The Causes of the Mfecane Analytical Essay by Top Papers

The paper relates that one of the most interesting aspects of modern historiography is the critical review of historical certainties and concepts in histories written in previous eras. The paper discusses how in the context of the writing of African history, few topics illustrate the significance of such "revisioning" of history as that of the "mfecane"; a term that was used to described the Zulu depopulation of swathes of Natal in the early nineteenth century, which paved the way for Western colonial expansion. As this paper argues, however, modern re-examinations of the "mfecane" have problematized this earlier history as fitting agendas - of both liberal and Afrikaner historians - that misrepresent the complexity of nineteenth century African history. This being said, this essay argues the thesis that the "mfecane" was primarily caused by African agency - likely a mingling of Zulu nation-building together with environmental changes - with the dual effects being the creation of a strong state capable of resisting, if briefly, European expansion while, at the same time, weakening existing African social orders and rendering the southern African region increasingly vulnerable to colonial exploitation.