What is the mfecane theory?
What Cobbing called in his article ‘mfecane theory’ – the idea of a great upheaval caused by the Zulu – was, he claimed, ‘integral to a white settler, “Liberal” history’, and had been refined and elaborated in the 1960s.
Why was mfecane so significant in the history of South Africa?
The area most affected by the mfecane and Zulu expansion was KwaZulu Natal. Refugee groups fleeing Shaka’s army caused destruction in the area, and this was followed by further devastation by the Zulu warriors.
Was the mfecane an alibi?
Cobbing also presents the Mfecane as a myth deliberately created to pro- vide an “alibi” for slaving and raiding, then at a later stage propagated by historians to justify and legitimate the racially unequal division of the land.
What is mfecane war and its causes?
The series of wars that came to be known as the Mfecane happened between the 1820s and 1830s along the coast and in valleys of Southern Africa especially the Pongola River valley. Among the causes of the Mfecane include overpopulation, refugee problems and drought and famine.
What role did the Mfecane play in the Great Trek?
The major point of Mfecane: The Role Played by Blacks in the Great Trek, is that blacks trudging besides ox wagons out of the Cape and into the hinterland outnumbered white Trekkers. “The Great Trek has been interpreted in many different ways,” Halala writes in the introduction to his book.
Who did Mzilikazi flee from South Africa and why?
1818), with the authority of a territorial subchief on the northern marches of the new Zulu kingdom. In 1823, after endangering his position by refusing to surrender to Shaka certain cattle captured in a raid, Mzilikazi fled Zululand.
How did Mfecane affect Southern Africa?
In South Africa itself the Mfecane caused immense suffering and devastated large areas as refugees scrambled to safety in mountain fastnesses or were killed, thus easing the way for white expansion into Natal and the Highveld.
Where did the term Mfecane come from?
The word mfecane is derived from Xhosa terms: ukufaca “to become thin from hunger” and fetcani “starving intruders.” In Zulu, the word means “crushing.” Mfecane refers to a period of political disruption and population migration in Southern Africa which occurred during the 1820s and 1830s.
What does the term Mfecane mean?
Mfecane, (Zulu: “The Crushing”) , Sotho Difaqane, series of Zulu and other Nguni wars and forced migrations of the second and third decades of the 19th century that changed the demographic, social, and political configuration of southern and central Africa and parts of eastern Africa.
How did Mfecane affect Botswana?
No period in Botswana’s history has been more destructive than the Difaqane, also known as Mfecane. During the 1820s and 1830s two groups of foreign invaders, the Bakololo and Amandebele, attacked merafe throughout the country, seizing people and livestock.
What happened to Mzilikazi?
During the tribe’s wanderings north of the Limpopo, Mzilikazi became separated from the bulk of the tribe. They gave him up for dead and hailed his young heir Nkulumane as his successor. However, Mzilikazi reappeared after a traumatic journey through the Zambezi Valley and reasserted control.