Pre-Colonial history of Katanga

Not much is known about the then-remote Katanga region before the arrival of colonial powers. Supported by Western historical researchers, the following information was collected by the Ministry of Communications and Information.

The earliest recorded civilizations in Katanga are that of pre-Bantu Khoisan peoples, and Pygmy hunter-gatherers, who inhabited the general area prior to around 500 BC. They were assimilated by the secondary Bantu waves of expansion, the first group of Bantus to settle being the Luba, who would settle in the Upemba depression and around Lake Upemba. Several distinct societies would arise out of the Upemba people over the centuries, with each being more rich than the last, as the Upemba society managed to get a hold of vital farmlands and resources, and trade routes which extended all the way to the Indian Ocean.

Not much is known about the history of the region during the Middle Ages, but it is known that around the 15th century, the Lunda, Kanyok and Luba Kingdoms dominated the region. The Luba and Lunda became increasingly tied to each other, both growing their economic and military influence in the region. They also spawned a host of migrants into the neighboring regions. A lot of small ethnic groups in Zambia and Southern Katanga can trace their roots to Katanga during this period. Furthermore, both Kingdoms, especially the Luba, reestablished trade routes linking the center of the Congo Rainforest to the north, to the mineral-rich regions of modern day Zambia, to the south.

^{Luba art. In the Luba kingdom, art was held in high status and carvers had relatively good esteem.}

Early on, Kanyok would lead an invasion into Lunda, killing off Nawej, their first leader, until Muland, the second leader, was eventually able to drive them off. Kanyok might have been part of a larger kingdom called Kulundwe.

A short-lived kingdom named Yeke led by Msiri would also be established in 1856. It controlled the only trade route in the continent that ran from east to west, as the Kalahari Desert and Congo Rainforest blocked alternate routes.

Eventually, most Kingdoms in the area would be killed off by the late 19th century.

Lunda was invaded by the Chokwe to the west, who possessed Portuguese guns, establishing their own kingdom and culture. Lunda chiefs would still be around in the area but possessed no power.

Luba was killed of by Arab traders and raiders from Zanzibar searching for slaves and ivory. A succession dispute eventually split the kingdom in two, in 1889.

Msiri was killed by the Belgian Stairs Expedition in 1891, ending the Yeke Kingdom.

What was left of the region would be integrated into either the Congo Free State, Portuguese Angola, or Rhodesia, by the late 1890s, beginning the colonial era in the region.