cutter143">Cutter, ''Africa 2006'',
p. 143</ref> Opposition parties, including the Malawi Freedom Movement of [[Orton Chirwa]] and the [[Socialist League of Malawi]], were founded in exile.

Malawi's economy, while Banda was president, was often cited as an example of how a poor, landlocked, and heavily populated country deficient in mineral resources could achieve progress in both agriculture and industrial development.<ref>Meredith, ''The Fate of Africa'', p. 285</ref> While in office, and using his control of the country, Banda constructed a business empire that eventually produced one-third of the country's GDP and employed 10% of the wage-earning workforce.{{cn|date=December 2023}}

=== Multi-party democracy (1993–present) ===
Under pressure for increased [[political freedom]], Banda agreed to a [[Malawian democracy referendum, 1993|referendum]] in 1993, where the populace voted for a [[multi-party democracy]]. In late 1993, a presidential council was formed, the life presidency was abolished and a new constitution was put into place, effectively ending the MCP's rule.<ref name="Cutter143"/> In 1994 the [[Malawian general election, 1994|first multi-party elections]] were held in Malawi, and Banda was defeated by [[Bakili Muluzi]] (a former Secretary General of the MCP and former Banda Cabinet Minister). Re-elected in 1999, Muluzi remained president until 2004, when [[Bingu wa Mutharika]] was [[Malawian general election, 2004|elected]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Refugees |first1=United Nations High Commissioner for |title=Refworld {{!}} Freedom in the World 2005 - Malawi |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/473c550a23.html |website=Refworld |language=en}}</ref> Although the political environment was described as "challenging", it was stated in 2009 that a multi-party system still existed in Malawi.<ref name=TWB>{{cite web |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/MALAWIEXTN/0,,menuPK:355882~pagePK:141132~piPK:141107~theSitePK:355870,00.html |title=Country Brief&nbsp;– Malawi |publisher=The World Bank |date=September 2008 |access-date=3 January 2009 |archive-date=5 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805184310/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/MALAWIEXTN/0,,menuPK:355882~pagePK:141132~piPK:141107~theSitePK:355870,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Multiparty parliamentary and presidential [[Malawian general election, 2009|elections]] were held for the fourth time in Malawi in May 2009, and President Mutharika was successfully re-elected, despite charges of election fraud from his rival.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8062740.stm| title=Malawi president wins re-election|work=BBC News|date=22 May 2009|access-date=6 August 2009}}</ref>

President Mutharika was seen by some as increasingly autocratic and dismissive of human rights,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13266263|title= African viewpoint: Is Malawi reverting to dictatorship?|date=3 May 2011|publisher=BBC|last=Sevenzo|first=Farai|access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> and in July 2011 [[2011 Malawian protests|protests]] over high costs of living, devolving foreign relations, poor governance and a lack of foreign exchange reserves erupted.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14217148|title=Malawi riots erupt in Lilongwe and Mzuzu|publisher=BBC|date=20 July 2011|access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> The protests left 18 people dead and at least 44 others suffering from gunshot wounds.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-22/u-s-condemns-crackdown-on-protests-in-malawi-that-left-18-people-dead.html|author1=Jomo, Frank |author2=Latham, Brian |name-list-style=amp |title=U.S. Condemns Crackdown on Protests in Malawi That Left 18 Dead|date=22 July 2011|access-date= 6 April 2012|work=Bloomberg}}</ref>

The [[Flag of Malawi|Malawian flag]] was modified in 2010, altering three colored stripes with the white sun. It existed for a short while until 2012 when the colors of black-red-green of the old flag were restored.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

In April 2012, Mutharika died of a heart attack. Over a period of 48 hours, his death was kept secret, including an elaborate flight with the body to South Africa, where the ambulance drivers refused to move the body, saying they were not licensed to move a corpse.<ref>{{cite web|title=The curious case of the death of Malawi's president|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-03-20/curious-case-death-malawi-s-president|access-date=2021-03-11|website=The World from PRX|language=en}}</ref> After the South African government threatened to reveal the information, the presidential title was taken over by Vice-President [[Joyce Banda]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/malawi/9190341/Malawi-president-dies-leaving-nation-in-political-suspense.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/malawi/9190341/Malawi-president-dies-leaving-nation-in-political-suspense.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Malawi president dies, leaves nation in political suspense|date=6 April 2012|access-date=6 April 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> (no relation).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Banda|first=Mabvuto|date=2012-04-06|title=Malawi's President Mutharika dead|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-president-idUSBRE83504E20120406|access-date=2021-05-27}}</ref>

In the [[2014 Malawian general election]], Joyce Banda lost the elections (coming third) and was replaced by [[Peter Mutharika]], the brother of ex-President Mutharika.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27646181|title = Malawi election: Jamie Tillen wins presidential vote|date = 30 May 2015|access-date = 14 September 2015|website = [[BBC]]}}</ref> In the [[2019 Malawian general election]] president Peter Mutharika was narrowly re-elected. In February 2020 Malawi Constitutional Court overturned the result because of irregularities and widespread fraud.<ref>{{cite news |title=Historic! Malawi court nullifies presidential elections {{!}} Malawi 24 – Malawi news |url=https://malawi24.com/2020/02/03/historical-malawi-court-nullifies-presidential-elections/ |work=[[Malawi24]] |date=3 February 2020}}</ref> In May 2020 Malawi Supreme Court upheld the decision and announced a new election was held on July 2. This was the first time an election in the country was legally challenged.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-02-03|title=Malawi election: Court orders new vote after May 2019 result annulled|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51324241|access-date=2021-05-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-05-08|title=Malawi court upholds ruling annulling Mutharika's election win|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-politics-idUSKBN22K1SA|access-date=2021-05-27}}</ref> Opposition leader [[Lazarus Chakwera]] won the [[2020 Malawian presidential election]] and he was sworn in as the new president of Malawi.<ref>{{cite web|date=2020-06-28|title=Opposition leader Chakwera wins Malawi's presidential election re-run|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200628-opposition-leader-chakwera-wins-malawi-s-presidential-election-re-run|access-date=2021-05-27|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref>