Mfecane.

« Mfecane. I INTRODUCTION Mfecane , period of upheaval in southern Africa in the early decades of the 19th century, characterized by widespread warfare between chiefdoms centered in what is now eastern South Africa, and the subsequent mass migrations of numerous other chiefdoms.

The term mfecane comes from a Nguni word that means “the crushing.” It is also known as difaqane , the Southern Sotho equivalent.

The mfecane reshaped the political and cultural map of southern Africa, as new kingdoms and chiefdoms were formed while others were engulfed or shattered. II CAUSES OF THE MFECANE For years, historians generally believed that the mfecane was caused by the emergence of the aggressive Zulu kingdom.

Recently, however, some historians havecontended that the emphasis on Zulu expansion has obscured the role that European colonialism may have played in triggering the violence.

While the causes of themfecane are still being debated, most historians agree that the expansion of some chiefdoms in southeastern Africa and the centralization of others brought emergingstates into conflict. One reason for the conflict may have been intensifying competition for land.

Maize was introduced to the region by the early 18th century, and as it became a plentifulstaple, population density grew.

By the end of the century, overfarming and overgrazing had depleted the amount of usable land.

Local chiefdoms, whose economieswere based on cattle, were forced to extend and defend their control over year-round grazing lands in order to survive. Another reason for the conflict may have been the destabilizing effect the global trade in slave and ivory had on the region.

Colonists from Britain’s Cape Colony, to thesouthwest, had conducted raids into the region to acquire labor since the 17th century.

In the same period, Portuguese traders based at ports on the southeasterncoast of Africa fed an increasing demand for slave labor on South American plantations and hunted extensively for ivory for the international market.

In response tothese incursions, local chiefdoms sought to establish control over the lucrative trade routes and, possibly, to organize defenses against slave raids.

This led to militaryexpansion and the development of new social and political structures. A key aspect of this process was the development of the amabutho system.

In this system, all the young men of a chiefdom were grouped into regiments ( amabutho ) according to their age.

The amabutho served multiple purposes.

They were used to perform labor, police the chiefdom’s subjects, and defend the chiefdom againstoutside enemies.

For their service, the amabutho required reward, particularly in the form of cattle, and this could best be gained by raiding neighboring peoples.Additional cattle required wider grazing lands, so raids inevitably turned into wars of territorial conquest.

In the early years of the 19th century, conflicts over cattle andland were sharpened by a major drought. III WARS, MIGRATIONS, AND NEW STATES The course of the mfecane is a complicated one, with clashes leading to migrations, migrations leading to the rise of new states, and the rise of new states leading tofurther clashes and migrations.

The central clashes of the mfecane, those that caused the initial migrations, took place in an area that would later be known as Zululand,in what is now eastern South Africa.

This area is roughly bounded by the Thukela (Tugela) River to the southwest, the Phongolo (Pongola) River to the north, and theIndian Ocean to the southeast. A Initial Clashes At the start of the 19th century the region was divided into numerous small chiefdoms, the most powerful being the Ndwandwe and Mthethwa.

Starting in the late1810s, conflict between these two chiefdoms began to dislodge their lesser neighbors, such as the Ngwane.

The Ngwane people fled, splitting into two groups.

Onegroup, led by Sobhuza, moved into the mountains north of the Phongolo River and began building up a large state that would eventually become the Swazi kingdom(see Swaziland).

The other Ngwane group, led by Matiwane, fled to the west, to the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains.

There they defeated the Hlubi chiefdom, scattering them in several directions.

Near the Indian Ocean coast, the Qwabe consolidated their territory in defense, pushing out the Thuli and Cele.

These chiefdomswere forced southward across the Thukela River into what later became Natal. B Zulu Wars In 1817 the Ndwandwe, under Zwide, defeated and broke up the Mthethwa, led by Dingiswayo.

Their victory brought them into direct conflict with the small butmilitarily powerful Zulu chiefdom under Shaka.

In the course of the struggle, the Zulu consolidated their position by incorporating some lesser chiefdoms, notably theQwabe, or forcing others, such as the Bhele, Chunu, and Tembu, to flee south.

The Tembu, led by Ngoza, moved destructively through Natal as far as the MthamvunaRiver, where they were broken up around 1822 by the Mpondo, under Faku. In 1819 the Zulu defeated the Ndwandwe and took over their former territory.

The Ndwandwe were forced north across the Phongolo River.

A group of Ndwandwerefugees, led by Soshangane, fled into what is now southern Mozambique, where they overran the local Tsonga people and became known as the Gaza.

Soshanganewent on to create the Gaza Empire, which stretched along the coast from Delagoa Bay to the lower Zambezi.

In 1826 other Ndwandwe groups attempted to strike backagainst the Zulu, but were finally destroyed.

Many Ndwandwe refugees, led by Zwangendaba and Nxaba, fled towards Gaza.

In 1831 they clashed with Soshangane,who forced them north across the Zambezi.

There they overran the Rozwi Empire, in what is now Zimbabwe.

These Ndwandwe people, who became known as the Jereor the Ngoni, subsequently spread out into present-day Zambia, Malawi, and finally Tanzania, where Zwangendaba founded the Ngoni Kingdom. C Ngwane-Hlubi Wars and Clashes in the Interior During the 1820s the Zulu expanded southward, defeating the Chunu again and forcing them as far south as the Mzimkhulu River.

The Ngwane, under Matiwane, weredriven westward over the Drakensberg Mountains to the Mohokare (Caledon) River area.

There they came into conflict with the Hlubi and the Tlokwa, and from 1821 to1824 these groups warred fiercely.

In 1825 the Ngwane defeated the Hlubi once and for all, but in 1827 they were attacked by the Zulu and driven south towardsBritain’s Cape Colony.

Colonial forces and local African allies finally scattered the Ngwane in August 1828. These wars and migrations wreaked havoc on peoples of the interior of what is now South Africa.

The situation was complicated further by the arrival of the Griquapeople, who were being driven north from the Cape Colony by the expansion of white settlement.

Equipped with firearms and horses, the Griqua displaced a number ofTswana chiefdoms on the southern fringes of the Kalahari Desert, including the Tlharo and the Tlhaping.

The Rolong community was also forced north into the region,where it clashed with the Taung near the Molopo River.

The Taung had been driven northwest from the Mohokare River area by the wars of the Hlubi and Ngwane in theearly 1820s.. »