From
Zulu. The word means "crushing" or unlimited warfare, and it generally refers to the Zulu expansion and its aftermath, from about 1818-1838. However, most of southern
Africa was already embroiled in
mfecane several years before
Shaka came into the fray, as a result of chiefdoms attempting to expand their range. It has been suggested that this process began around the end of the eighteenth century as an attempt to control
trade routes, but probably has more to do with the need to control larger territories for grazing during
drought periods. After a time it became a self-perpetuating process, as small chiefdoms could no longer survive and the limited territory brought the emerging kingdoms into constant conflict. The end result of the warfare was the breakdown of many chiefdoms, a series of mass
migrations throughout the area, and a catastrophic weakening of the resistance to European expansion from the
Cape Colony.
The first major battle of the mfecane was between Zwide of the Ndwandwe and Sobhuza of the Swazi in 1816.
Note: also called difaqane. Also this is the Sotho word, the terms can be used interchangeably.