Hunter-gatherer and subsistence cultures traversed the area today known as Zambia for thousands of years. Due to its geographic position in the heart of south central Africa, European explorers did not visit Zambia until the late
19th century, when missionary and doctor
David Livingstone reached the area and became the first European to see the
Zambezi Falls. Later, Zambia fell under the control of the
British, who named the area
Northern Rhodesia to distinguish it from
Southern Rhodesia. Upon independence,
Northern Rhodesia became Zambia, and
Southern Rhodesia became
Zimbabwe. In recent years, Zambia, formerly dependent for its wealth on copper mining, has undergone significant economic hardship as a result of the collapse of
copper prices worldwide. Zambia has also been hard hit by the
AIDS epidemic.