African Traditional Government: A Case Study of Shaka the Zulu
Authors:
ADESEGUN Abiodun
Publication Type: Journal article
Journal:
ISSN Number:
0
Downloads
18
Views
Abstract
Bantu is a general name given to a vast group of peoples who speak several hundred different languages that can
be shown to be related to one another. The Bantu who settled in South Africa belonged to a branch of Bantu
peoples known as the Southern Bantu. They can be divided into a number of groups by reference to their
languages. The east-coast strip was the home of numerous tribes belonging to the Nguni-speaking group. By the
18th century they occupied the coastal area as far as the Great Fish River and were beginning to settle to the
Southwest of that river in a land known as Zuurveld. The Bantu were organized in tribes, each of which
consisted of one central clan, though it may contain members of other clans as well. The advent of Europeans on
African soil did not meet a vacuum. Africans had systems of government that served them well. This paper
investigated the rise of Shaka, the Zulu and his contribution to African traditional government that became a
formidable obstacle to British imperialism in Southern Africa in the 19th century.
Keywords: administration, military, despot, and loyalty