Pamela
Student No:
Unique No: 635955
HSY2603 Assignment 01
PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS
3. Briefly outline why some historians have questioned the validity of using the term
“mfecane”
The word „mfecane‟ originates from the Xhosa language and means „crushing‟ in the sense of
total warfare.1 During the 20th century it was used by many historians to refer to the mayhem
in south-eastern Africa that was formally known as the „wars of Shaka‟, which dated back
from about 1815 to 1828. The disagreement during that period of time was blamed on Shaka,
as he established his power as a leader of a very dominant Zulu state. In the late 1980s, some
historians began to see the word “mfecane” as a concept that had limited value, and was too
focused on Shaka. A historian by the name of Julian Cobbing had stated that Shaka‟s role in
the conflict in south-eastern Africa was exaggerated and misrepresented, and that the events,
known as the mfecane was actually caused by colonists from the Cape Colony, Delagoa Bay
and Natal. According to numerous sources his argument stated that slaving activities of white
settlers and colonists were the core root of dispute in that area during the period, and that the
„myth‟ of the mfecane was a fitting alibi for the early white colonists.2 He further explained
that the claim of that land had been deserted due to the wars caused by Shaka, and that later
rationalized the apartheid land policies. Cobbing strongly argued that, even though there
definitely was conflict amongst certain African communities in the internal part of southern
Africa, earlier historians and the resources they used mainly focused on these internal issues
rather than focusing on the influential role of the external colonial forces. John Wright,
another historian, explained that the commotions in south-east Africa began long before the
1820s and were not only caused by the Zulus or Shaka specifically. This specific set of events
date as far back as approximately the 1740s and lasted until about 1850. Cobbing‟s
arguments have been ferociously debated multiple times, and a few historians agree with all
of his arguments and findings, many historians and people would most probably agree that
there are different notions and perceptions of the mfecane , and that the term on its own is
misleading.
1
HSY2603, Study Guide- 2021
2
The Journal of African History, Vol. 29, No. 3 (1988), Cambridge University Press
, 5. What were the main reasons that the Voortrekkers provided for the movement in the
1830s that came to be known as the Great Trek?
The Great Trek was the relocation or „migration‟ of the Dutch speaking white farmers from
the Eastern Cape into many different areas in Natal, the Transvaal and Free State, from the
1830s until about the 1850s.3 The original reason that the Voortrekkers provided for the Great
Trek was because of their complications and aggravations they had towards the British
government and their colonial administration at the Cape. They felt that the British authorities
did not represent them in any momentous way. Many farmers in the eastern regions of the
Colony were despondent about the legislation as they felt that it weakened their control over
their slave labour, and in 1834 during the declaration of the emancipation of slaves it showed
that they would no longer be able to have the control over their labourers that they had
enjoyed for many decades4. They were also angry about the financial losses that they would
face due to the slave emancipation. White farmers that were in these areas nagged about the
lack of law enforcement against the khoikhoi and black people in eastern cape and saw
themselves as victims of raiding and theft for which there were no penalties. They felt that
their defencelessness to these „attacks‟ had only increased because the British introduced this
treaty and that they were not protected in any significant way. The frontier war from 1834 to
1835 affected many white farmers as they suffered severe losses of livestock, assets and fixed
property. This added to them feeling more alienated by the British authorities, in whom they
already felt neglected and unprotected. The Great Trek tends to be described as a movement
that showed the desire of Afrikaners for independence and freedom. During the 1830s, before
the Great Trek took place, Afrikaners completely lost all the trust they had for the British
government and colonial authorities. They felt that the government was both reluctant and
incapable of protecting them, and was to blame for their financial losses. For these reasons
alone, it‟s better to view the Great Trek as a form of resistance against the British colonial
authorities and government.
3
HSY2603, Study Guide- 2021
4
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/great-trek-1835-1846
