Shaka and Zulu

The extreme pressure for the Zulu to find new land because of drought caused an expansion in territory and led to a series of wars for control which was dubbed Mfecane. The Mfecane was a period of warfare between different ethnic groups which led to many changes in the political structure of Southern Africa. This series of wars called the Mfecane was revolutionary during 1817-1828 (www.bbc.co.uk) and it was mainly due to the abolition of the Trans – Atlantic slave trade, coupled with the increase in population, also with the loss of natural resources, and the economic restructuring moving from slaves being the main economic trade to the search for a new method resulted in a major change in southern Africa. During the Mfecane many people died because of the sheer warfare that was happening during this time, and with this catastrophe many more people lost their homes and territories. At the heart of the Mfecane was Shaka who saw the old small stateless communities and turned his entity Zulu into a large scale political entity with large armies and because of Shaka this time turned out to be one of major expansion in Southern Africa. Shaka and the Zulu were at the heart of the Mfecane and are the most important part to shed light on, but the Mfecane also saw the creation and expansion of many other nations which should be discussed further as well. To further illustrate a look at what caused the Mfecane, The kingdom of Zulu and their leader Shaka, and the expansion and creation of other kingdom's during the time of the Mfecane.

During the time of the Mfecane many people died from the warfare which also left many more displaced. Due to the Mfecane large states arrived which made the smaller states expand and allowing for larger armies and ultimately for Shaka to be able to control area's with an iron fist. With the increasing population's levels and resources becoming scarce it was obvious that this would become a crucial period of time in African history.

Bibliography: "Zulu Rise & Mfecane" The story of Africa, BBC World Service. "Mfecane" Tiscali Reference. 2005 Mills, Wallace G. "Zulu State-building and the Mfecane" Hist. 322 5 Mfecane. 2002 "Migrations of the Mfecane" Encarta. "Background to the Mfecane" South Africa. "Shaka and the Rise of the Zulu State" South Africa. "Mfecane" Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 1997 – 2000 http://autocww.colorado.edu/~blackmon/E64ContentFiles/AfricanHistory/Mfecane.html