Malawi annually celebrates its Independence Day on July 6.
On this day Malawi proclaimed independence from Great Britain.
British proclaimed a protectorate in Malawi in 1891.
It included the whole territory of the present-day Malawi and Shire Highlands.
In 1907 the protectorate was renamed Nyasaland, the name was kept till the day, when Malawi proclaimed its independence.
In 1944 the Africans of Nyasaland formed the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) to promote local interests in Britain.
In 1953 Britain created the Central African Federation by linking Nyasaland with Northern and Southern Rhodesia.
The Federation gained a semi-independent administration, but the fact of linking provoked the opposition from Africans and the NAC gained popular support.
Influential opponent of the Central African Federation Dr. Hastings Banda formed the Malawi Congress Party and gained a majority in the Legislative Council elections in 1961.
He became prime minister in 1963.
The Federation dissolved in 1963 and on July 6, 1964 Naysaland gained independence from Britain and renamed itself Malawi.
