Political changes in the east, 1750-1820

Grade: 10Term: 3

Topic: 4 – TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA AFTER 1750

Sub-Topic: POLITICAL CHANGES IN THE EAST, 1750-1820

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Moving away from Zulu-centred histories

• As we have learnt, from 1750 to 1850,dramatic developments transformed thenature of African societies.

• New political groupings came into being.• New political groupings came into being.

• A period of warfare and upheaval occurredthroughout the south-east coastal Africanareas and the inland regions of the westernHighveld.

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During the 1820’s and 1830’s:

• Some chiefdoms were absorbed intoothers

• New kingdoms developed

• Some kingdoms increased in power

• Many people were forced to flee to otherregions of southern Africa.

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The rise of the Ndwandwe Kingdom under Zwide

• Modern historians argue that a number ofimportant kingdoms were competing for poweron the south-east region of southern Africa.

• The Zulu were just one of them.• The Zulu were just one of them.

• One of the others was a kingdom called theNdwandwe.

• The Ndwandwe were ruled by King Zwide.

• The Ndwandwe lived to the south of DelagoaBay and moved between the middle Phongolaand the Black Mfolozi Rivers.

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The Ndwandwe Kingdom and the Tembe

• In the 1750’s and 1760’s, there was a rapidgrowth of ivory trade in Delagoa Bay, whichbuilt up the power of the Tembe, anotherchiefdom in the area.chiefdom in the area.

• They put more pressure on the Ndwandwe asthe Tembe power expanded in the 1750’s.

• During the 1700’s, the Ndwandwe fled theTembe kingdom.

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The Ndwandwe kingdom and the Mthethwa

• The Mthethwa kingdom arose in the 18th

century, south of Delagoa Bay and inland ineastern southern Africa.

• King Dingiswayo ruled the Mthethwa kingdom• King Dingiswayo ruled the Mthethwa kingdomand was Zwides’ main rival and greatestthreat.

• At this stage, Shaka’s small Zulu chiefdom wasnot a threat to Zwide’s power.

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• Later, in a battle with the Ndwandwe,Dingiswayo was captured and put to death.

• His forces were defeated and driven back indisorder.

• The Ndwandwe were now the strongest powereast of the Drakensberg.

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east of the Drakensberg.

• After Dingiswayo’s death, the Mthethwa joinedShaka.

• The rapidly rising Zulu chiefdom under Shakabegan to threaten the Ndwandwe again.

Zwide and the Ndwandwe kingdom

• In 1818, Zwide’s armies defeated the MthethwaKingdom.

• Zwide now planned to destroy the Zulu Kingdomunder Shaka.

In 1820, Zwide attacked the Zulu Kingdom with• In 1820, Zwide attacked the Zulu Kingdom withthe aim of destroying it as a rival centre of power.

• Under Shaka’s strong leadership, the Zulu wereable to avoid destruction by hiding or destroyingtheir stocks of grain and retreating with theircattle to the south.

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The break-up of the NdwandweKingdom.

• In 1820, a group of Ndwandwe broke away fromZwide under another chief called Zikode who wenton to establish the Gaza kingdom in southern andcentral Mozambique.

• In the early 1820’s, the Ndwandwe drove away the• In the early 1820’s, the Ndwandwe drove away thesmall Khumalo chiefdom under the leadership oftheir chief Mzilikazi, who went on to form the coregroup of the Ndebele kingdom.

• In 1826 the Ndwandwe under Zwide broke up whenthey were defeated by the Zulu kingdom under theleadership of Shaka. Groups of Ndwandwe lived on inconsolidated states among the Zulu, Swazi andNdebele.

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Rise of the Zulu state and its consolidation under Dingane

• At the time of the rivalry between Dingiswayo’sMthethwa kingdom and Zwide’s Ndwandwekingdom, a man called Shaka ka Senzangakhonawas chief of the small Zulu clan.was chief of the small Zulu clan.

• Shaka paid tribute to Dingiswayo, and spent afew years as a soldier in one of the Mthethwaregiments.

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• After Dingiswayo’s death and the defeatof his Mthethwa chiefdom, Shaka built astrong kingdom using sophisticatedmilitary tactics.

• Shaka reorganised the Zulu kingdom and

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• Shaka reorganised the Zulu kingdom andused the military insights he had gainedfrom Zwide and from Dingiswayo.

• By the time of his death in 1828, Shakacontrolled a very powerful kingdom.

• Many sources describe Shaka as a leader whodemanded the strictest discipline and perfectionfrom his warriors.

• It is also believed that Shaka developed newfighting tactics that helped the Zulu state to rise inpower.

• Despite this, internal opposition to Shaka’s rule ofthe Zulu formed from within the Zulu royal house.

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the Zulu formed from within the Zulu royal house.• But the fight against their most powerful enemy,the Ndwandwe, kept this opposition in thebackground.

• When the Ndwandwe were defeated, however,internal resistance to Shaka grew and spread.

The death of Shaka• A conspiracy began to develop among Shaka’sbrothers to kill him.

• He was stabbed to death in 1828 by his brothersDingane and Mhlangana.

Dingane then had Mhlangana killed.• Dingane then had Mhlangana killed.

• Dingane became king in Shaka’s place.

• Dingane consolidated the power of the Zulukingdom.

• When the Boer trekkers reached Dingane’s territory,they were met with an unexpected military force.

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• The biggest problem Dingane faced at the startof his rule as king was to make sure that theamabutho, or fighting regiments, stayed loyal tohim.

• To do this, he allowed senior amabutho tomarry and set up their own homesteads.

• He also gave them cattle.

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• He also gave them cattle.

• He had anyone killed whom he suspected ofrivalling him.

• He established his authority over the Zulukingdom quite quickly, and set up his mainresidence at Mmungungundlovu.

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