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The nature and extent of state formation process under emperor Shaka Zulu and its impact in southeast Africa

This study delves deep into and examines the nature and extent of state formation process under Emperor Shaka Zulu and its impact in Southeast Africa. State formation is the initial act of physically endowing a given territory with sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is done via several methods. First, it may be through the annexation of territory. Perhaps a very rare instance is voluntary cooperation by independent territories to form a new state. The second stage is that of creating political order, institutions or political leadership among others. This stage refers to the process of instituting a government and political order that enjoy sufficient legitimacy and authority. At that stage, the average role of the military may be required. The third stage is that of nation-building, which refers to the process of infusing the peoples of a given territory, who otherwise differ as regards custom, religion and sometimes language, with a sense of common belonging and shared identity or in short, what could be called ‘national integration’. Using a collection of both primary and secondary sources this argue argue that Zulu state which emerged in the early 1820s in Southeast Africa was forged out of many disparate chiefdoms practising different customs, speaking different dialects and claiming varied historical origins. The Zulu existed amongst other great independent nations – some were never going to allow themselves to be vassals of another kingdom. In that case, Emperor Shaka either befriended them or declared war on them. The consequences of the rise of the Zulu state were far-reaching, as migrations into the interior by attacking splinter groups from coastal communities resulted in countless refugees and the flight of various groups further inland. This created dislocated African communities over large areas. Despite previous theories, which have been used to understand the process such as the great man theory, or self-made leader theory, historians now agree that leaders are mainly produced by the circumstance of the time. The present study opted to use adopt the Power Transition and Role Theories. These theories were of importance to understand the different role played by certain individuals in the process of state formation. These theories also help understand how the transition from agrarian societies to a centralised government.

Full Name
Dr Mthandeni Patric Mbatha
Programme
Universities