Copper Miners' Strike

Date: May 29, 1935 • Location: Chibombo, Zambia

A strike by copper miners in Northern Rhodesia ended after six workers were shot and killed by police.

A major strike broke out among African mineworkers in the Copperbelt Province of Northern Rhodesia on 29 May 1935 in protest against taxes levied by the British colonial administration. The strike involved three of the province's four major copper mines: those in Mufulira, Nkana and Roan Antelope. Near the latter, six protesters were killed by police and the strike ended. Although it failed, the strike was the first organized industrial agitation in Northern Rhodesia and is viewed by some as the first overt action against colonial rule. It caught the attention of a number of African townsmen, leading to the creation of trade unions and African nationalist politics, and is seen as the birth of African nationalism.