The Mfecane: Influence In South Africa In Southern Africa
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JsThe word mfecane is derived from Xhosa terms: ukufaca 'to become thin from hunger' and fetcani 'starving intruders'. Mfecane refers to a period of political disruption and population migration in Southern Africa which occurred during the 1820s and 1830s. It is also known by the Sotho name difaqan.
Smaller chiefdoms were conquered and larger new states emerged, this often called the mfecane.
The process of the political transformation known as the mfecane. In source B pg 114, version of the events claim that between 1818 and 1828 , Shaka conquered most of the present-day Kwazulu-Natal. He is credited with defeating the Ndwande and driving them north to the Pongola River. After this , Shaka begun to conquer and incorporate most of the Nguni people between the Thukela River and Delago Bay. Some historians believe that the emergence of the Zulu state did not start the process of the political transformation known as the mfecane , but was itself a product of a chain of events which had started earlier. These historians say the role of the Zulu state in the mfecane has been exaggerated.…show more content… The Ndebele attacked and raided other chiefdoms, which caused disruption in the southern African interior in the 1820’s and 1830s. This was far worse than any disruption caused by Shaka’s Zulu Kingdom. Mzilikazi’s forces raided northwards to the Venda Kingdom in the Soutpansberg mountains. In the west they raided as far as the Marcio River, and in the south they attacked as far as the Cadelon Valley. Many groups of people moved to find safety in the Drakensberg Mountains to escape from the Ndebele. And around 1827-28 , Mzilikazi moved further north to the area near present day