In the early period of the nineteenth century, there were great social and political transformations occurring in southern Africa, which became known as the Mfecane. The period was characterized by historian Elizabeth Eldredge as one of “tremendous demographic upheaval and revolutionary and social change”. The period of the Mfecane consisted of vast migrations, random raids, battles and recurring periods of hardships and scarcity for many indigenous people in the region. The Mfecane over the years has become a very debatable topic amongst historians, who considered the causes that led to the mass migration, its importance on Africa’s more current history, and whether it even sanctions an account on the developing history of South Africa. Unfortunately, with the lack of first hand evidence, the Mfecane is still considered an evolving history, but as time passes, new sources are being discovered. Most historians believe and agree that the social disruption of the Mfecane came from the expansion of the Zulu Kingdom, which conquered their neighboring competition the Ndwandwe. By doing so, they were able to set the stage for the first modern African state. However, historians are questioning the reasons behind the expansion of the Zulu kingdom.
There have been four theories that various historians support for the causes and history of the Mfecane movement in South Africa. First theory presented on the Mfecane was written by historian George McCall Theal .He believed that Africans naturally waged ‘barbarous tribal wars’ until the arrival of white people, who ‘pacified’ the interior, occupied ‘vacant land’ and established civilized government. Second theory developed about the Mfecane by historians J.D Omer-Cooper and J.B Peires, loo...
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Alas, in 1961 Patrice Lumumba was assassinated by a US- sponsored plot 7 months after independence, and replaced him with a “puppet dictator named Mobutu” (Kingsolver). In her book, Barbara Kingsolver surfaces a forgotten part of our nation’s history in the exploitation of the Congo through her main characters, the Price family, who are missionaries sent to the Kilanga village. Through characters’ narratives that “double as allegories for the uneasy colonial marriage between the West and Africa” (Hamilton, Jones), Kingsolver creates a relatable way for her readers to understand the theme she is trying to convey, which is “‘what did we do to Africa, and how do we feel about it?’” (Snyder). Kingsolver began with this theme and developed the rest of the novel around it, just as she does with her other works, and sticking with her trademark technique, she utilizes her book as a vessel for “political activism, an extension of the anti-Vietnam protests” she participated in college (Snyder).
Mazrui, Ali A. "The Re-Invention of Africa: Edward Said, V. Y. Mudimbe, and Beyond." Research in African Literatures 36, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 68-82.
Thornton is a graduate from Millersville University, Pennsylvania. He is an American historian specialized in the history of Africa and the African Diaspora. He is also a history professor in Boston University. My paper speaks about the legitimacy of Nzinga’s coming to rule. I use Thornton’s piece for information about her rise to power.
During the 17th century, slavery was a widely used commodity with the Europeans, little do people know however that African kings also had and accepted slavery in their own nations. King Nzinga Mbemba of Congo and the King of Ouidah had similarities on the issue of slavery; they tolerated the use of slaves. Congo’s king had no contingency with slavery; in fact, he had slaves in his country. When the Portuguese were purchasing goods in Congo, the king had men “investigate if the mentioned goods are captives or free men” (NZ, 622). The fact that the king differentiates the men between ‘free’ and ‘captives’ illustrates that not all people in Congo are free. Whether these captives are from the country of Congo or not, they are still caught and held all across the nation against their will. King Mbemba kept slaves because the population of Congo was vastly declining due to the slave trade. In his letter, he pleads with the king of Portug...
... Their existence proves that Africans were capable of managing their own affairs and creating noteworthy civilizations long before Europeans appeared on that continent. They left a legacy that continues to influence the lives of Blacks in Africa and abroad today. BIBLIOGRAPHY Koslow, Philip.
Equiano, Olaudah. The interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African: an authoritative text. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.
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History is formed through a combination of personal experiences, psychological state, personal objectives, relation with the interviewer, position in society and many other factors that cannot be scientifically monitored and accounted for. Thus, no historian has been able to filter through the many layers they need to in order to arrive at an accurate account of history. What “personal narratives” and “life histories” provide are numerous examples of the complexities and ambiguities that accompany any reconstruction of African history. Each account of history does not offer a different perspective from which one may view a particular event or time, simply because no two accounts have the same concept of location or time. Western and African romanticism has lead many historians to create and adapt scientific methodologies in order to penetrate the combination of personal objectives, interview limitations, and psychological intricacies that were present in each life history.
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The New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa 1880-1914. Jeff Taylor, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
...econd African Writers Conference, Stockholm, 1986. Ed. Kirsten Holst Petersen. Upsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1998. 173-202.
Bottaro, Visser and Nigel Worden. 2009. In Search of History Grade 12. South Africa Oxford University Press.