Historical Forum Statement

Coby Friedman, British-Zulu relations under Shaka

Based on my readings, I have come to the conclusion that the Mfecane was caused by Shaka and the Zulus, and only Shaka and the Zulus. The first piece of evidence to back this up is that the Zulus are seemingly violent for no apparent reason. For example, Henry Francis Fynn wrote “At the close of it, Shaka ordered several men to be executed on the spot, and the cries became, if possible, more violent than ever.” He follows this up by writing “Toward the afternoon I calculated that not fewer than 7000 people had fallen in this frightful indiscriminate massacre” (both Document 22, Robinson and Smith). This aimless violence is clear evidence that Shaka would have no problem going after other groups in the area for trivial reasons, something he actively did: “He soon found a pretext for attacking Mondisa and that part of the Mthethwa tribe that had remained with him” and “Phakathwayo, however, immediately returned them, saying they had been bewitched by Shaka, who wanted to put him to death” (both Document 10, Robinson and Smith). Here, we see clear evidence that Shaka would find any small reason to attack the other tribal leaders, in one case attacking a tribe for no reason I could find. While indiscriminately going after other tribes is reprehensible, we also see that he would kill his own people for reasons we would consider trivial. For example, “...300 to 500 girls, who were denominated servants or sisters. If any of these became pregnant, they were immediately taken away, and some imaginary crime alleged for putting them to death” (Document 8, Robinson and Smith). In this case, he would kill any woman who worked closely with him if they became pregnant. This, to me, indicates that he was unstable and would attack others at what most people would consider random. Another example of this randomness is “if he lost it in battle he was to suffer death (Document 9, Robinson and Smith). This is in reference to the new spears Shaka had made for his army. Frankly, having your capable soldiers killed for losing a weapon in what were very likely heated battles is a sign of an unstable leader who is focused solely on conquering and destruction. We also see that Shaka had no issues indirectly committing fratricide, as he had his people gain the trust of his brother and then kill him to take over his kingdom: “It was his province to attend him every morning while bathing. On a chosen occasion he sent two of his friends to conceal themselves in the long grass by the river-side, And at a signal given, while the king was in the act of plunging into the water, they rushed forward and speared him to death” (Document 6, Robinson and Smith). All of the evidence above clearly presents Shaka as someone who was prone to acts of violence against both other tribes, whom he would attack for little reason, and his own people, many of whom he killed for almost nothing, such as women who got pregnant and murdering 7000 of his own people in a very short period. Another mark against Shaka is that he was quite a selfish leader, as shown here: “When he presented Mr. King with the 86 tusks, on the latter's departure for the Colony, he told his people that he, Mr. King, would bring back immense quantities of such things as they required. Afterwards, however, in his hut, he told Mr. King to bring nothing but Macassar oil. His people were dogs, he would give them nothing” (Document 21, Robinson and Smith). In this case, he had the opportunity to trade the tusks for goods that would have been beneficial to his people. Instead, he selfishly asked in private for them to bring him hair gel. Once again, Shaka demonstrated his selfishness and lack of compassion for those he ruled over. In the end, then, it is clear that Shaka was an indiscriminate murderer, one who killed as many enemies as his own people. He was not mentally stable, and with seemingly no outside influences, he propagated what would come to be known as the Mfecane all on his own. He was a brutal tyrant who did not care for his own people and would come up with any reason to slaughter other tribes.