Mfecane Aftermath (Paperback)

Carolyn Hamilton

ISBN 10: 1868142523 / ISBN 13: 9781868142521

Verlag: Wits University Press, Johannesburg, 1995

Beschreibung

Paperback. The idea that the period of social turbulence in the nineteenth century was a consequence of the emergence of the powerful Zulu kingdom under Shaka has been written about extensively as a central episode of southern African history. Considerable dynamic debate has focused on the idea that this period the 'mfecane'- left much of the interior depopulated, thereby justifying white occupation. One view is that 'the time of troubles' owed more to the Delagoa Bay Slave trade and the demands of the labour-hungry Cape colonists than to Shaka's empire building. But is there sufficient evidence to support the argument? The Mfecane Aftermath investigates the very nature of historical debate and examines the uncertain foundations of much of the previous historiography. Was the ""mfecane"" a figment of historians' imagination? How large a responsibility do Shaka and the Zulu people bear for the social turbulence in South-central and South-east Africa in the early decades of the 19th century? These are some of the issues explored in this collection. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 9781868142521

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: Mfecane Aftermath (Paperback)
• Verlag: Wits University Press, Johannesburg
• Erscheinungsjahr: 1995
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-10: 1868142523
• ISBN-13: 9781868142521
• Einband: Paperback
• Zustand: new

Über diesen Titel

Inhaltsangabe

A guide for interpreting the mfecane's role in history

 

Was the mfecane a figment of historians' imagination as Julian Cobbing contends? How large a responsibility do Shaka and the Zulu people bear for the social turbulence in South-central and South-east Africa in the early decades of the 19th century? These are some of the issues explored in this collection, which is designed as a response to the radical critique of Dr. Cobbing and other scholars. The mfecane, suggests Cobbing, must be seen as a myth lying at the root of a set of interlinked assumptions and distortions that have seriously twisted our understanding of the main historical processes of late 18th- and early 19th-century Southern Africa. Contributors to this collection assess the implications of this critique for scholars from a range of disciplines, notably history, anthropology, archaeology, history of art and African languages. But the book is not only about the debate over Cobbing's work; it is also an indicator of the state of current scholarship in Southern Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries and, because it raises questions about the nature of sources and, indeed, about the nature of historical debate itself, it is also about historiography. This book should provide a useful guide for students starting out in this field, as well as a resource for established scholars seeking their way through the textual intricacies of varied editions and secondary texts that become the primary sources for historiographical debate.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Carolyn Hamilton is NRF Chair in Archive and Public Culture at the University of Cape Town.