protectorate · Central and Southern Africa

Nyasaland

1907 CE – 1964 CE · capital Zomba

The British protectorate around Lake Malawi that resisted federation with the Rhodesias and became independent Malawi.

Origins

In 1907 the British Central Africa Protectorate, created by Harry Johnston in 1891 after wars against Yao slave traders, was renamed the Nyasaland Protectorate. It was given a governor, an executive council and a legislative council, with Zomba remaining the capital.

Rule and society

Nyasaland was a poor territory whose main export was labour: tens of thousands of men worked in the mines and farms of Southern Rhodesia and South Africa, while planters in the Shire Highlands grew tobacco and tea using thangata tenancy. In 1915 the Baptist preacher John Chilembwe led a short rising against planter abuses. Scottish missions made literacy unusually widespread, and the Nyasaland African Congress was founded in 1944.

Decline and legacy

Nyasaland was joined to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953 against strong African opposition. Hastings Kamuzu Banda returned in 1958, a state of emergency followed in 1959, and his Malawi Congress Party won the 1961 elections. Nyasaland became independent as Malawi on 6 July 1964.

Lineage

British Central Africa Protectorate 1891 CE – 1907 CENyasaland

Connections (2)

Nyasaland was a protectorate of British Empire1907 CE – 1964 CE
Nyasaland was part of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland1953 CE – 1963 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Nyasaland. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/nyasaland
MLA: “Nyasaland.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/nyasaland. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Nyasaland.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/nyasaland.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Nyasaland’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/nyasaland (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻