2015 JUPEB History – Essay Questions

Reasons for the Bantu Migration
Drought and famine
Population increase caused overcrowding
Attacks from other tribes
Conflicts with Bantu tribes over land and water
Natural disasters and diseases
Search for good farmland
Adventure
Follow relatives
Need for water and grazing land
Iron tools made farming easier

Effects of the Bantu Migration

The results of the Bantu migration were both positive and negative. Positive results. The positive results include;

Introduction of iron working: they introduced iron-working and the use of iron tools in the interior of East Africa were at first using stone tools but when iron-smelting was started, there was an increase in food production.

Introduction of new crops e.g. yams, bananas: the Bantu introduced and increased the knowledge of food and extensive crop cultivation. Earlier on, the inhabitants of East Africa were food gatherers, but with iron smelting and its results, food production seriously started.

The absorbed other tribes e.g. the gathers: This led to a widespread Bantu languages of “NTU” prefix in East Africa.

They introduced centralized administration: They introduced a centralized system of government whereby the king acted as the overall ruler, under whom were the other chiefs, down to the lay person.

Introduced a system of building permanent homes: They opened new land to settlement in families, clans and villages.

The knowledge of iron smelting which the Bantu introduced led to the making of hoes and pangas for tilling and clearing land, the bows, arrows and spears for defense and protection.

They introduced subsistence agriculture, whereby they grew enough food for home consumption, and the rest could be kept in case of shortages, or be exchanged in barter trade.

They led to a rise of large states and bigger tribes in East Africa, e.g. the Baganda, Kikuyu, Nyamwezi. e.t.c Negative effects

The Bantu migration led to depopulation: This was caused by the frequent attacks made by the Bantu against I Elbe people East Africa for land, through wars. Many I people died through these wars, e.g. the Zimba would attack people at the coast, kill them, and eat their fresh (i.e. cannibalism).

There was loss of culture due to cultural absorption: This was brought about due to Bantu intermarrying with the non- Bantu peoples, whom they came across. There was transformation of languages into new ones: This led to the dying down of some of the Bantu languages, while others remained.

Causes of the Great Trek f The movement of the Afrikaaners started around 1835 and it was in groups under courageous leaders. The attitudes of the Boers towards land The emancipation of the slaves and the way it was carried out.

The Boers believed that the land in northeast was empty and depopulated due to M’fecane.

When the British settled at the Cape, they initiated Anglicisation and the area became a British colony. The Boers were forced to adapt English as an official language, which others resented and became very unhappy.

The availability of large tracks of land in the interior led to further expansion of the Boers. The Boers who were pastoralists wanted to open up the natural green pastures in the interior. Impact of The Great Trek

Apart from the factors which influenced the Great Trek in South Africa, the Great Trek also had impact on the South Africa history as follow; Rapid expansion of White settlement into the heart of the Southern Africa interior[9]. The Boers migrated interior of the Southern Africa where their anticipation was to establish new settlement as to avoid the direct control from British. Large number of Dutch moved into the interior of South Africa for example, some went to Natal region and others to Orange free state where they formed their independent states.

Annexation of indigenous land by Voortrekkers[10]. Zulu land and other indigenous land for example were annexed massively by Dutch, the Dutch wanted to posses all the fertile land found in the interior. Therefore this situation led to the creation of landless people to the indigenous people, they only remained labourers to the Boer’s famers

Establishment of Republican government in the interior by Dutch people[l 1 ]. After the movement from the Cape Dutch succeeded to establish new republican government in the interior like Orange Free State, Natal Republic and Transvaal these states were independent from British control. In those states Dutch succeeded also to from new hybrid language known as Afrikaner language, a language that was a mixture of Dutch language, local language, French language and German language.

Acquisition of firearms by African Kingdoms of the interior. Boers brought firearms to the interior of South Africa whereby it was easy to reach at the hands of Chiefs of Kingdoms, these firearms was later used as a defense weapons against external enemies and sometimes in
conquering the neighboring states. Brought Spirit of Nationalism to Afrikaner nationalist. British suppression was a lesson to Afrikaner nationalist whereby many Dutch accumulated a lot of grievances and claims against British due to their maltreatment. Therefore, this was a catalyst to Dutch in demanding their lost freedom; they began to fight for the
independence from British government.

Generally, the Great Trek was the one which founded the Natal Republic, Orange Free State, and Transvaal due to the fact that Dutch or Boer farmers wanted to live independently from British control as a result they decided to move Interior of the Southern Africa from the
Cape.

Direct rule

Imperialist countries that established a home base in a claimed territory used the direct rule method. With direct rule, conquering nations transplanted their language, culture and system of government into a subordinate territory. The government overtly attempted to “civilize” the indigenous people by undermining their traditional institutions. Native inhabitants who wished to succeed under direct rule had to adopt the values and lifestyle of the ruling power. They had centralized administrations usually in urban centres that stressed policies of assimilation. Direct rule also used the strategy of “divide and rule” by implementing policies that intentionally weakened indigenous power networks and institutions. The people in the colonies were under direct rule of the mother country. The natives of the colony were like inhabitants of the mother country. This gave them many more opportunities, but the pressure to be “civilized” ruined the original culture. The French, Belgians, Germans, and Portuguese are considered to have used this model in governing their African colonies.

Indirect rule

This system of governance used indigenous African rulers! within the British colonial administration, although they often maintained an inferior role. By this system, the day-to-day running of government and administration of areas was left in the hands of traditional rulers; who gained prestige and the stability and protection afforded by the British, at the cost of losing control of their external affairs, and often of taxation, communications, and other matters, usually with a small number of European “advisors” effectively overseeing the government of large numbers of people spread over extensive areas. As a result, indirect rule increased divisions between ethnic groups and gave powers to certain people who had never had it before in pre-colonial history. The mother country rules the colony from far away, often through a native leader. This might seem like the nicer way, but it created great differences between the races. The white treated the inhabitants of the colonies as tools for their Business.

Settler rule

Settler rule refers to the type of colonialism in southern Africa in which European settlers imposed direct rule on their ‘colonies. Settler colonies differed from other colonies in Africa in that a significant number of , immigrants from Europe settled in these colonies. These immigrants or settlers were not like missionaries or European colonial officials. Just like early European immigrants to the United States and Canada, settlers in Africa planned to make the colonies their permanent home. In order to thrive in the colonies, settlers demanded special political and economic rights and protection. Security and prosperity for the settlers depended on economic exploitation and political oppression of the African population that vastly outnumbered the settlers. Settler colonies were found primarily in southern Africa including the colonies of South Africa, Southern and Northern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia), Angola, Mozambique, and South West Africa (Namibia). Settlers from Holland, Britain, Germany, and Portugal colonized these areas. In addition, settler rule was practiced in Kenya, a British colony in East Africa, and in Algeria, a French colony in North Africa.

Economic and political motives. Long before the sixteenth century the Crusades had introduced European people to the goods and luxuries of the East. Some goods, such as spices, became necessities, but they were becoming increasingly costly. They had to be transported over long and sometimes dangerous it overland routes, and several middlemen each took their profits before the goods reached European merchants. What Europeans needed was a new, less costly route to Asia. Before the route was actually traversed, however.

a New World was opened for conquest. This led to intense economic and political rivalry among European powers to see who could first secure the prizes it offered and who could hold the others away. Individuals went to the “New World” for many reasons, but most commonly to seek their fortunes. Young Spaniards expected to get rich through ventures connected to land and commerce. Indentured servants looked optimistically toward the end of their terms of service, when they could obtain land of their own and become independent.

Religious motives. For rulers and common people alike, religion was also a powerful motive. Even the Catholic rulers of Spain, Portugal and France were bent on building empires and gaining wealth, they were also sincerely committed to converting the heathen peoples of the world. The Spanish conquerors in the New World were required to take priests with them on every expedition. The English and Dutch were just as committed to spreading the Protestant gospel, and actively encouraged missionary enterprise among native Americans. Some colonists went to America specifically to escape restrictions on their religious practices at home. They sought places where they could worship freely according to their own forms and consciences.

Adventure and Myth. Love of adventure, curiosity and a fascination with the possibility of locating peoples and places popularized in the mythology of the time were also factors. Some searched for Prester John, a legendary Christian king believed to rule somewhere in Africa. Others were fascinated by fables of exotic peoples – some with tails, others with no heads but with faces emerging from their chests. There were also tales of Amazon women on the mythical island of California, of a fountain of youth in Florida, of exotic plants and animals, and of the seven golden cities of Cibola. On a more realistic level, explorers also returned with accurate descriptions of plants, animals and people (Columbus brought many examples back with him from his first voyage).

Technology. Technological innovation contributed significantly to European expansion, for it finally made venturing farther out to sea more practical. Ships became raster and more maneuverable. By the fifteenth century the use of the magnetic compass had become widespread.

Other important developments included the astroble, a is device for observing the position of the sun and stars, and the quadrant, which measured the altitude of these heavenly bodies. Techniques for map making and charting the seas also continually improved.

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