Transformation
in Southern Africa
The
Crushing
| GRADE LEVEL | THEME | TOPIC | DURATION |
| 10 | SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY | TRANSFORMATIONS
IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: MIGRATIONS AND MOVEMENTS FROM THE EARLY TO THE
MID-19TH CENTURY |
x LESSONS |
Transformation
in Southern Africa |
The most prominent role players in the mfecane ruled powerful kingdoms in the area. Zwide of the Ndwandwe, Sobhuza of the Ngwane, who later became the Swazi, and Dingiswayo of the Mthethwa were deeply involved in the upheaval. Zwide and Sobhuza fought over land along the Pongola River and Sobhuza was defeated after which he led his people further inland to the area that is known as Swaziland today. After defeating Sobhuza, Zwide came into conflict with Dingiswayo over other resources like land and water. Both kingdoms were run on military lines. Young men were grouped together in army regiments according to age. Dingiswayo led all his forces against Zwide in 1818 and was trapped and killed in an ambush, which caused the Mthethwa kingdom to dissolve and also paved the way for Shaka Zulu.
Picture A: Shaka Zulu became the leader of the Zulu nation and was Shaka was one of the sons of Senzagakona, a ruler of the Zulu people. As a young man he was a member of Dingiswayo’s army where he distinguished himself through his bravery. When Shaka's father died, Dingiswayo helped him to overthrow his older brother and become chief of the Zulu. Once he became leader he began applying new military strategies that he had developed while serving Dingiswayo. Eventually he became a famous military leader. As the Mthethwa nation fell apart after Dingiswayo's death Shaka used the opportunity to defeat all the chiefdoms in the area, bringing the defeated forces into his fold and so creating a new kingdom. Zwide realised that Shaka could become a threat and decided to stop him, but was defeated in 1818 by the Zulu’s superior strategy and discipline. The Ndwandwe left their homeland and regrouped. In 1926, under Zwide’s successor Sikhunyani , they challenged the Zulu forces again and were completely destroyed. By this time Shaka had created an army of 40 000 men who defeated and then robbed other groups for cattle and grain. These attacks were highly organised raids and all resulting booty became the property of Shaka. Shaka was focused on expanding his kingdom and when he defeated a chiefdom the local rulers, or their family members, were left to control their tribes. Young men were taken away to become part of Shaka’s army and the development of his military system created a sense of unity among these men from independent communities. Although he only ruled for about a decade he merged nearly a hundred chiefdoms. Shaka also maintained contact with Delagoa Bay in Mozambique and was interested in expanding the ivory trade in the area. A Portuguese delegation visited him in 1825. In 1824 English traders had also landed at Port Natal, which later became Durban, and he traded with them, and made use of their advice. In 1828 Shaka’s mother died and after the mourning period he launched a campaign against all chiefdoms in the area between the Cape Colony and KwaZulu Natal. It seems that the campaign was not only an attempt to raid, but also to establish a trade route between his kingdom and the Colony. He sent a diplomatic delegation with one of his English traders, Lieutenant King, to open relations with the Governor of the Cape. When his delegation did not return from the Cape one of his other English traders, Henry Fynn, convinced Shaka that the chiefdoms near the frontier were protected by the British. Shaka decided to turn his army around and moved north from his own kingdom to attack the kingdom in southern Mozambique. He intended to return the next year because he was determined to make contact with his British friends in the Cape. He stayed behind as his army travelled north and two of his brothers, Dingane and Mhlangane, took advantage of his followers’ unhappiness with his strict rule and constant warring. They conspired against him with Mbopha, an induna. While Shaka was meeting a delegation in his cattle enclosure, Mhlangane and Dingane assassinated him. Mbopha distracted the leader by abusing the delegation for being late and by driving them out of the enclosure, allowing Mhlangane to stab him in the back. Dingane joined his brother and together they killed him. At a later stage Dingane also killed Mhlangane and became the ruler of the Zulu.
Map B: The Zulu nation covered the area marked in black on the map The expansion of the Zulu nation forced the Ngwane to move north to form the Swazi kingdom. The Ndwandwe also moved north to establish the Gaza kingdom and in 1840 the Ndebele people moved to the area we now know as south-west Zimbabwe. The upheaval caused by these migrations contributed to the mfecane, which began around 1815-1817. The defeated forces in Shaka’s campaign caused more destruction than his own army because the refugees looted and pillaged wherever they went, reducing KwaZulu Natal and the Orange Free State to a wasteland and forcing the displacement of thousands of people. Outcomes: Use skills and knowledge to construct knowledge in the form of an historical argument and communicate it through writing and performing.
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