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From the late 19th century until independence in 1964, the landlocked southeastern African republic of Malawi was a British protectorate called Nyasaland.
In 1953 the British territories of Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi), formed part of a British colonial constructed union called the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
As African nationalism grew in the region the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland dissolved in 1963 and, on the 6th of July 1964, Nyasaland gained its independence. It was renamed Malawi and adopted the current national flag.
The Malawi flag is based on the banner adopted by the Malawi Congress Party (black-red-green horizontal stripes), the political party that led the nationalist campaign for independence and whose leader became the first prime minister of Malawi. |
