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. These individuals were the nguni speaking and sotho speaking people of southern africa. The mfecane is a characteristic product of south african liberal history used by the apartheid state to legitimate south africas racially unequal land division. Free to use, without the need to register an account or email address. Jim campbell, northwestern university, illinois wellknown to south africanists as individual contributions, this. Accepted idea was that the radical political and social changes among the bantu societies were caused by the expansion of the zulu kingdom under shaka zulu. This period of revolutionary changeknown as the mfecane crushing or hammering by the zulu and the difaqane the crushing by the sothois also. But now, with the historic april election, south africa. In recent times historians known as africanists revived the topic of the mfecane in the early 1960s and it was well exploited and was also used to justify certain aspects of apatheid. How large a responsibility do shaka and the zulu people bear for the social turbulence in southcentral and southeast africa in the early decades of the 19th century. The mfecane began between the tugela river and pongola river, where shaka created a militaristic zulu kingdom. Redefining homeschoolcommunity partnerships in south africa. Many of the debates which have emerged since 1988 round the concept of the mfecane are taken up in the collection of essays currently being edited by carolyn hamilton under the title, the mfecane aftermath.
This essay tries to explain the point that the mfecane is the single event that made the most profound effect on central and southern africa in the nineteenth century. Mfecane is sometimes referred to as the war of wondering and it. The most popular online tool to compress pdf files into an email ready size. The mfecane was partly caused by changes in the nguni groups that resulted in the development of the zulu nation. In my opinion, the mfecane itself is just a story of westerners who arrived on the banks of southern africa to further their own and their nations wealth through trade. The varying views towards the mfecane essay example. After long delays, the book has now november 1995 made its appearance from the joint publishers, witwatersrand university press and the university of. Orthodox historians maintain that the mfecane was a great series of wars and. The historical discourse about the forces underlying the mfecanedifaqane has focused on the standard story, a zulucentric version of african internal dynamics.
Revived by wellintentioned africanist historians in the 1960s the concept has subsequently been exploited to justify aspects of apartheid. Liaylam, a history of the african people of south africa cape tovn, 1986, ch. Over the last two or three years 19921995 the active debates not to say maulings and mudslingings that took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s round the concept of the imfecane have given way to an uneasy calm. This is the mfecane aftermath, a selection of revised papers, edited by carolyn hamilton, from the conference of the same title which was held at the university of the witwatersrand in 1991.
Before the effects of the mfecane is discussed it is important to look at factors that led to the mfecane. Topic discuss the causes of the mfecane, taking into consideration the variety of historiography on this event. Pdf the account of mfecane farai mushangwe academia. The brainstorming stage then requires thinking about one or more causes of that effect. Explain whether you agree with this portrayal of shaka. Mfecane the image of africa and the land question by toby chance august 20 on february th 20, dr pieter mulder of the freedom front plus and deputy minister of agriculture, gave a speech in parliament inflaming a decadesold debate. This study examines how mfecane history was written from the first published articles in mid1823 until walker coined the concept mfecane in 1928. Show the effects both positive and negative conclude. The mfecane was a period of warfare between different ethnic groups which led to many changes in the political structure of southern africa. A combination of local factorspopulation growth, the depletion of natural resources, and devastating drought and famineled to revolutionary changes in the political, economic, and social structure of bantuspeaking communities in southern africa in the first half of the nineteenth century. Mfecane was unquestioned fact of southern africa until the 1980s. The end to shakas reign had come to an end, but the effects of his campaigns were to be felt for years to come. In so doing, cobbing repeats the separation of black and white history 1n as serious a way as the myth of the mfecane itself does.
This thesis undertakes a journey through a host of published works, books. The impact of the mfecane on the cape colony essay sample the impact of the mfecane on the cape colony, dealt with the impact that the movement had on the lives of those included in the movement. Define the mfecane and its effects on southern africa. Climate and the mfecane article pdf available in south african journal of science 11056. Rapid population growth resulted on competition for land which was needed for agricultural, grazing and residential purposes. Defeat of shaka could have minimize the effects of the mfecane any other relevant response any 2 x 2 4 2. A unified democracy the evolution of south africa for the past threeandahalfcenturies, south africa has been a country characterized by ethnic strife. Jun 06, 2012 topic discuss the causes of the mfecane, taking into consideration the variety of historiography on this event. The dataset includes 123 countries and covers the period 19962010. Mfecane and its effects on bantu societies mike schepker.
The word mfecane is a characterised product of the south african liberal history that is used by the apartheid regime state to. Julian cobbing against the mfecane has the mfecane a future. Mfecane is an nguni word which means crushing and was used by the nguni to describe the violent wars that tore apart central and southern africa between 1820 and1835. Mfecane also known by the sesotho name difaqane or lifaqane was a period of widespread. An overview of zambias economic and poverty situation.
Apr 26, 20 even the nascent pedi kingdom some 300 kilometres away in the interior felt the effects of this. The bushmens diet and relaxed lifestyle have prevented most of the stressrelated diseases of the western world. In the highveld, the same process is known by the analogous sesotho term difaqane collins and burns, 2007. Explanations have emphasized various anthropogenic environmental causes like ecological and demographic change. Segregation and apartheid in twentiethcentury south africa this is an outstanding collectiongathering the harvest of twenty years of intense scholarly and political debate. 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.
Pdf the mfecane is thought to be a massive upheaval and. Mfecane was known as the crushing because of the many wars that took place in the beginning of the nineteenth century. Jan 16, 2012 mfecane was the period of widespreading warfare plundening disturbances 1. Also during that period saw the growth of trade and the establishment of several european colonies. This series of wars called the mfecane was revolutionary during 18171828 uk and it was mainly due to the abolition of the trans atlantic slave trade, coupled with the increase in.
The military inventions of the zulu state spread into different parts of central and southern africa. The written documents which do exist were mostly written by white travellers, missionaries. The historiographical development of the concept mfecane. In essence, the mfecane was chaos within the zulu kingdom that consisted of many large tribes battling for. Thoughts on dithakong and mbolompo1 by julian cobbing the mfecan is ae tenaciou s and stillevolving multiple theme in the historiography of th apartheide state. Coined the term mfecane in the zulu aftermath in 1966. The diary is also cited in mfecane as alibi as a source of evidence for slaving at the bay. The mfecane led to the creation of strong centralised new states that is, the zulu under shaka, ngwane under sobhuza, ngoni states, ndebele and kololo. It will first discuss why the mfecane is seen as single event, then move on to discuss its causes and effects and later conclude on the question based on the findings of the research. What was the mfecane how did it affect southern africa. The dangers of 5g 11 reasons to be concerned the usa is currently leading the way on 5g. At the june 2016 press conference where the federal communications commissions fcc head tom wheeler announced the opening up of low, mid and high spectrums. Causes of the mfecane essay example 867 words cram. The impact of the mfecane on the cape colony essay example.
Dismissal of some of the major sources of the period as white forgeries, and subsequent. An overview of zambias economic and poverty situation introduction poverty is the most profound challenge that zambia faces today. The causes of the mfecane were emerging by the end of the eighteenth century, when population levels. Where do all the people who live in south africa come from. Aug 30, 2011 the mfecane was a period of chaos and indigenous tribal warfare in south africa that saw the near depopulation of the region from 1815 to around 1840 timeframe. As a general, he successfully defeated assaults on thaba bosiu by matiwane ngwane 1827, tlokwa 1829 and ndebele 1831.
Segregation and apartheid in twentiethcentury south africa. He suggests that this included the effects of a massive demand for labour in the form of slaves or variants thereof apprentices, refugees and so on from. Mfecane, or the crushing, was a series of wars and forced migrations that greatly impacted the demographic, social, and political organization of southern and central africa. This, in turn, set in motion a ripple effect of dislocation and disruption that extended through much of southern africa, namely, the. Orthodox historians maintain that the mfecane was a great series of wars and raids initiated and perpetrated by the. Based on the historiography covering this event, historians believed many elements caused the mfecane. Further south, a similar pattern emerged, with the ndwandwe and mthethwa chiefdoms increasing their numbers and competing for allies. The mfecane was a notion that existed virtually unchallenged in the imaginations of large numbers of people, including virtually all academic historians of southern africa, from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. Although no one can pinpoint exactly what caused the mfecane, most believe the causes emerged at the end of the eighteenth and. The ethnohistorical and ethnographic documents suggest that from the 1790s to the. The causes of the mfecane were emerging by the end of the eighteenth century, when population levels increased rapidly, and ecological resources were. Walkers neologism, meaning the crushing, has no root in any african language, but it crudely conveyed the myth of a cataclysmic period of blackonblack destruction in the era of shaka. Effects of mfecane on southern and central africa free.
The seemingly innocuous words differences of opinion used by mulder in his speech cut to the core of the issue was the land cleared by the mfecane leaving it open to boers to peacefully occupy, thus bolstering their current claims to land. Some astonishingly selective use or actual invention of evidence produced the myth of an internallyinduced process of blackonblack destruction centring on shakas zulu. The effects of mfecane can be grouped into positive and negative effects. To a large extent, i suspect, this is because many of the people formerly engaged in the debates have been waiting for the publication of what is. The mfecane and its effects publish your masters thesis. This type of essay may focus more on the causes or more on the effects, but most writers answer this question by thinking of an effect or a final result. The mfecane, he has maintained, was in origin a colonial myth to conceal white wrongdoing and justify land expropriation. I argue that the connectedup histories which make up.
Used as a propaganda myth by settlers in the region, claimed africans naturally prone to irrational conflict justification for 19th century colonization and modern apartheid caused by. The latest jctr 2001 monthly food basket survey shows that it is becoming more and more. The story would take a turn when some of the traders felt that they were coming under threat from the. The pattern of the mfecane, in which tribe was set against tribe over an everincreasing radius, was highly successful in areas weakened by overpopulation and overgrazing. Mfecane was the period of widespreading warfare plundening disturbances 1. How many people died as a result of all the conflict is unknown but the death toll. The sotho refers to the mfecane as the defecane or lifaquane, which means forced migration. The aftermath was called mfecane, meaning forced wanderings. Its a private tour so you wont find it commercially. The word mfecaneoriginated from zulu world which means crushing. In the twentieth century, the oppressive system of apartheid divided races politically, economically and socially. The paper investigates the effects of clime conditions on collected tax revenues, based on a panelmodel approach. The debate on the mfecane that erupted following the publication in.
In essence, the mfecane was chaos within the zulu kingdom that consisted of many large tribes battling for land and power between 1816 and 1840. Its basic proposition are integras l to a white settler, liberal history. The mfecane moves boundaries \n \n \n \n \n module 1 \n \n \n \n \n what is mfecane. The mfecane was one of a period which witnessed many theories being developed and produced which tries to account for mfecane. The crushing 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.
Background mfecane was a ngoni word used to describe times of trouble, forced migration of various people from southeastern parts of present south africa to other parts of south, central and east africa. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page. It is a social crisis with the majority of people denied a minimum decent living standard. The debate over mfecane or no mfecane shows this up in stark relief. Jul 04, 2019 the mfecane was partly caused by changes in the nguni groups that resulted in the development of the zulu nation. The mfecanedifaqane problem from the documentary record. The causes and impact of the mfecane in south africa essay. The mfecane spread from there, leading to the formation and consolidation of other groups such as the matable, the mfengu and the makololoand the creation of states such as the modern lesotho wikipedia, 2008. The longestablished notion that the history of african societies in southern africa in the nineteenth century can be understood in terms of a zulu aftermath needs to be dropped tout court. During the period 18221836 when the mfecane was ravaging the sothotswana land, he gathered a group of refugees on the mountain fortress of thaba bosiu therefore he created the southern sotho kingdom in lesotho. Although no one can pinpoint exactly what caused the mfecane, most believe the causes emerged at the end of the eighteenth and the start of the nineteenth centuries. The mfecane was a period of chaos and indigenous tribal warfare in south africa that saw the near depopulation of the region from 1815 to around 1840 timeframe.
The story would take a turn when some of the traders felt that they were coming under threat from the native peoples such as the nguni and the zulu. The best online tool to compress large pdfs while maintaining both file format and quality. Mfecane was the period of widespreading warfare plundening. A n e is a tenacious and stillevolving multiple theme in the historio graphy of the apartheid state. Download file to see previous pages it is evidently clear from the discussion that mfecane took place as a result of nationbuilding that was aggressively done by the zulu lead by shaka and the ndebele of mzilikazi. Mfecane refers to a period of political disruption and population migration in southern africa which occurred during the 1820s and 1830s. The mfecane and its effects the single event that made the most profound effect on central and southern africa in the. Mfecane was the period of widespreading warfare plundening disturbances, destruction andmigrations in zulu land and in some other parts of south africa. Among the causes of the mfecane include overpopulation, refugee problems. As with any other country, south africas population continually changes.
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