CAZEMBE, the hereditary name of an African chief, whose territory was situated south of Lake Mweru and north of Bang weulu, between 9° and 11 ° S. In the end of the 18th century the authority of the Cazembe was widely recognized. The kingdom, known also as the Cazembe, diminished in power and extent, until the last quarter of the 19th century, when the Cazembe sank to the rank of a petty chief. The country is now divided between Great Britain and Belgian Congo. The British half, east of the Luapula, forms part of Rhodesia, and its chief town is Kazembe, 49' S., 52' E. The native state, ruled by negroes, who over came the aboriginals, had attained a certain degree of civilization. Agriculture was diligently followed, and cotton cloth, earthenware and iron goods manufactured. The country contains rich deposits of copper, and copper ore was one of the principal articles of export. On his accession every new Cazembe chose a new site for his residence. In 1796 the Cazembe was visited by Manoel Caetano Pereira, a Portuguese merchant. Between that date and 1831 it was visited several times by Portuguese, one of whom, Dr. Francesco Jose Maria de Lacerda, left behind him a valuable journal. In 1868 David Livingstone visited the Cazembe, whose capital at that time numbered no more than i,000 souls. Since when the country was divided between Britain and the Congo State, it has been thoroughly explored. An important copper mining industry is carried on in the Congo division of the territory.
See The Lands of the Cazembe, published by the Royal Geographical Society in 1873, containing translations of Lacerda and Baptista's jour nals, and a resume of Gamitto's 0 Muata Cazembe (Lisbon, ; also Livingstone's Last Journals (London, 1874).