Lilian Burton: Difference between revisions

'''Lilian Burton''' was a white settler who was killed by [[United National Independence Party|UNIP]] activists who were demonstrating against the colonial regime in [[Ndola]]. <ref>[http://zambianeye.com/archives/10324 Zambian Eye, HEROES AND UNITY DAYS: BUT NO HEROES, NO UNITY!, 1 July 2013]</ref> This was during the [[Cha Cha Cha Uprising]] in 1960.<ref>The Killing of Lilian Margaret Burton and Black and White Nationalisms in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) in the 1960s by Walima T. Kalusaa, pages 63-77</ref>

At about 1pm on Sunday 8 May 1960, Mrs Burton was driving her daughters home in [[Kaniki Plots]] in a Morris Traveller car on [[Mufurila Road]]<ref name=brockwell/> when she was forced to stop by a mob. The windows of her car were smashed and petrol splashed over her and ignited. Her spaniel was burnt alive but Mrs Burton and her daughters, aged 12 and 5, escaped from the car and were brutally assaulted. Their pet Spaniel was burnt alive in the car.<ref name=brockwell/> They were found by a Forest Ranger and taken to [[Ndola Hospital]] where Mrs Burton later died of the 75% burns, mostly third degree. She passed away at about 3am on 16 May 1960.<ref name=brockwell>[http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/policejl38&div=13&id=&page= The Burton Atrocity by DM Brockwell]</ref>

Before she died from the burns sustained in the attack, she reportedly implored European settlers across the country not to avenge her misfortune by indiscriminately attacking Africans. Her husband [[Robert Burton]] echoed the appeal in several heart-rending interviews with the print media after his wife's death. He emphasized that his spouse died as an ardent supporter of African political aspirations. She therefore passed away with no ill feelings towards Africans, the widower emphasized. Accordingly, he passionately appealed to both Africans and Europeans in the Federation not to 'use her death for political purposes'.<ref name=walima>[https://books.google.co.zm/books?id=JNwWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA204&lpg=PA204&dq=lilian+Burton+killed+in+rhodesia&source=bl&ots=ITNG_mCWCa&sig=beewhp6p5lx9ptkuN8C_Bz_l6Uc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt_5WrwqTNAhVIKMAKHTruCRgQ6AEIRTAI#v=onepage&q=lilian%20Burton%20killed%20in%20rhodesia&f=false Death, Belief and Politics in Central African History by Walima T. Kalusa, pages 209 and 210]</ref>  

In spite of these appeals, the Lilian Burton atrocity soon turned into the centerpiece of of a raging political storm involving white settlers, African nationalists, colonial and federal authorities in Central Africa and their superiors in England, deepening the chasm between competing black and white nationalist visions and projects.<ref name=walima>

[[Category:History of Ndola]]