What was the Mfecane and how did it affect Southern Africa?

Publish date: 2022-11-27
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. This forced migration was caused by a series of wars that engulfed the area between different states over land and resources.

Likewise, people ask, what was the impact of the Mfecane?

The effects of the Mfecane The Mfecane led to the loss of thousands of lives and destablised the region. Many tribes disbanded and the survivors formed new groups. Many people, like the Ngoni and Hlubi were forced to migrate while the Sotho people reformed to establish the country we know as Lesotho.

Beside above, what is Mfecane in history? f?ˈkǀaːne]), also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane or Lifaqane (all meaning "crushing, scattering, forced dispersal, forced migration"), was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous ethnic communities in southern Africa during the period between 1815 and about

Thereof, what was the impact of the Mfecane quizlet?

The resulting political disruption sent African groups fleeing before the Zulus into both Portuguese coastal regions and the Boer farms of southern Africa.

What explanation did early historians give for the Mfecane?

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.

Where did the Ngoni come from?

The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in the present-day Southern African countries of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Nguni and Zulu people of kwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

What was SA like in 1750?

South Africa only became a sovereign state in 1910. By 1750, at the Cape under Dutch colonial rule, settlers hadexpandednorthwards and eastwards from Cape Town. In the dry northern and western regions of the Cape lived Khoi herders and San hunter-gatherers.

What led to the rise of the Zulu kingdom?

The rise of the Zulu Kingdom under Shaka 1787. After Dingiswayo's death at the hands of Zwide, king of the Ndwandwe, around 1818, Shaka assumed leadership of the entire Mthethwa alliance. Shaka initiated many military, social, cultural and political reforms, forming a well-organized and centralised Zulu state.

What was the Amabutho system?

At the heart of the system were guilds known as amabutho (sing. ibutho). The amabutho were a means of exercising central control over the most productive element in the group – its young men – and prior to the emergence of the Zulu kingdom in the 1820s, each chiefdom had raised its own amabutho.

How did Shaka conquered and incorporated most of the Nguni people?

One of the major factors was the Mfecane (“Crushing”), a period of wars and resettlement begun in the 1820s by Shaka, king of the Zulu. Shaka created an expansive Zulu state that waged war on neighbouring peoples, causing them to be incorporated into the Zulu state or to flee as refugees.

Was the Mfecane a revolution?

This period of revolutionary change--known as the mfecane ("Crushing" or "hammering") by the Zulu and the difaqane (“The Crushing”) by the Sotho--is also often referred to as "the time of troubles". The Difaqane/Mfecane was a period of "disturbance" or "scattering" between 1815 and 1835.

Was Lesotho a free state?

At the end of the Boer War, it was colonised by the British, and this colony was subsequently incorporated by Britain into the Union of South Africa as one of four provinces. It is still part of the modern day Republic of South Africa, now known as the Free State.

How did Nandi Shaka's mother died?

Queen Nandi Bhebhe died of dysentery on October 10, 1827. Her grave can be found outside Eshowe, off the old Empangeni road. The direct descendants of King Shaka's mother Nandi have been unhappy with the state of her grave which has laid unattended in a bad state for over 200 years.

What are the causes and effects of Mfecane?

Among the causes of the Mfecane include overpopulation, refugee problems and drought and famine. The Mfecane had a profound effect on the regions of central and Southern Africa, more so than other event in those regions during the nineteenth century such as the Great Trek because of the reasons to be discussed below.

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