Mfecane, also known as Difaqane, was a period of upheaval leading to mass migrations among African chiefdoms of southern Africa between 1819 and 1838. A series of raids and attacks by different groups for various reasons during the Mfecane brought about large-scale destruction of life and property. It led to a great redistribution of people and changed social structures.
A major center of conflict was Zululand, in what is now the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Competition for trade, grazing land, and water resources led to the emergence of three kingdoms in the early 1800’s. Some historians now believe that raids by colonists from Cape Colony and an increase in the trade in slaves and ivory heightened the struggle for resources and forced people to seek the protection of military leaders. Many small, independent chiefdoms came under the sway of the three powerful leaders—Zwide of the Ndwandwe, Sobhuza of the Swazi, and Dingiswayo of the Mthethwa.
The first major battle among these kingdoms took place between Zwide and Sobhuza in 1816. Sobhuza was defeated and fled with his followers into the mountains of present-day Eswatini, where he built the Swazi nation. In 1818, the armies of Zwide and Dingiswayo clashed in battle and Dingiswayo was killed.
Zwide was prevented from taking over the whole area by Shaka, the chief of the Zulu. Shaka had built himself a standing army, and had introduced new weapons and battle tactics into Zululand. After Dingiswayo’s death, he formed ties with Dingiswayo’s former allies. When Zwide sent his army against Shaka later in 1818, the Ndwandwe were defeated. Shaka went on to build a military empire. He incorporated many peoples into his kingdom and controlled the area’s resources of both products and labor.
Most historians agree that these disturbances in Zululand caused a chain reaction throughout southern Africa from 1819 onward. Those unwilling to join the Zulu clan fled across the mountains into the interior, just as refugees from the defeated Ndwandwe had fled northward into Mozambique under the leadership of Soshangane, Zwangadaba, and Nxaba.
In 1821, the Mfecane spread to the southern Highveld, now the Free State. The Hlubi people were driven along the Drakensberg Mountains by a group of Ngwane people led by Matiwane. The Hlubi attacked the Tlokwa, a group of Sotho people. For the next two years, the Hlubi and displaced Tlokwa people survived by raiding villages of other southern Sotho communities.
This situation was made worse when Matiwane and the Ngwane people crossed the Drakensberg Mountains and again clashed with the Hlubi. This time they destroyed them. The Ngwane broke up in 1827. After many years, the Tlokwa settled in the mountains of the Caledon River area.
During these years, most of the smaller southern Sotho groups had been broken up. Some groups fled west and north from the southern Highveld. The Kololo people fled north into what is now Zambia. Others joined surviving groups such as the Tlokwa or the Sotho kingdom led by Moshoeshoe.
On the Transvaal Highveld, the greatest destruction was caused by Mzilikazi and his followers who were known as the Ndebele (Matabele). As chief of the Khumalo group, he clashed with Shaka in 1821 over property taken from their enemies. He fled over the Drakensberg Mountains. The Ndebele became a kingdom on the move. In the process of this migration, the Ndebele attacked many Sotho and Tswana communities, taking their cattle, women, and grain. They also forced their young men into the Ndebele army.
During the same period, some Pedi (northern Sotho) people led by Sekwati took refuge on a mountain stronghold in the Steelpoort River area. There Sekwati built a powerful new kingdom similar to that of Moshoeshoe in the south.
The chiefdoms of the southern Nguni were also affected by the Mfecane. Some fled into the Drakensberg Mountains, and others fled southward. Of these, only the Bhaca managed to retain any identity as a clan. The remainder became refugees, begging help from the Mpondo, Thembu, and Xhosa peoples. They became known as Mfengu (those who beg for food).
The Mfecane encouraged white expansion into the interior of South Africa by disturbing thousands of settled communities. It also helped to influence the responses to European expansion. Smaller clans sought assistance against their powerful neighbors. Larger kingdoms were more inclined to resist European settlement.
