political changes in the interior, 1750 1820

Political changes in the interior, 1750-1820

Grade: 10Term: 3

Topic: 4 – TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA AFTER 1750

Sub-Topic: POLITICAL CHANGES IN THE INTERIOR, 1750-1820

1M.N.SPIES

Southern Tswana chiefdoms

Who were the southern Tswana?

• The southern Tswana were ancestors ofSetswana-speaking people who lived in largesettlements in the Bushveld region ofsettlements in the Bushveld region ofsouthern Africa, on the western border of theHighveld.

• They had farmed successfully with sorghum,millet and cattle, since the end of the 15thcentury.

2M.N.SPIES

• As the population within Tswana settlementsincreased, pressure on the environmentincreased.

• Tswana farmers did not want to over-use theirwood resources as they depended on wood forthatching homesteads, and to make fires forcooking, making pottery and iron smelting.cooking, making pottery and iron smelting.

• As a result, Tswana farmers began to build cattlekraals and homestead boundaries with dry-stone walling instead of wood.

• The use of stone was environmentally sensibleas it conserved wood.

3M.N.SPIES

Homestead made out of wood

M.N.SPIES 4

Homestead made out of dry-stone walling

M.N.SPIES 5

Political changes among the southern Tswana

• Political changes began taking place amongthe southern Tswana after 1750.

• As these changes occurred, the power ofsome Tswana chiefdoms increasedsome Tswana chiefdoms increaseddramatically.

• The more powerful southern Tswanachiefdoms included the Rolong and theThlaping.

6M.N.SPIES

Expanding Tswana chiefdoms and growing conflict

The reasons for increased conflict

• By the early 1700s, increasing population amongthe southern Tswana was causing pressure on theenvironment.

This led to increased competition and conflict• This led to increased competition and conflictbetween different Tswana chiefdoms overresources.

• In the 18th century, particularly from 1750, thepace and scale of change among Tswanachiefdoms increased for various reasons.

7M.N.SPIES

Some of the reasons for the sudden increase in conflict and change among

southern Tswana chiefdoms:

1. During this period, some Tswana chiefs

made and broke alliances with other

made and broke alliances with other

chiefdoms. They then formed new alliances

resulting in conflict and increasing tension among

chiefdoms.

M.N.SPIES 8



2. Some Tswana chiefdoms were struggling to

maintain their position of power and control whilst power and control whilst Tswana chiefdoms to the east and west grew and

became more independent. Struggling

chiefdoms felt threatened by this.

M.N.SPIES 9



3. Disputes and episodes of fighting and cattle of fighting and cattle

raiding between chiefdoms increased.

M.N.SPIES 10



4. Severe droughts towards the end of the 18th and at the beginning of the

19th century resulted in 19th century resulted in wide-scale crop failure. This further increased

competition for resources such as cattle, land,

agricultural products and labour.

M.N.SPIES 11

Another reason for the sudden increase in conflict and change among

southern Tswana chiefdoms:5 . Increased trade and

competition

• Another major reason for an increase in conflict and an increase in conflict and

subsequent change among the southern

Tswana was the European colonial expansion and

resulting increase in competition and trade.

M.N.SPIES 12

• There had always been trade between Tswanachiefdoms - with each other and with otherchiefdoms in other parts of Africa.

• Minerals like iron and copper were traded for cattle.• Competition to control imported trade goods from

Europe in the area was an additional factor thatcontributed to disputes and fighting among Tswanachiefdoms.

M.N.SPIES 13

chiefdoms.• One of the most important aspects of the 18th

century is that communities in the interior ofsouthern Africa were increasing their contacts withEuropean traders and colonists.

• In particular, trade with the Portuguese in DelagoaBay on the south-eastern coast of Africa, and withthe Cape Colony to the south-west, grew.

Kora and Griqua influence on European trade and Tswana

settlements

• On the southern borders of the Tswana world, peoplelike the newly established Kora and the Griqua groupswere moving inland from the Cape Colony.were moving inland from the Cape Colony.

• They were descendents of Dutch settlers andindigenous people, including Khoisan and slaves, whohad escaped from the Cape Colony.

• The Kora and Griqua had guns and horses, and couldmove quickly over long distances in search of trade,and also raiding opportunities.

14M.N.SPIES

They performed a key role in the trade between the southern Tswana and the Europeans.

There was a demand from Europeans in the Cape Colony for goods like ivory, cattle, leather and hides for clothes, and the

furs and skins of wild animals.The Tswana, on the other hand, wanted European-

manufactured goods like glass beads, guns and tobacco. The Tswana therefore traded iron, copper, ivory, cattle hides,

and skins and furs from wild animals with the Kora and Griquaand skins and furs from wild animals with the Kora and Griquain exchange for European goods from the Cape.

M.N.SPIES 15

The advantages of new trading opportunities

• Obtaining trade goods and controlling trading arrangements (betweenchiefdoms as well as with colonial markets) helped make some Tswanachiefs wealthy.

• Wealth was shown in heads of cattle, and trade goods could beexchanged for cattle.

• Tswana chiefs were quick to realise the advantages of new tradingopportunities.opportunities.

• But this also meant that competition between chiefs increased.• Some Tswana chiefdoms became larger and more powerful as they

absorbed smaller chiefdoms.• Power and wealth was based upon cattle, whose importance was

deeply rooted in Tswana values.• Chiefs were mostly interested in acquiring cattle to increase their

personal herds.• By owning cattle, a chief could claim power over more people.

16M.N.SPIES

Organization into larger groups

• The archaeological, as well as the oral evidence, showsthat during the 1700s, powerful and wealthy chiefsattracted more followers, and people were organized intolarger groups.

• As a result, settlements grew larger. Increasingly,homesteads were built clustered together in groups. Bythe end of the 18th century, some settlements had morehomesteads were built clustered together in groups. Bythe end of the 18th century, some settlements had morethan 100 homesteads in them.

• To summarise, the major changes of the 18th centuryoccurred because some Tswana chiefs respondedsuccessfully to the increased opportunities and pressuresof the time by expanding their chiefdoms, with thedevelopment of large settlements as a result.

17M.N.SPIES

M.N.SPIES 18

political changes in the interior, 1750 1820

Education