Nguni Incursion

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The Nguni incursions definitely increased violence within the Rozvi state. There is much truth to the claim that the Ndebele economy relied heavily on raiding and the various Rozvi communities especially those close to the Ndebele suffered as a consequence. From the arrival of the Ndebele in present day Matabeleland up to the imposition of colonial rule in the 1890's, there was never a decade without Ndebele raids into Rozvi territory. Mzilikazi and Lobengula pursued a consistent policy of raiding against one or the other Shona communities. Apart from attacking the declining Rozvi, D. N. Beach cites Ndebele raiding activities which greatly affected the Chirimuhanzu dynasty in the 1850's. These were repeated during the 1860's when they raided the Kalanga…show more content…
Those who paid tribute were not subjected to raids. Raids were more of punitive measures rather than the norm as evidenced by the 1893 raiding expeditions sent to punish Gomala in Masvingo for using Ndebele cattle to pay a fine imposed by the European settler administration. Another significant albeit negative aspect of the Nguni incursions was that they fomented and worsened the rivalries among the Rozvi groups. The Ndebele did not fight all the Shona at once and they actually allied with some Shona groups while fighting others. The generic term Shona is misleading as it is implies a single, united and homogenous political entity which certainly did not exist in the nineteenth century. There were many scattered and independent Shona groups which were as likely to fight each other as much as they could fight the Ndebele. This explains why the Ndebele could fight against Chirisamhuru and Tohwechipi in the early 1850s and then became Tohwechipi’s allies before the decade was up. Chizema was also assisted by the Ndebele in his attempts to conquer southern Buhera. This also explains why Mzilikazi had the Chaminuka medium killed while maintaining good relations

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