The history of Malawi can be traced back to some of the oldest fossils ever found, with the first humans coming on the scene around 10,000 B.C. Around 100 B.C. the Bantu speaking peoples were reported to have been migrating into the region from the present day Congo, in order to avoid wars and conflict that plagued their northern homes. These migrants were the ancestors of the Chewa and Nyanja peoples who remain the two largest ethnic groups in the region today. The country derives its name from the Maravi, who formed a kingdom that lasted until the 1700s when the empire collapsed.

In the 19th century the Ngoni (A Zulu tribe) came up from the south and conquered the Maravi Chewa and the Tumbuka. The slave trade that dominated the eastern portion of Africa also took its toll on the peoples of the region. Arab, Portuguese, Greek and eventual English influence pulled the people in a number of directions and influences.

By the late 1800s the influence of the missionaries led by David Livingston began to dominate the focus from Europe. The Portuguese, Germans, and English fell into conflict over possession and influence of the region. Slavery, which had plagued the continent, eventually came to an end, and the British, under the direction of the British South African Company, formed an administrative arm to govern Nyasaland. By 1896 the territory was declared a protectorate, and in 1907 was declared a colony of the British Empire.

In 1915 John Chilembwe organized a small group of men and led a failed uprising against the British. Although his attempt failed, the seeds for independence had started to grow. It would take nearly sixty years for this beginning to reach fruition with the formation of the independent nation of Malawi in 1964 under the leadership of Hastings Kamuzu Banda, a Chewa born in Kasungu, a city in the central part of the nation.

The new fledgling nation formed a government patterned after that of Great Britian. Banda led the nation until May 1994 when he was replaced by Bakili Muluzi of the United Democratic Front in the elections of that year.

The Treaty that Ended Slavery
It was under this tree that Dr. David Livingston, the world renowned missionary from Scotland met with the chiefs of the Chewa tribes to sign the treaty the ended slavery. This ushered in the beginning of what would become modern day Malawi.
Tree of the Treaty