MSCE History: Form Three Topics

TOPIC: 1 THE IRON AGE SITES IN CENTRAL AFRICA (200-1500)

 This refers to the period when iron was being used for making tools and implements in
Central Africa.
 Iron had to be smelted in clay furnaces.
 The knowledge of iron smelting was first developed by the Hittites in the Near East i.e.
areas such as Turkey and Mesopotamia.
 This was far as 1500 B.C.
 From the Near East, the knowledge was spread to North Africa at Meroe which became
the greatest iron smelting centre such that it was nicknamed the Birmingham of Africa
since all the knowledge of iron smelting in Africa were gathered from Meroe.
 This was about 600 B.C
 The knowledge was then spread to other parts of Africa through two routes or branches;
Westward to Nigeria at Nok i.e. an area between Benue and Niger River, and Eastward
through the Ethiopian highlands.
 The knowledge then reached Central Africa around 200 A.D.

WAYS BY WHICH THE KNOWLEDGE SPREAD TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE

WORLD
 Basically, there are three main ways through which the knowledge moved from one part
to another.
 Through trade contacts: People from the East especially the Phoenicians who traded
with the people of North Africa with Meroe as their great trading centre.
 Through migration: This was as a result of population increase. It is associated with the
movement of the Bantu to Central and Southern Africa in search of good land for
farming and settlement.
 Through intermarriages: The ideas were brought as from northwards could come and
marry in other areas.

IRON AGE SITES

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 These were places where people who practised iron smelting settled.
 In such places iron remains and furnaces left behind by the people have been excavated
and studied.

ARCHAEOLOGY

 This the study of remains left behind by the ancient people.

 These remains have to be excavated or dug up.
 The people who dig up and study such remains are called

ARCHAEOLOGISTS
 Archaeologists study these remains using the Carbon 14 Dating which gives dates to
these remains.

ARTIFACTS

 These are the remains that were left behind by early people and are dug up and studied by
archaeologists.
 Examples of such artifacts include pieces of broken pots (pottery fragments) which is the
most reliable as it stays for a long period of time under the earth, iron tools and
implements, heaps of charcoal and ash skeletons of human beings and animals, trade
goods such as grass beads, cowries shells, copper and gold bangles.

DISADVANTAGES AND ARCHAEOLOGY OR USE OF CARBON 14 DATING

METHOD
 It fails to explain about certain cultural aspects such as music, dances, language, religion
and political organisation.
 However, the method can explain that there was a general migration of people from north
to south. For example, dates tend to increase in years as they were moving southwards.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

MAJOR IRON AGE SITES IN CENTRAL AFRICA

 Iron Age sites were places where Iron Age people once settled. Such places in central
Africa include:

(a) Malawi: Phopo hills and Nkope Bay

(b) Zambia: Kalambo falls and Ingombe Ilede
(c) Zimbabwe: Gokomere and Ziwa

(A) MALAWI

(1) Phopo Hills

 This is the earliest Iron Age sites in Malawi.
 It is situated near Lake Kazuni about 24 km south west of Rumphi district.
 The site was occupied between 200- 500 A.D.

 Artifacts found at the site

 Channeled pottery
 Large heaps of iron slag which indicate that iron smelting was an important
activity.
 Bones piece of fish and animals but not that of human beings.
 Shell discs and beads suggesting trade
 A burnt daga

(2) Nkope Bay

 It is located about 40 km north of Mangochi.
 It is the earliest site in Southern Region of Malawi.

 Artifacts found at the site

 Glass beads
 Cowries shells

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Copper objects
 Fired pottery
 Iron slag
 Iron hoe heads
 Bones of fish and game
 These indicate the there was long distance trade with the East Coast.

 Other Iron Age sites in Malawi

 Mwavarambo, Mbande hills, Mwamasapa, Vinthukutu, Maudzu hills, Bwanje and
Chowo rocks.

(B) ZAMBIA

(1) Kalambo Falls

 It is located at the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika on the borders between Zambia and
Tanzania.
 It is occupied between 345- 350 A.D.

 Artifacts include the following:

 Dimpled based pottery resembling that of East Africa.
 Grinding stone
 Undecorated bowls
 Iron slag
 Carbonized tree trunks

(2) Ingombe Ilede

 It is located near the confluence of Kafue and Zambezi rivers.

 The site was occupied between 680- 985 A.D.

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 Remains found at the site

 46 burials of dead bodies
 Copper and iron bangles
 Cowries shells
 Necklaces
 Ceremonial iron gongs
 Cross shaped copper ingots
 Hammer
 Pieces of imported cloth
 Ingombe Ilede was the richest and the most important Iron Age site in Central Africa.
 At one time, it acted as a trading centre on the long distance trade with the East Coast of
Africa.
 This is shown through:
 Many artifacts discovered at the site including 46 burials of kings.
 Cowries‟ shells, glass beads and necklaces which came from the East Coast of
Africa.
 Cowries‟ shells and glass beads were at one time used as currency.
 Gold ornaments could have been imported from Congo.

 Other Iron Age sites in Zambia:

 Machili
 Kalundu

(C) ZIMBABWE

(1) Gomekore

 It is located between the Sabi and Lundi river dating between 200- 900 A.D.

 Remains found at the site:

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 Channeled pottery
 Glass beads
 Clay furnaces
 Cattle bones
 Arrows

(2) Ziwa
 It is located in the Eastern Zimbabwe dating between 300- 900 A.D.

 Remains found at the site

 Decorated pottery
 Remains of copper working
 Cattle bones

 Other Iron Age Sites in Zimbabwe

 Leopard Kopje
 Great Zimbabwe
 Mabveni
 Bulawayo
 Mapungubwe

 Most of the Iron Age sites were found in valleys near water resources and some on hills.
 These were suitable places because of the following reasons:
 The valleys and water sources were fertile for crop growing and grazing animals.
 The water sources provided water for domestic purposes and also for
transportation and fishing.
 Hills were used for defensive purposes from other tribes.

SOCIAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE IRON AGE PEOPLE

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 These were things done by Iron Age people to earn their living.
 Through the artifacts discovered in various Iron Age sites, it has been discovered that the
following were social economic activities:
 Farming
 Pottery making
 Trade
 Iron smelting
 Governance
 Fishing
 Hunting
 Building
 Religion

FARMING

 Farming was possible because iron tools were much stronger than those made from
stones.
 Millet and sorghum were the first crops to be grown.
 Burnt millet has been found in some archaeological sites such as Ziwa.
 Iron hoe heads and axes from archaeological sites explain that farming took place.
 People then started keeping animals such as goats and cattle for meat and milk.
 Bones of tamed animals such as cattle proves this.

POTTERY
 This is the making of clay pots.
 Pottery is important artifact as it has two disadvantages over all other artifacts:

 It is well preserved under the earth such that it spends a long time.

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 Its sizes and decorations explain more about the people who made such
pots that it has been concluded that the Iron Age people used two routes to
Central Africa.

TYPE OF POTTERY
 Two types of pottery have been discovered which were after the decorations made by the
people who made them.
 These were:
 Channeled pottery
o This type has channels and grooves around it top part.
o It was commonly discovered in Central Africa e.g. that of Phopo
hills.

 Dimpled pottery
o This had a depression on the bottom part.
o This was common in East Africa.

USES OF POTTERY

 Storage of grains and water

 Cooking in food
 Trade
 Religious ceremonies

IRON SMELTING

 Iron ore was collected from shallow pit and put in clay furnaces.
 The furnaces had holes to let in air. In such furnaces iron was smelted using charcoal as
fuel.
 The molten material could then be made into many tools after being cooled.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Africans then made tools such as hoes, axes, spears, chisels, hammers and arrows.
 Broken furnaces and iron tools, charcoal, ashes and iron slag discovered in various iron
sites indicate the idea of iron smelting.

TRADE
 Trade was being conducted within Central Africa and with the East Coast.
 With this, two types of trade existed:

 Internal Trade- this happened within the Iron Age sites (settlements) in
Central Africa. Zimbabwe offered gold while Iron Age sites in Zambia
offered copper.
 Long Distance Trade- this was trade between the Iron Age sites in Central
Africa and the East Coast of Africa. Trade routes connected the Iron Age
sites and the East Coast of Africa. Remains of foreign articles such as
beads and cowries shells were found in many Iron Age sites in Central
Africa.
BUILDING

 Iron Age people started building huts as they needed permanent settlement as they
cultivated crops and tamed animals.
 Artifacts such as poles and mud house have been discovered in certain Iron Age sites.
 The discovery of daga suggests that it was used for cutting poles needed for the
construction of houses.

FISHING

 Those Iron Age sites that were near water sources were engaged in fishing.
 Arrows, spears, poisonous plants and later on fish hooks were used for fishing.
 The discovery of fish bones and fish hooks in the Iron Age sites suggests the idea of
fishing.

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HUNTING

 Iron tools improved hunting in that they were stronger than those of the Stone Age.
 With such stronger tools, big animals were hunted.
 For example, buffaloes, wild pigs and elephants.
 Bones of wild animals discovered in certain iron age sites and implements that were used
in hunting such as spears, bows and arrows suggest the idea of hunting.

GOVERNANCE

 For trade to go on smoothly, there was a need of coming up with leaders.

 Thus, kings were chosen for conducting trade or controlling trade.
 Excavations done at Ingombe Ilede reveal this as 46 burials were for the kings.
 These kings had bangles and necklaces which came in the area as a result of trade.

RELIGION

 People also worshipped the powers of nature.

 This has been discovered through the discovery of pottery in places where they offered
their ceremonies to the spirits of their ancestors.
 However, the type of religion is not known.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MAJOR IRON AGE SITES

SIMILARITIES
 Most of them were established along the water sources hills.
 Their occupational dates show that there was a general migration of the people from
north going south wards.
 Most of the sites have similar findings such as iron slag and pottery fragments.
 The artifacts discovered in these Iron Age sites show that the people had similar
social-economics activities such as farming pottery and iron smelting.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Most of them developed routes for trade to Eastern Coast of Africa.

 The Bantu are the people who are associated with all Iron Age sites in Central
Africa.

DIFFERENCES
 Most of them had very different occupational dates which show that some were
established earlier than others e.g. Phopo hill was established earlier than Nkope Bay.
 Some Iron Age sites were more important than others because of being established
along the trade routes with the East Coast e.g. Ingombe Ilede in Zambia.
 Some artifacts in other sites were brought in as a result of trade not necessarily being
made in such sites.
 Some benefited very little on the trade that was developed than other Iron Age sites.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE IRON AGE CULTURE TO CIVILIZATION

 The discovery of iron completely changed people‟s way of life and paved the way to
civilisation.
 The importance of iron was so great such that it contributed the following towards
civilisation:
 With iron tools, there was more and better farming.
o Iron headed axes could fell trees mush faster and better than stone axes.
o Iron hoes could be more effective than stone hoes.
o This allowed the people to clear the jungles and till soil more effectively so
as to cultivate bigger areas.
o Thus iron technology was associated with agriculture.
o For instance, the people who lived before the Iron Age such as the Bushman
and Hottentots were not farmers while as the Bantu who are associated with
Iron Age in Central Africa were farmers.
 Iron also contributed to a settle life.
o People had to sow the grain, nurse it, reap it and store it away.
o It was the same with the animals that they kept.

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o This gradually brought about permanent settlement in particular areas

especially along the river valley that contained fertile soils.

 At the same time as people grew more numerous, there was a need to find new ways
of keeping law and order.
o People then began forming themselves into states. Thus organized political
system came into existence ruled by the kings.
o Their chiefdoms became hereditary and royal families came into existence.
 The technology also improved the hunting skills
o It gave them better weapons. Iron pointed spears were more effective than
sharp sticks or stones.
o Thus bigger animals such as elephants, wild pigs and buffaloes were killed
as opposed to the Stone Age when smaller animals were hunted.
 The iron tools made people too defend themselves from wild animals.
o When Africans could attack some of the great natural barriers of
their continent using iron axes and hoes, they also defended
themselves against wild animals such as lions and generally moved
about with more safety.
 It also brought new source of military power.
o Those who first mastered it were able to dominate their neighbours.
o For example, all the ancient empires of Ghana, Mwenemutapa and
Maravi were able to conquer the local inhabitants such as the San
and Khoikhoi because of the knowledge of iron use.
 Iron technology encouraged both international and long distance trade.
o There were plenty of products to be traded locally.
o Those without hoes, spears, arrows could barter them with grain,
goat, sheep and cattle.
o It also encouraged foreign trade. In the empires of Ghana and
Mwenemutapa iron tools enabled them to embark on large scale

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hunting involving the killing of elephants for their tusks of leopard

and tiger for their skins.
o They could be involved in the long distance trade.

APPRECIATING THE IMPORTANCE OF IRON AGE CULTURE TO MODERN LIFE

 The Iron Age culture has contributed a lot to modern life. This is seen through the
following modern things which are just improvements of Iron Age culture.
 The invention of a gun
o As time went on , the spear which was devised during the Iron Age could
not fully serve the purpose.
o People then invented modern guns for killing the game faster.
o Later on such guns were used for defense rather than spears.
o Thus guns became one of the most important items to be used in trade
especially during the slave trade by the Swahili and Arabs.
o However, the invention of guns has led to many crises and killing the
game was faster, thus removing African resources such as ivory.
 It has also contributed to the invention of tractors and plough.
o As the demand for food became greater, there was a need to cultivate a
larger area but faster.
o This led to the change from the use of an iron hoe to tractors and ploughs.
o Today, people use ploughs and tractor in big gardens.
o However, only the government and rich people use the tractors because
they are very expensive to buy and maintain them.
o Thus most people still use iron hoes in their gardens.
 It has also contributed to the development of ships or steamers.
o The dug out canoes used during the Iron Age could not carry enough
people.
o The result was to extend canoes thereby coming up with steamers.
o Thus steamers and ships of today developed from the dug out canoes of
the Iron Age culture,

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The development of railway lines. The rails on which trains move are made of
strong iron metal. The discovery of the knowledge of iron smelting has
contributed to such modern railway lines to carry people and goods.
 The method of smelting iron in clay furnaces of Iron Age culture has contributed
to setting up of the Blast Furnaces of today.
o Blast furnaces smelt iron faster at high temperature with the power of
electricity.

TOPIC:2 PRE-COLONIAL KINGDOMS IN CENTRAL AFRICA

 Between about 1000 and 1800 AD, the region now divided into Malawi, Zambia and
Zimbabwe witnessed the emergence of several important kingdoms. They are called Pre
colonial kingdoms because they were established before the colonial rule in Central
Africa.
 Most of such kingdoms formed in Central Africa originated from the Luba- Lunda
heartland in Zaire. However, some like Nkhamanga kingdom did not come from Zaire.
 Examples of such pre-colonial kingdoms in Central Africa include: The Maravi Kingdom
and Tumbuka/Nkhamanga kingdom in Malawi, the Kazembe kingdom in Zambia and the
Mwenemutapa kingdom in Zimbabwe.
 These kingdoms were established as a direct result of the iron technology which called
for the need to control or organise the population rise, handle trade activities and protect
the people from external attacks.
 The development of such kingdoms were therefore important in the history of Central
Africa because of the following reasons:
 They brought a great deal of unity to large areas thereby ensuring that law and
order were enforced over the areas concerned.
 They made possible the exchange of goods and services over considerable
distances which resulted into an improved material life.

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 The kingdoms contributed enormously to cultural development in the pre-colonial

times because they promoted a rich ceremonial culture around the courts of the
rulers.
 These pre- colonial kingdoms were ruled by kings who were assisted by chiefs and
counselors. Kingship was based on heredity.
 Only relatives of the king could also become kings upon the death of the ruler.

THE MARAVI KINGDOM

 The kingdom was established on the south western part of Lake Malawi. It covered the
districts such as Salima, Dedza, Ntcheu and Mangochi.
 The kingdom was developed by a group of immigrants from Uluba or Lunda in Eastern
Zaire. This was around the 13th century.
 The migrants were composed of clans and tribes such as the Chipeta, Chikunda, Mbo,
Zimba, Ntumba, Mang‟anja, Nyasa and Nsenga.
 All these tribes except Nsenga spoke Nyanja which means the language of the lake.
 The groups moved out of their original homeland because of the following reasons:
 They were looking for good land for settlement and cultivation since they were
farmers using iron tools.
 They were running away from internal conflicts ie wars that were happening in the
region.
 They were running away from drought which happened in the area.
 They were looking for good pastureland for grazing their animals.

THE MIGRATION ROUTES OF THE MARAVI PEOPLE FROM LUBA-LUNDA AREA

IN CONGO

 They used three routes when entering Malawi:

 The Northern route: This was the main route which carried a majority of the

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people that formed the Maravi kingdom.

 The Western route: Some Maravi people entered Malawi through Kasungu
district.
 The Zambezi route: Other Maravi people entered Malawi through Ntcheu/
Dedza area.
 The Maravi first settled at Kapirinthiwa along the Dzalanyama range – southwest of
Lilongwe.
 In 1840, the group left the place and settled in Salima making their headquarters at
Mankhamba- Manthimba area near Mtakataka.
 In the areas where they settled, the Maravi found the local people such as the Akafula,
Bushmen and Hottentots.
 These local people welcomed the Maravi because
 The Maravi people had good political organisation.
 The Maravi people were respected and feared because they were religious
leaders.
 The Maravi people had knowledge of controlling trade.
 When the immigrants arrived in Malawi, they were called Maravi or Malawi which
means “the land of flames.” This suggests that the Maravi were iron smelters which could
produce flames of fire.

FACTORS THAT LED TO THE RISE AND EXPANSION OF THE MARAVI KINGDOM

(A) The kingdom had stronger rulers.

 The Maravi were ruled by kings whose title was Kalonga who came from the Phiri clan.
 This leadership position seems to have been created as the Maravi were on their way.
 The first Kalonga was Mazizi. He led the people out of Luba-Lunda region.
 Other Kalonga who came after him include Chinkhole, Chidzonzi Masula and Sosola.
 The Kalonga helped in the establishment of the kingdom through:
 Transforming the economic system through the establishment of tribute payments
from lesser chiefs. This ensured loyalty towards him.

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 Controlling and organising trade coupled with the redistribution of goods to local
headmen. This made him to gain support from local rulers.
 Some of the Kalongas were skilled magicians and healers who were feared,
respected and admired by the people they ruled.
 The Kalonga followed the matrilineal system of inheritance. This ensured that
sons from the Kalonga‟s sister could become kings upon the death of the Kalonga.
Thus Nyangu, Kalonga‟s sister, was responsible for bearing the sons who became
the Kalongas. She was, therefore, the Queen Mother of the Maravi kingdom.

( B) The kingdom rose and expanded because of religion.

 The Maravi found the local people worshipping their god who was respected by a snake
called Thunga.
 Thus the Maravi married the local religious leaders and put the Banda clan which came
after the Phiri as religious leaders. Therefore, as the Phiri had political ideas, the Banda
had religious powers.
 Religious shrines were set up in the kingdom where worshipping took place.
 These included Nsinja in Lilongwe which was under Makewana Banda and Khulubvi in
Nsanje which was under Mbona.
 Through religion, by putting the Banda to be religious leaders, the Kalonga gained more
support from even the local people.

 The importance of religion in the Maravi kingdom

 Religion created unity in the kingdom.
o Whenever there was a need to pray for a particular problem, the people
came together.
o Through their prayers, they could limit flood damage, pray for rains in
times of drought, pray for the fertility of soil, success in hunting and could

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pray for the removal of calamities such as dangerous diseases amongst

themselves.
 Religion encouraged loyalty to the religious leaders.
o This was because the kingdom developed a system of religious kingship
in which the ruler had religious authority.
o Thus people respected the Kalonga for taking part in religious activities.
 Religion also strengthened the position of the king.
o Only those Kalongas who were given religious powers were rulers.
o This ensured that no one could become a Kalonga unless he was closely
attached with religion.

( C) The Maravi kingdom grew because of trade activities

 They traded in salt, iron, hoes, ivory and cloths.

 They exchanged their products with gold, silver, European made cloths, beads
brassware.
 They traded with the Portuguese and later on the Swahili Arabs.
 The Kalonga controlled all the trade activities in the kingdom.
 The Kalonga sent his sub chiefs in most areas with the aim of controlling trade.
This led to the expansion of kingdom.

(D) The Maravi kingdom rose and expanded because it had good political organisation.

 The highest official of the Maravi was Kalonga.

 Below him were the territorial chiefs, tributary chiefs and village headmen.
 Decisions were passed down the line and the Kalonga depended on these for local
governance.

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KALONGA

TERRITORIAL CHIEFS
(ENI DZIKO)

TRIBUTARY CHIEFS
(PHUNGU OR MBILI)

VILLAGE HEADMEN
(ENI MUDZI)
 The Kalonga was also assisted by a number of officials at his royal court. Such officials
include:
 Nyangu
 She was the Queen Mother.
 She was supposed to bear the sons who later became Kalonga
 Khombe
 He was the director of military affairs.

 Mkomba
 He was a public executioner.
 Mfiti za milandu
 These were legal specialists in the royal courts.

 The headquarters of the kingdom lay in the Mankhamba/Manthimba area.

 While Manthimba was the official residence, headquarters and court of the Kalonga,
Mankhamba was a ritual capital of the kingdom.

EXPANSION OF THE KINGDOM

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 The Kalonga decided to expand the kingdom so that he should control a vast area for
trade; as a way of defending the kingdom from external invasion and also to obtain more
tributes.
 With this, the Kalonga sent his lesser chiefs to occupy certain areas.
 Examples of such chiefs and their areas include:

 Chimwala
 He was sent to Lilongwe.
 Mkanda
 He was sent to Mchinji.
 Kanyenda
 He was sent to Nkhotakota.
 Chulu, Mwase and Kaluluma
 These were sent to Kasungu.
 Changamire
 He was sent to Dedza.
 Kabunduli
 He went to Nkhatabay.
 Mpinganjira
 He went to Mangochi.

 The kingdom extended as far as the Indian Ocean in the east, the Luwangwa valley in the
west, the Dwangwa River in the north and the Zambezi River in the south.

DECENTRALIZATION
 Some chiefs began to break away from the Kalonga establishing independence states
somewhere.
 This was due to accusation of witchcraft and succession disputes.
 Such chiefs included: UNDI, LUNDU and KAPHWITI.

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 Although these established their own independent states, they still regarded themselves as
part of the Maravi under Kalonga.
 UNDI
 He was the first to break away around 1550 A.D.
 He had been passed over during succession so that someone else took the Kalongaship
which he hoped would have been his.
 He went west and settled at Maano on the Kapoche River in Mozambique around present
Tete area.
 Undi‟s area covered part of Mozambique, Malawi and Peteuka in Zambia.
 The Nsinja religious shrine under Makewana became under his control.
 In his new area, Undi traded with the Portuguese along the Zambezi River.
 Tete and Zumbo were used as trading centres.
 The area under Undi produced ivory, animal skins and food.
 Undi obtained such goods through tributes in his area.
 The Chikunda acted as middlemen between Undi and the Portuguese.
 In return, Undi received cloth and beads.
 Undi‟s kingdom declined because of:
 Quarrels with Makewana.
 Lack of strong civil service.
 Portuguese invaded his kingdom around 1750 A.D. thereby losing control of trade.
 Undi‟s kingdom was attacked by the Maseko Ngoni around 1780 A.D.

 LUNDU AND KAPHWITI

 After a quarrel involving witchcraft between Lundu and his uncle, Kalonga, Lundu left
with younger brother, Kaphwiti.
 Lundu established his kingdom in the Lower Shire with his headquarters at Mbewe Wa
Mitengo near Chikwawa.
 The religious shrine at Khulubvi in Nsanje under Mbona was controlled by Lundu.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 By 1580 A.D., the Zimba, a subgroup from Lundu terrorized the Zambezi valley and also
raided the Maravi kingdom.
 The Portuguese and other African people lived in fear of the Zimba.
 In his new area, Lundu traded with the Portuguese.
 The area under Lundu produced salt, iron hoes, ivory and machila (cloth) which were
sold for cloth, beads and brassware from the Portuguese and later on the Arabs.
 Lundu also got silver and gold from the Mwenemutapa kingdom.
 The trading posts were Sena, Tete and Quelimane
 In 1635 A.D. with the help of the Portuguese, Kalonga defeated Lundu.
 Kaphwiti settled on the middle of Shire, north of Lundu.
 He was between Kalonga and Lundu with his headquarters at Malawi wa Kaphwiti near
Wamkulumadzi river in Mwanza. Like Lundu, the people of Kaphwiti looked to Mbona
cult in their religion.

DECLINE OF THE MARAVI KINGDOM

 The area under the Maravi kingdom became too large from the 17th century with the
founding of the new areas by relations of the Kalonga. Communication remained
primitive while the population was thinly spread out.
 Slave trade was another factor that contributed to the decline of the Maravi kingdom.
 The search of ivory and the buying of items from far off places stimulated the
growth of slave trade from the 18th century.
 With the entering of guns, the Makua, Lomwe and Yao entered Maravi for slaves.
 The slave trading activities undermined the Maravi rulers.
 The departure of Undi, Lundu and Kaphwiti made the kingdom to be weak.
 This was through the following ways:
 In the new areas, they controlled trade which would have been controlled by the
Kalonga himself.
 Undi carried the Queen Mother, Nyangu, with him and took control of Nsinja under
Makewana. This made the kingdom of Kalonga to be weak because those who

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

supported Nyangu were taken away and religion became weak in the Maravi
because the shrine was taken away.
 Lundu took control of the Khulubvi shrine in Nsanje.
 The strength of the Kalonga Kingship depended too much on the personality of the ruling
Kalonga. After the death of Kalonga Masula in 1640 A.D., the Kalongas who succeeded
him did not have suitable qualities and abilities. Weak Kalongas faced revolts which
weakened the kingdom.
 Foreign groups also led to the decline of the kingdom. For example;
 After 1740 and 1750, more and more Portuguese traders and adventures came in.
These worked as they wished trading with anyone other than the Kalonga. This
contributed to the decline of trade.
 The Ngoni came in after 1850 followed by the Kololo around 1860. These
especially the Ngoni were great fighters and raiders who disturbed the Maravi.
 The British also entered as missionaries, planters, traders and government agents.
They started colonization of the country. The British rule was declared in 1891 and
other parts of what had been Maravi came under the British.

EFFECT OF THE MARAVI KINGDOM UPON THE PEOPLE

 The kingdom promoted trade. In most areas, trade was the major activity. So were
Lundu, Undi and Kaphwiti. This made the people enjoy some of the foreign
goods through trade.
 The kingdom unified the people. The parent Maravi kingdom made the people to
be unified through their trust in religion and their rulers.
 The kingdom facilitated contacts with Europeans and Arabs. Through trade the
Portuguese and Arabs were the most important. This partly contributed to the
European colonization of Maravi buy the British.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The parent kingdom at the lakeside (Kalonga) provided a model of for other
Maravi kingdoms which developed elsewhere.
 Lundu conquered the Lolo and Makua country in what is now northern
Mozambique and were turned into large tribute paying and dependent states. The
Portuguese referred to these as “BORORO”
 Undi conquered the neighbouring Tawara and Nsenga peoples. These were
incorporated into the kingdom as tribute-paying subjects. In the long run, the
people copied elements of Maravi political system.

 KALONGA MASULA
 He ruled at the beginning of the 17th century (1600-1640).
 He was the one who ruled when Maravi had reached the greatest extent.
 He was the strongest ruler of Maravi.
 To show his strength, he had done the following things:
 In 1608, he sent 4000 Maravi warriors to help Mwenemutapa Gatsi Ruseri
putting down the revolt of Manyika and Chikora tribes in the Inyanga
Mountains.
 Later on in 1623 when Gatsi Ruseri died, he tried to take over the
Mwenemutapa kingdom. His army, however, failed to take over the kingdom
but only managed to bring gold and livestock.
 He made friendship with the Portuguese who helped him to defeat Lundu at one
time in 1635.
 He, however, allowed his people to attack Portuguese caravans in his land.
- It was when he was a ruler that Gasper Bocarro, a Portuguese agent,
passed along the East Shire River in 1616 traveling to Kilwa.

 KALONGA SOSOLA
 He was the last Kalonga.
 He was killed by the Yao slave trader in 1860.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

(2) THE TUMBUKA/NKHAMANGA KINGDOM

 The Nkhamanga kingdom rose up in the Nkhamanga/Henga valley in the present Rumphi
district.
 It was established around the 18th century by a group of immigrants called Balowoka.
 These people were called Balowoka because they crossed Lake Malawi from Ubena area
in Tanzania around 1770-1780 A.D.
 The Balowoka were probably Yao traders of Bena or Nyamwezi origin.
 They were looking for ivory which was plentiful in Nkhamanga area.
 The Nkhamanga was occupied by the Tumbuka who settled in the area from north and
west around 1570.
 Just because the Tumbuka settled in the area before the Balowoka, they are also called
the Pre-Balowoka.

HOW WERE THE TUMBUKA OF NKHAMANGA AREA RULED BEFORE THE

COMING OF BALOWOKA?
 The Tumbuka were decentralised politically and lived independently of each other.
 The area was relatively peaceful and there seemed to be enough room for everybody.
 There was therefore no need for the establishment of strong centralised administration or
government.
 The prominent clans were those of Harawa, Msowoya, Luhanga, Mkandawire, Kachali,
Njanjagha, Mzumara, among others.
 During this time each clan had its own local chiefs such as Mubila.
 These chiefs followed the matrilineal system of inheritance.

COMMON THINGS THAT UNITED THE TUMBUKA BEFORE THE BALOWOKA

 What united them were two things:
 Their common language of Tumbuka.
 Common religious practices at Chikhang‟ombe and Mwadandambi cults with the
Kachali family as priests.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The Tumbuka lived peacefully and earned their way of life through:
 Practicing agriculture i.e. growing millet and sorghum.
 Hunting game for meat, skins and ivory.
 Smelting iron and producing local salt.

THE MIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT OF THE BALOWOKA

 From Tanzania, the Balowoka crossed Lake Malawi landing at Chilumba and closer
areas.
 The Balowoka were led by Mlowoka who called Kakalala Msawira Gondwe.
 He had his members such as Katumbi, Kajumbo, Chiwuluntha, Mwahenga, Mwamlowe
and Jumbo.
 As traders, they carried goods such as cloth, beads, knives, hoes porcelain etc

REASONS FOR BALOWOKA’S INTEREST IN NORTHERN MALAWI

 The Balowoka were drawn to the area by rumours of an abundant untapped supply of
ivory whose commercial value was not known to the Tumbuka.
 The Balowoka wanted to trade in ivory and retire to the coast but later on decided to
settle in the area.

WAYS BY WHICH THE BALOWOKA ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES AMONG THE

LOCAL PEOPLE
 The Balowoka used certain strategies (methods) in establishing themselves among the
local people such as:
 They adopted a friendly attitude towards the chiefs and made alliances with them
by offering gifts such as beads and clothes.
 He granted local chiefs with the Blue Black Turban or Headband to show their
power among the Tumbuka. This made the local chiefs to gain prestige and
support Mlowoka.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 He married into the famous clans of Luhanga and Kumwenda who dominated the
Central Nkhamanga plain. In this, he established an economic hegemony over the
Nkhamanga.
 He tried with his group to be assimilated into the Tumbuka society by following
the culture of the Tumbuka. It was the Tumbuka who later on copied some of the
Balowoka‟s practices.

REASONS FOR THE BAWOLOKA TO BE ACCEPTED AMONG THE TUMBUKA

 They were generous and honest in the business.
 They made no efforts interfere with the Tumbuka customs.
 They were also peaceful people as they did not occupy the area through wars.

POLITICAL ORGANISATION OF THE NKHAMANGA KINGDOM

The Balowoka used the clan heads (local Chiefs) to collect ivory from the people on his
behalf. In return, goods such as beads, hoes, cloth were offered.
 Mlowoka put his supporters or his leading men in strategic points as follows:
 Katumbi
 Occupied the Hewe area.
 Kajumba
 North West Hewe towards Bisa country.
 Mwahenga and Mwalweni
 Around Henga valley and Phoka area.
 Mwamlowe
 Lakeshore area around the mouth of South Rukuru River.
 Kabunduli
 Around Dwangwa valley south of Jumbo.
 Jumbo
 In the coastal area south of Mwamlowe.
 In these positions, these lieutenants were also required to do the following things:
 Safe guarding the trade interests.
 Controlling sources of ivory trade.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Acting as trade representatives.

 The Nkhamanga Kingdom was established out of economics reasons.

THINGS WHICH SHOW THAT THE KINGDOM WAS BUILT ON ECONOMIC

MOTIVES
 Mlowoka was not a political leader but a trader interested in monopolising ivory trade.
 The kingdom was also very small extending from the ports of Chilumba and Chiweta
through the Henga valley and Nkhamanga plain to the Luangwa valley.
 This area was rich in elephants and therefore had a lot ivory. Trade routes connected
these interior areas to the East coast in order to export ivory.

THE RISE OF CHIKULAMAYEMBE DYNASTY

 Kakalara was succeeded by his son Gonapamuhanya who became the first
Chikulamayembe.
 Chikulamayembe was from the Swahili statement “Chikulamayembe” which means the
carrier of hoes as Gonapamuhanya was fond of carrying and distributing hoes to the
Tumbuka from the Swahili.
 The eighth Chikulamayembe called Mjuma was killed in the wars revolt in about 1880
and for along time, there was no succession until 1907 when the next Chikulamayembe
called Bongololo Chilongozgi Gondwe was installed by the British.
 From the time of Gonapamuhanya, the Chikulamayembe used to get a tax of one elephant
tusk per elephant killed.

DECLINE OF THE KINGDOM

 The kingdom had no standing army to defent it from external attacks. This was
because Chikulamayembe established economic monopoly of trade in ivory. The
area was peaceful. Thus when Kaunga Nyirenda arrived he quickly defeated
Chikulamayembe twice before establishing himself in the area.
 The kingdom lost control of trade from 1830 onwards.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The Swahili Arabs started trade with anybody who had ivory. The
result was that the dynasty was unable to monopolise trade.
 The Kaunga Nyirenda after defeating Chikulamayembe around
1820‟s established themselves in the same area with the main of
controlling the same trade.
 Mlowoka‟s successors were weak because they started looking for political leadership
and neglected that the strength of the kingdom depended on trade.
 The Ngoni under M‟mbelwa and Gwaza Jere did a considerable damage starting from
1855. They killed the sixth Chikulamayembe called Bwati.
 Slave trade also contributed greatly to the decline of the Nkhamanga kingdom.

THE KAZEMBE KINGDOM

 The Kazembe kingdom emerged from the Lunda kingdom of Mwatanyamvo.

 The kingdom was established on both sides of the Luapula river between Lake Mweru
and Bangweulu in the north western part of Zambia.
 It was fully established around 1700.
 The Kazembe kingdom is also the East Lunda to differentiate it from the parent Lunda
kingdom of Mwatanyamvo.

ORIGINS OF THE KINGDOM

 The Kazembe kingdom originated from the Lunda kingdom of Mwatanyamvo.

 According to oral tradition, in 1680, Mwatanyamvo, the leader of the parent Lunda sent
his army general called Mtandayembeyembe to conquer salt and copper areas to the east
at Kachira which were under the Kosa.
 After capturing the salt and copper areas, Mtandayembeyembe decided to keep some for
himself and became disloyal to Mwatanyamvo.
 Chinyanta, one of the soldiers, reported this to Mwatanyamvo. With this,
Mtandayembeyembe killed Chinyanta.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 But Mwatanyamvo‟s army killed Mtandayembeyembe and put Ngonda Bilonda, the son
of Chinyanta, to oversee these new lands. This was a way of thanking Chinyanta
posthumously.
 Ngonda Bilonda expanded the kingdom by capturing more copper and salt pans.
 Ngonda Bilonda was given the title of Mwatakazembe. Thus, Bilonda became the first
Mwatakazembe.
 When Bilonda died in 1740, he was succeeded by Kanyembo as Mwatakazembe11 who
also died around 1760 to be succeeded by Ilunga Lukwesa who became Mwatakazembe
111.

THINGS THAT SHOW THAT KAZEMBE KINGDOM WAS PART OF

MWATANYAMVO’S LUNDA KINGDOM
 Mwatanyamvo gave Mwatakazembe 11 all the insignia (symbol of authority) of a Lunda
king which included a knife, staff, belt beads rings dress and a cutting of Mtaba tree to be
planted at his new capital.

FACTORS THAT LED TO THE RISE OF THE KAZEMBE KINGDOM

 The kingdom was developed and expanded through military strength and conquest.
 Early development and later expansion were due to able rulers such as
Mtandayembeyembe, Ngonda Bilonda, Kanyembo and Ilunga Lukwesa.
 The kingdom expanded greatly during the reign of Kazembe 111 (ilunga
Lukwesa) who ruled from 1760- 1805.
 He gained lands of Tabwa, Lungu and Sichinga in the east of Luapula River.
 Guns obtained through trade were used in this expansion
 All conquered people paid tribute in the form of iron, copper, ivory, food and
slaves.
 The kingdom had good political organisation under strong leadership of the Kazembes.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Many people such as the Arabs, Swahili, Bemba, Bisa, Yeke (Nyamwezi)
were attracted to the area.
 The area had a lot of rich natural resources.
 From Lake Mweru and Luapula came fish, salt, copper, iron, ivory and food.
 These were important as trade items.
 Trade was another important factor in the rise of the Kazembe kingdom.
 It was well organised
 The kingdom worked closely with Mwatanyamvo.
 The kingdom was located on the centre of trade route.
 It controlled the distant trade with the Portuguese.
 The kingdom produced copper, ivory, food and slaves in exchange for cloth,
beads, woolen goods, guns and other manufactures.
 Trade made Mwatakazembe to gain more support and more lands as they
offered gifts and tribute to the people while keeping the guns firmly to himself.
 From 1800, the Kazembe became so prosperous that its capital became the
centre of trade routes crossing the continents to the west in Angola and to the
East: the ports of Kilwa and Sofala.
 Transport was made easier at times by the even flow of the Luapula River.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE KINGDOM

 One of the main economic activities of the Kazembe kingdom was mining.
 People of the Kazembe kingdom were involved in mining in certain places.
 From the Luapula, people mined salt.
 In Shaba (Katanga), the Lamba and Samba were copper producers.
 On the plateau to the east, the Chisinga and Ushi were iron workers.
 These were used as trade items.

 Another economic activity was agriculture.

 The area had good agricultural soils for the growth of crops such as cassava.
 Therefore, the people were also involved in farming.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The most important economic activity was trade.

 The kingdom‟s source of wealth was the long distance trade with the east and
east which the kingdom controlled.
 By the 1800, Kazembe kingdom was the meeting point of trade caravans from
Mozambique in the east and Angola in the west.
 The kingdom became prosperous that its capital was the largest settlement in
Central Africa with a population of 20,000.

POLITICAL ORGANISATION

 Mwatakazembe was the title of rulers of the Kazembe kingdom.

 The king had a court with the capital at Musumba.
 Below the king were governors called Chiloolo.
 Duties of the Chiloolo included the following:
 organising military campaigns.
 settling disputes on behalf of the king.
 collecting tribute and helping the king to redistribute.
 helping the king to made decisions.
 Usually, the Chiloolo were the king‟s relatives who helped to strengthen the ties between
the king and the local people.
 Furthermore, the Chiloolo were granted emblem of the Lundahood eg a shirt and a
cowhide belt.
 Below the Chiloolo were smaller chiefs or village headmen who lived with local people.

FOREIGN INTERESTS

 The Portuguese tried without success to get control over Mwatakazembe land.
 They sent expeditions to the area led by Dr. Francisco de Lacerda in 1788, Montiero
Gamito around 1832.
 These were sent to start diplomatic and commercial relation between the Portuguese and
Mwatakazembe.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The other group that threatened Mwatakazembe were the Arabs, Swahili, the Bemba, the
Bua and the Yeke (Nyamwezi).
 These came frequently due to long distance trade.
 Unfortunately, other slave traders were attracted to the area such as Musiri, Tip Tippu
and others.

DECLINE OF THE KINGDOM

 The kingdom lost control of trade

 The kingdom was strengthened by trade and trade declined in many areas such
that:
- The Portuguese gained control of the Trans African trade route. The king
was unable to stop them.
- The Nyamwezi and Bisa won control of the long distance trade as
middlemen with the east coast and the west.
- The Arab slave traders such as Tip Tippu cut off the eastern trade route.
 Slave trade was another factor that contributed greatly to the decline of the Kazembe
kingdom.
 The neighbours such as the Bemba kept on raiding the kingdom for slaves and
trade items.
 The above factors just weakened the kingdom economically. The major reason for its
downfall was colonization in the 1890‟s.
 Part of the kingdom became British colony and another part became a Belgian
colony.

IMPACT OF THE KINGDOM ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

 Since the kingdom assimilated various people such as Bwilile, Shira and others into the
Lunda system of government.
 What evolved was seen through the marked dance and elaborated court
ceremonies.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 An indigenous form of pictorial writing called Tusuma was invented.

 This was a geometric drawing on the back of trees.
 It promoted unity as all people paid allegiance to one ruler called Mwatakazembe.
 The kingdom, with its standing army, protected the people from other tribes such as the
Yeke.
 Therefore, the kingdom acted as the means of security for the people.
 The people enjoyed foreign goods through trade.
 Such goods include cloth, beads and woolen materials.
 However, later on, this trade turned to people to be used as an item for trade.

TOPIC 3: THE GROWTH OF TRADE IN GOLD, IVORY AND SLAVES IN CENTRAL

AFRICA

(A) THE GOLD TRADE

 The origins of gold trade dates back from empires that existed in Africa before the
colonial period.
 Gold was the most valued trade commodity starting from the 5th century A.D.
 Gold was being obtained from Mwenemutapa and was exported through the port of
Sofala on the Indian Ocean.
 The control of this trade led to the growth of Mogadishu and later Kilwa as trading
centres.
 The Portuguese were the most important people in obtaining gold from the
Mwenemutapa kingdom.
 However, the Arabs were the first to trade in gold with the kingdom.
 They established themselves along the land of Zanj.
 The Portuguese appeared in the east coast around 15th C.
 They were determined to break Arab monopoly of gold trade.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Portuguese interests in the land of Zanj dates back to the days of Vasco da Gama in 1497
to 1498.
 Da Gama reported to the king of Portugal about the gold trade that was going on in the
area.
 The king of Portugal, then, started sending sea captains with the following aims
 Win support and friendship of the rulers of the East African coast.
 Collect tribute from the coastal Arabs for the Portuguese king by force.
 Bring the whole of Indian Ocean trade under the Portuguese control. This would
include the control of gold trade from the interior.
 The Portuguese got hold of the trade and started sending people.
 Such people included:
 ANTONIO FERNANDES
 He was the first to be sent between 1505 and 1513.
 He witnessed gold mining as he travelled between Sofala and
Zimbabwe.
 He recommended the following things in order for the Portuguese to
control the trade:
- The development of the Zambezi route in order to outclass the
Swahili Arabs.
- Building of fortified houses along the Zambezi. With this, the
Portuguese established centres at Sena, Tete and Zumbo. They
also established trading posts called Feiras at Dambalale, Luanze
and Masapa.

 GONCALO DA SILVEIRA
 He was sent in order to convert the Mwenemutapa and the people of
the kingdom to Christianity.
 This was done in order to outwit the Arab traders.
 However, he was murdered through the order of Mwenemutapa.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The Portuguese also sent Barreto and Bernandez after the death of
Silveira

ORGANISATION OF GOLD TRADE.

 At first, the local people mined gold and presented it to the king.
 The king sold gold with the help of middlemen to the Arabs and the Portuguese.
 The Mwenemutapa could get salt, beads, cloths, guns and merchandise goods from the
Arabs and the Portuguese who remained at the coast.
 Later on, when the Portuguese moved in the interior, they took full control of gold mines
such that the king benefitted very little.
 The gold trade flourished because it was heavily needed during Industrial Revolution in
Europe.
 It was used for backing up money, manufacturing of jewels and attractive things.

IMPACT OF GOLD TRADE

 The gold trade led to the accumulation of wealth by chiefs especially Mwenemutapa and
some other middlemen.
 Gold was used in religion for decorating the god‟s temples and king‟s palace.
 Kings could get guns and received protection from the Portuguese and Arabs.
 The king and his people enjoyed some European goods in return for gold.

( B) IVORY AND SLAVE TRADE

 Ivory and slave trade started early and by 18th and 19th century, the trade had expanded
greatly.
 The Arabs exported a few slaves to their homes as early as 750 A.D.
 They came from Yemen, Oman, Persian and India.
 However, by this time, ivory was already in trade.

SLAVES

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The Arabs were the first to take slaves from East Africa.
 This happened when they made several settlements along the east coast of Africa as far
back as 695 A.D.
 The Portuguese gained control of this trade later.

IVORY

 Most of the pre-colonial states in the interior of Africa such as Kazembe, Bemba and
Maravi depended on this trade.
 Areas that were rich in elephants included the Chewa plain, Luangwa valley, Tete, Lake
Mweru, Bangweulu and Tanganyika.
 The ivory which was harvested in east and central Africa was exported to Asia especially
India.
 In the 19th C, the ivory trade had boomed. This was because it was greatly needed in
Europe. It was used for making handles for kitchen utensils, piano keys, billiard balls,
chess materials and ornaments of various kinds.
 Although the volume of ivory trade went higher, it was suddenly overtaken by slave
trade.

REASONS FOR THE INCREASE IN SLAVES AFTER 1750

 This was as a result of internal and external factors.

Internal Factors
 These were factors that originated from the continent of Africa.
 Such factors included the following:
o Desire to acquire new exotic goods among African leaders.
 The leaders saw it as an opportunity to acquire goods such as guns,
spirits and cloth if they could easily participate in the trade.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

o Pre-existence of the keeping and use of domestic slaves in most societies in

Africa.
 The practice was not a new thing at all.
 Law offenders, lazy people and people who had been practising
witchcraft had been punished so that when slave trade grew, instead of
giving punishment to such people, they were sold to the Arabs and
Portuguese.

External Factors
 The establishment of Oman Empire in East Africa by Seyyid Said, the Sultan of Oman.
o In 1840, the Sultan of Oman, Seyyid Said, built his headquarters at Zanzibar in
East Africa.
o He, then, started clove and palm oil plantations on Zanzibar and Pemba islands.
o These demanded labour in the name of slaves which were obtained from East
and Central Africa.
 The Industrial Revolution which developed in Europe was another external factor for the
increase of slave trade after 1750.
o This demanded raw materials which could only be supplied with the help of slave
labour.
o Secondly, goods that were produced could be sent to Africa in return for slaves.
o Thus, chiefs were willing to exchange such goods with people.
 The third external factor was the arrival of the French on Indian Ocean islands such as
Mauritius (Ile de France), Seychelles, Bourbon (Reunion), Mayetta and others.
o The French started sugar plantations on these islands which were extremely
labour intensive and they turned to East Africa for slaves.
 The growth of ivory trade stimulated the growth of slave trade.
o This came as a result of the development of curving industries in India for the
manufacture of bridal jewels out of ivory which was soft and easy to curve.
o Thus, East and Central Africa were identified as areas that had of elephants from
which ivory could be obtained.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

o The slaves were used as porters to the coast. Upon reaching the coast, they were
sold off as well.
 The anti-slave trade campaigns by the British in the Atlantic Ocean (West African coast)
stimulated the growth of East African slave trade.
o This made the slave dealers to turn to East Africa.
 The establishment of prazos by the Portuguese along the Zambezi valley demanded slave
labour which had to be harvested in East and Central Africa.

THE ORGANISATION OF IVORY AND SLAVE TRADE

THE ROLE OF CHIEFS AND MIDDLEMEN

 The foreigners who came to the east coast of Africa to buy slaves were the Arabs and the
Portuguese.
 These remained at the coast and bought slaves from their middlemen.
 The Arabs used the Nyamwezi and Swahili while the Portuguese used the Yao and
Chikunda.
 These agents or middlemen bought the slaves from chiefs of strong tribes in the interior.
 Later on, the Yao were joined by the Bisa from north eastern Zambia to supply slaves to
the Portuguese.
 With the passage of time, some Swahili Arabs became very powerful and settled in the
interior in order to directly control slaves.
 These could then send slaves to the coast.
 Examples of such agents included Tippu Tip (Ahamed bin Mohammed el murjeb), Jumbe
(Salim bin Abdullah), Seyyid Said, Msiri and Mlozi bin Kazbadema.

 SEYYID SAID
 He established himself at Zanzibar as the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1840.
 He came from Muscat in Oman where he had been the Sultan after killing his brother.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 He started clove and palm oil plantations at Zanzibar and Pemba Islands using slave
labour.
 These slaves were brought from deep interior so that the trade had also to be called Long
distance trade using caravans.
 Trade caravans were bands of traders that also included local soldiers, porters, guiders
and trade exports.
 The long distance being covered led to the establishment of permanent centres in the
interior that were used as trade posts.
 Such areas included:
o Nyangwe in the Eastern Zaire.
o Tabwa in Northern Zambia.
o Tabora and Ujiji in Tanzania.
o Nkhotakota and Karonga in Malawi.
 The trade and the settlement of Seyyid Said in East Africa made Zanzibar to develop into
the greatest slave market in East Africa.
 The market was closed in 1873 when the British made negociations with Sultan Barghash
through John Kirk and Battle Frere.

 MLOZI
 A Swahili Arab trader who settled in Mpata in Karonga in 1881.
 From his base at Karonga, Mlozi controlled a thriving trade with the Bemba and the
Eastern Lunda.
 He dominated the Ngonde and every year, he dispatched thousands of slaves towards the
east coast.
 He was joined by other Swahili traders who acted as his agents such as Kopakopa and
Msalemu.
 The three plundered the villages, murdering many people in order to capture slaves.

 JUMBE OF NKHOTAKOTA

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Also called Salim Bin Abdullah, a Swahili from Pangan, north of Bangamoyo.
 After travelling extensively in Bisa and other parts of Tanganyika, he settled at
Nkhotakota.
 He was accompanied by Juma Biri Said and Nyamwezi‟s bodyguards.
 The Chewa‟s around his place sought protection from Jumbe against Ngoni invasions
since Jumbe had guns.
 Chief Marenga of Nkhotakota lost power to Jumbe.
 He established diplomatic relations with chief Mwase of Kasungu.
 Chief Mwase was able to defeat, move tribes because of the possession of guns which he
benefited from Jumbe.
 However the two quarreled over ivory and slave trade leading to a war in which Mwase
was defeated in 1882.

ROUTES USED IN THE TRADE FROM THE EASTERN COAST CONNECTING

INLAND
 From Bangamoyo-Tabora-Ujiji -then Lake Tanganyika.
 South West of Bangamoyo-Northern Tip of Lake Malawi to Bemba and Kazembe.\
 South Kilwa-Southern Tip of lake Malawi to Zanzibar-part of it branched to Nkhotakota
(See map of East and Central Africa)

ATTEMPTS TO STOP SLAVE TRADE IN EAST AFRICA

 The British signed a number of treaties with the Sultans of East of Africa such as the
Morseby and the hammerton.
 The last successful treaty was made with Sultan Barghash in 1873.
 Sir John Kirk and sir Battle Frere signed the treaty with the Sultan on behalf of the
British.
 Terms in this Barghash treaty (1873) were:
 Forbidding the sale and export of slaves from Sultans territories.
 Immediate closure of Zanzibar and Kilwa slave markets.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 However, slave movements from the interior continued until 1876.

ABOLITION OF SLAVE TRADE IN MALAWI

 In Malawi slave trade attempts to control were through the following:
 Mission and Missionery work
 Treaties made by the British agents such as Sir Harry Johnston and Sir Alfred
Sharpe.
 Military campaigns by Sir Harry Johnston to those chiefs who resisted.

(i) LEGITIMATE TRADE

 The British agent wanted to replace the trade in slaves with ivory and other commodities.
 As a result, The African Lakes company was established in Karonga under the leadership
of Montieth Fotheringham.
 But this made very little attempt to control slave trading in the area.
 Its work was undermined by Mlozi and his agents. Slave trade continued despite having
the company.

(ii) THROUGH TREATIES WITH CHIEFS

 In 1883, Captain Foot and later AG Hawes unsuccessfully tried to suppress slave trade
against the Yao Chiefs such as Tambala, Mpama, Msamala, Zelafi and others.
 Later on Johnston also tried to sign treaties with such chiefs.
 However, very few accepted.
 In Central region, Jumbe of Nkhotakota accepted through being granted $200 pension to
stop slave trade.

(iii) THROUGH MILITARY CAMPAIGNS

 Johnston used force on those chiefs who resisted through peaceful means.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 A number of forts were established by the colonial government in order to check slave
trade e.g. Fort Lister and Fort Anderson in Mulanje, Fort Johnston in Mangochi, Fort
Manning in Mchinji and Fort Hill in Chitipa.
 Between 1891 and 1895, Chikumbu, Zelapi, Makanjira and Mponda were defeated by the
colonial forces and with the help of the British South African Soldiers.
o Johnston also used such soldiers from India.
o Mlozi however continued. Sir Harry Johnston arrived in Karonga
with the aim of defeating Mlozi, Kopakopa and Msalema.
o Taken by surprise, Mlozi was driven inside his stockade where he
was captured and shot dead. His friends Kopakopa and Msalema
were also captured and executed.
o Mlozi was the last Arab slave trader to be defeated by Sir Harry
Johnston in Malawi. Some of the Ngonde Chiefs helped Johnston‟s
forces in capturing Mlozi and his friends.
o The defeat of Mlozi and his friends marked the end of slave trading
in Malawi around 1895.
o Military campaigns were also used to defeat the Bemba and
Kazembe in Zambia. Chief Lewanika of Barotseland accepted to
abolish slave trade in his Lozi area peacefully.

IMPACT OF THE IVORY AND SLAVE TRADE IN EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

(A) POSITIVE IMPACT

 It led to growth of towns such as Nkhotakota of Jumbe, Mpata in Karonga and Mwembe
of Mataka Chief in Mozambique.
 Introduction of new crops in the interior such as rice, coconut and citrus fruits.
 It made some African tribes to acquire riches, power and prestige. Examples of such
tribes were the Yao, Bisa and Nyamwezi.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Generally there was introduction of Western and Oriental cultures in addition to

European goods which were enjoyed by the people in Africa.

(B) NEGATIVE IMPACT

 Caused depopulation in Central Africa.
 Promoted tribal wars among African Chiefs through the acquisition of guns.
 Led to the dislocation of activities in the areas involved in slave trading. The small
scale industries such as crafts and iron works could not be practiced since people
were afraid of slave traders.
 Destruction of African culture as people were not free to organise themselves so as to
practice dances, poems, folktales. These could make them vulnerable to slave traders.
 Wide spread of famine since people were not free to work in their gardens. More than
that strong young people were preferred to the old who could not work in their
gardens.
 The trade encouraged the spread of new diseases for which Africans had no
immunity. Such diseases included: measles, syphilis and small pox.
 It led to an ecological imbalance in some areas of East and Central Africa as some
resources such as elephants from which most of the Ivory was obtained.

TOPIC 4: THE NINETEENTH CENTURY IMMIGRANTS INTO CENTRAL AFRICA

 In the 19th century, Central Africa witnessed the arrival of foreign groups.
 Such groups had either passed through or settled in Central Africa.
 In this case, the groups made a lot impact on the original Central African tribes.
 Such immigrants included the Yao from Mozambique, the Ndebele and the Ngoni from
South Africa.
 The Ndebele and the Ngoni came as a result of Mfecane in South Africa.

THE YAO
 The originally came from Mozambique between the Ruvuma and Lujenda rivers.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 They were more developed than their neighbours: the Makua and the Makande
 The Yao migrated into Malawi around 1830- 1850.

REASONS FOR THEIR MIGRATION INTO SOUTHERN MALAWI

 The Yao were attacked in their homeland by the Makua led by Nairua. The Makua
attacked the Yao for food because of famine in the area.
 They were also attracted to the southern Maravi due to the presence of ivory and slaves in
the Maravi kingdom.
 They were also attacked by the Maseko Ngoni in their homeland.

The movement of the Yao into Southern Malawi occurred in groups and there were three groups
known through the areas in which they settled. Such groups included:
 The Amachinga Yao
o These were the first to have been squeezed out of their homeland.
o They were under chiefs Nkata and Nsamala.
o They settled in Mandimba hills in Machinga district.
 The Amangochi Yao
o These were led by chief Kapeni, Mpama, Mataka, Tambala and others.
o At first, they settled in Mangochi district.
o Later on, chief Tambala left and settled at Kabula in Blantyre, whereas Makata
also settled in Blantyre. Mpama left for Chiradzulu while in Mulanje.
 The Masaninga Yao
o Under Chiefs Makanjira and Mataka.
o These settled in the East of the Sothern end of Lake Malawi at Lusaning‟a.
o The most powerful Yao slave Chiefs were Zerafi, Mpawa, Mponda, Makanjira,
Kawinga, Liwonde, Jalasi, Chikumbu, Matipwiri and Mataka.
o Some Chewa Chiefs lost their power to such Yao Chiefs.

THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE YAO IN THEIR NEW SETTLEMENT

 Making further contacts with the coast through their trading and hunting groups.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Establishing control over the weaker societies they found in Nyasaland such as the
Makanjira.
 Helping in the expansion of slave trade through their participation in the trade itself.

THE SPREAD OF ISLAM IN MALAWI IN CONNECTION WITH THE YAO

Islamic faith spread to central Africa particularly Malawi through two ways:
 The long distance trade- The Swahili and the Arab traders who were mostly of the
Islamic faith. These came from the eastern coast of Africa where they did not forget to
practice their faith.
 Missionaries such as Sheika Abdul bin Haj Mkwamba, Sheika Kahari Kapalasa. Most
chiefs in Central Africa especially, among the Yao accepted religion, quickly. Such Yao
Chiefs included Mponda, Makanjira, Liwonde and many more. In general, the Yao
accepted Islamic religion much faster than any other tribe in Malawi.

REASONS FOR THE FAST SPREAD OF ISLAM AMONG THE YAO

 The Yao wanted to strengthen their economic ties with Swahili and Arab traders who
were involved in the long distance trade.
 The Yao saw Islam as a way of modernising their societies. The trading activities with
the Arabs gave them an opportunity to compare and contrast their values with those of
the Swahili Arabs of the East Coast. Thus the Arabic culture of eating, dressing and a
general way of living was appreciated by the Yao and copied.
 They were interested in acquiring literacy in Arabic strict. The education involving the
skill of reading and writing in Arabic made the Yao to communicate easily with the
Swahili Arabs in their trading activities.
 The common beliefs between the Yao and the Swahili Arabs helped a lot. Common
beliefs such as circumcision and initiation rites among the Yao were similar to that of
Jandu practiced by the Swahili Arabs.
 Islam provided security and unity among the Yao Chiefs. It is generally believed in Islam
that a Muslim cannot enslave another Muslim. This meant that Moslems had greater

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

security than non-Moslem during this time when raids characterised the way slaves were
obtained.
 Islam never forced converts abandon confidence in their local beliefs. It allowed full
religions liberty by tolerating the practices that were common among the Yao. For
example, polygamy was allowed which was already common among the Yao socities.
This while Christianity considered this as paganism, Islam allowed it.

IMPACT OF ISLAM ON THE YAO

 The Yao society was modernised with the establishment of schools in which children
learnt how to read and write.
 The first boarding school was opened in Malindi in chief Makanjira‟s area.
However this education made the Yao to reject the true education brought by the
Missionaries.
 To the Yao the western education was regarded as one way of making Muslims to
reject Islam for Christianity.
 Hence the Yao remained for generations in terms of true education brought by
missionaries.
 Islam increased the status of the Yao as those who were converted became highly
regarded in the society. Chiefs employed even the scribes in their courts.
 It strengthened the economic ties with the Arabs. This made the Yao to acquire a lot of
riches from the Arabs.
 The Yao imitated the manner of dressing, construction of houses and Mosques.
 Through trade contacts the Yao leant a lot Arabic culture such as language and eating
habits.
 The introduction of some crops such as rice, citrus fruits and coconuts in the interior.
This happened through trade contacts with the Eastern coast.
 Some Yao Chiefs such as Makanjira provided security to the tribes such as the Chewa,
Mang‟anja and others during the Ngoni raids.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

MFECANE

 This was a period of trouble in South Africa characterised by warfare which began in the
Natal region before 1819.
 The literal meaning of the word “Mfecane” means the crushing of stones or grinding
between stones.
 This led to the large scale of wars especially with the rise of Shaka.
 Mfecane therefore brought some tribes to Central Africa such as the Ndebele and the
Ngoni.
 However each group had its own reasons for migrating.

CAUSES OF MFECANE
 Political ambitions of some leaders wanting to dominate other tribal groups. For example
Dingiswayo, who was given Military ideas by the European Military Surgeon wanted to
establish a new enlarged state.
 The increase in population in the area resulted into over crowding and the scramble for
scarce agricultural land and best lands.
 The desire to control trade in ivory through the Delagoa Bay.
 The Boer-Bantu conflict in the Transvaal region after the Great Trek.
 The Mhlatuze drought between 1800 and 1810 sent various groups to raid for crops and
livestock to survive.
 Wars led by Shaka sent hundreds of people and groups away to create their own
kingdoms.

 In Zululand/Natal lived the Nguni speaking people who were small class.
 These small classes started joining together forming powerful kingdoms under a
single ruler.
 In trying to do this, there was warfare i.e. the time of troubles.
 Such political instability and upheavals resulted into the emergence of three
powerful states:
o The Ndwandwe led by Zwide

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

o The Ngwane led by Sobhuza

o The Mthetwa led by Dingiswayo
 It was during such upheavals that the Ndebele led by Mzilikazi, the Jere Ngoni led by
Zwangendaba and the Maseko Ngoni led by Mputa broke away from these major groups.
 Each group with its own reasons, finding its way into Central Africa.

WARS BETWEEN THE NDWANDWE, MTHETWA AND NGWANE WITH THE

EMERGENCE OF THE ZULU
 The three strong groups namely the Ndwandwe led by Zwide, Mthetwa led by
Dingiswayo and the Ngwane under Sobhuza started as each group wanted to expand its
influence and dominate.
 Zwide and Sobhuza fought over the possession of land led along the Pangola
River. Sobhuza was defeated and led his people northwards to the modern
Swaziland.
 Dingiswayo and Zwide‟s forces fought over a number of battles until 1817 when
Dingiswayo was defeated and captured while watching a battle from a hill top.
Temporarily, Zwide became the only master of the Zululand. But he was
powerfully challenged by Shaka.

SHAKA

 When he became a Chief of the Zulu, Shaka quickly changed weapons and military
tactics as follows:
 He devised a way of using short handled stabbing spear called Assegai for close
hand to hand combat. This was advantageous as it was retained throughout the
battle instead of throwing it at an enemy.
 Use of Great cowhide shields which covered the whole body from chin to feet.
 Use of a formation called cow horns composed of a strong centre of the soldiers
called the Chest. This encircled the enemy army into two curving projections.
 Dusk and dawn attacks to take enemies by surprise.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Use of spies, smoke signals and swift runners to gather information so as to strike
when enemies were unprepared.

SHAKA DEFEATS ZWIDE’S FORCES

 After the death of Dingiswayo, Shaka merged as the only nucleus of resistance to Zwide.
 Zwide then sent a powerful army against Shaka.
 Several battles were fought but the decisive battle was fought on the banks of Mhlatuze
River in 1819 when Shaka‟s army using the new tactics and being well disciplined,
defeated the Ndwandwe under Zwide.
 Shaka then became the master of the area.
 During this time of Mfecane, alternatives to chose from as follow:
 To subnit to the stronger state and become part of it.
 Remain in the area and continue offering resistance.
 Run away to other areas to establish new states.
 Thus those who run away and established strong state in Central Africa included the
Ndebele, the Kololo, the Ngoni etc.

(a) THE NDEBELE

 The Ndebele comprised different groups of people called the Khumalo Clan.
 The Khumalo clan was led by Mzilikazi whose father was Mashobane
 The Khumalo clan was formerly part of Ndwandwe but changed sides to support the
Mthetwaof Dingiswayo.
 Mzilikazi therefore served as a regiment commander under Dingiswayo.
 After the death of Dingiswayo, Mzilikazi and the Khumalo group became part of Shaka.
 But Mzilikazi wanted to be independent of Shaka.
 As a trusted Induna and General carried out raids in neighbouring areas on behalf of his
king.
 Whatever booty he brought from such raids were handed over to Shaka who often
rewarded his Generals.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

REASONS FOR THE NDEBELE MIGRATION

 In about1821 Mzilikazi was sent by Shaka to conduct raids on the Sotho speaking
neighbours to the northwest of the Zulu kingdom.
 Mzilikazi obtained a lot of booty of cattle but instead of handing it over to Shaka
he kept it to himself.
 To make matters worse, Mzilikazi ill-treated the messengers sent by Shaka to
plead with him to surrender the booty to the King. This action was understood by
Shaka to be an open rebellion against him and a declaration of war on the Zulu
nation.
 Shaka then sent a regiment to punish Mzilikazi‟s Khumalo rebels. The first attack
was successfully beaten off, but the second one defeated Mzilikazi and his
Khumalo army at the battle of Nthumbane Hills but Mzilikazi‟ as forces were
not destroyed. The Khumalo under Mzilikazi escaped northwards.

 Mzilikazi also desired to control a large area under himself.

MIGRATION
 Mzilikaziand his people left Zululand in 1822 northwards crossing the Drakensberg
Mountains.
 After crossing the Oiliphant River, the group built its first settlement at the place called
Ekupumuleni which means resting place.
 In this area, the Mzilikazi‟s group defeated and scattered the surrounding tribes such as
the Sotho and Tswana.
 It was here that the Mzilikazi‟s group was called the Ndebele by the Tswana and the
Sotho which means men of long shields.
 Thus the Khumalo‟s more superior military methods borrowed from Shaka and most
disciplined army gave Mzilikazi‟s small band of warriors a great advantage over the
people through whose land they passed during the northwards march.
 The group moved further to an area called MOSEGA. Here Mzilikazi killed a lot of
people plundering their cattle and burning their houses.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 Such activities made him to gain a reputation of being the most savage destroyer of
human life in the history of South Africa.

REASONS FOR MOVING OUT OF MOSEGA

 Numerous smaller tribes such as the Hotentos, Griqnas and Korana joined hands
to attack the Ndebele.
 When Dingane took over the leadership of the Zulu, after killing his brother
Shaka, he constantly carried out raids on the Ndebele.
 Mosega had little pasture land for their cattle.
 The Boers frequently fought the Ndebele during their Great Trek.

CROSSING THE LIMPOPO INTO ZIMBABWE

 After crossing the Limpopo River, Mzilikazi decided to divide his group as they were to
move through a relatively unknown territory occupied by hostile tribes.
 The two groups were as follows:
 The old people, women and children under the chief Induna Gundwane Ndiweme
also called Kaliphi.
o This was the main group with most cattle, sheeps and goats.
o In this group were also the two sons of Mzilikazi‟s namely Nkulumane
and Lobengula.
o The group took a more easterly direction. This was the shortest route.

 Men under Mzilikazi. This was a more Militant one with Mzilikazi‟s Chief
Induna Magqeken Sithole. They took amore westerly direction.

 The first group made its first settlement in Zimbabwe at Gibixhegu.

 While Mzilikazi‟s group was still moving, an envoy that induna Gundwane with others
had decided to crown Nkulumane to the throne.
 Mzilikazi was very furious about this and interpreted it as rebellion.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 He then hurried to Gibixhegu and killed Induna Gundwane with four others at that
became to be called Thaba Ya Zinduna which means Mountain of Chiefs or the Hill of
the indunas.
 Mzilikazi also ordered the killing of his two sons, Nkulumane and Lobengula.
 Nkulumane ran away back to South Africa while Lobengula was hidden until Mzilikazi‟s
anger was cooled down.
 After the killing of the Indunas, Gibixhegu was abandoned and Mzilikazi made his
Headquarters at Inyati
 By 1840‟s the Ndebele had established themselves in their new land in Western
Zimbabwe, later to be known as Matabele.

REASONS FOR ESTABLISHING THEMSELVES IN ZIMBABWE

 Peacefulness of the area. The tribes that surrounded the Ndebele could not push them
further as it was with the settlement at MOSEGA.
 The area had good farming land despite the fact that the Ndebele were not really farmers.
 Good pastureland for the grazing of their animals.
 It was speculated that the area had Gold deposits.

POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE NDEBELE

 The Ndebele state was centralised through a hierarchical structure of indunas.
 On the top was the King himself. The King‟s Position was unchallenged.
 His authority was paramount.
 He was the commander in Chief of the army and was also the chief judge.
 The King established a sound judicial system.

THE ARMY
 The army was well organised. Mzilikazi established military towns within 80km of
Inyati, the capital.
 Each town was under the control of a regimental Chief (induna) who was usually the
brother of the King.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The towns were grouped into four provinces each under a senior induna.
 The Ndebele military groups were referred to as the AMabhutho otherwise known as
IMPI.
 The Ndebele practiced the age regiment system in which soldiers were grouped according
to ages.
 Boys of up to 21 years of age made up LIBANDLA/AMABHUTHO and AMADODA,
made up of the elderly men, formed the core of the Ndebele defence.
 JUDANAS were district armies stationed in all military towns.
 The soldiers on retirement would settle in villages and do some farm work but would be
called up in time of war.

THE SOCIAL SRUCTURE OF THE NDEBELE

 THE ZANSI/ ABEZANSI

 This comprised of the members of the original Khumalo group from South Africa.
 From this came leadership of the Ndebele such as Kings, Military commanders
and many other senior officials.

 THE ENHLA OR ABENHLA

 This group was made up of people captured in wars on their way from Zululand.
Such people included the Tswana, Sotho, Pedi and Griquas.

 THE HOLI/AMAHOLI
 This group was made up of newly conquered people in Zimbabwe thus the local
people such as the Shona, Sotho, Leya, lozwi and Tonga.
 The class was being treated as slaves.

o Despite that there were different classes in the society, certain things acted as a source of
unity among them such as:
 All were encouraged to speak Sindebele.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 All were involved in the regiment system.

 The king married from different tribes who were used as spies (agents) in
keeping the king informed about the local affairs within the kingdom.
However marriage between the Zansi and other groups was encouraged.
o The economy of the Ndebele state partly depended on a mixed of cattle keeping and far
more upon raiding system when ensured a steady supply of cattle, men, women and food.

THE DEATH OF MZILIKAZI

 He died in 1868. His body was laid in state for two months before burial at NTOMBANA
in Matope hills.
 In a succession dispute that followed, a regent called Nombate was appointed before a
rightful ruler was chosen to take over.
 After two years, Lobengula, the son of Mzilikazi from a lesser wife was accepted as a
King.
 Lobengula‟s rule was not a smooth one. There was a growing pressure from the Boers
and British mineral seekers.

THE DECLINE OF THE NDEBELE STATE

 The Ndebele state decline because of the combination of internal and external factors as
follows:
 Succession Disputes: when Mzilikazi died in1868, Nkulumane was the rightful
ruler to the throne but had run back to South Africa. In his place, Lobengula, who
was from a lesser wife, was installed as a King. Some Indunas opposed this and
because disloyal to Lobengula.
 Lobengula‟s weakness: Lobengula was not as strong as his father. He signed a lot
of treaties with the Europeans with the aim of asking them to protect him against
his enemies. Such treaties resulted in several Europeans flocking into Ndebele
controlled territories and the effects were:
o Loss of Royal Ivory trade.
o Disruption of tributes from conquered tribes like the Shona.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

o Some European missionaries such as John Moffat prepared the way

for colonization.
o Covered Christians including Indunas became disloyal to the king.
 The Boers frequently attacked the Ndebele on their final settlement.
 The Kololo of Barotseland plain invaded areas controlled by the Ndebele.
 The British South African Company Police defeated the Ndebele in 1893 using
machine guns.

IMPACT OF THE NDEBELE

 The Ndebele incorporated in their group all the conquered people such as the
Sotho, Tswana, Ngwato and Shona. These conquered people had their customs
changed and followed the Ndebele customs.
 The Ndebele introduced the idea of cattle inheritance from father to son.
 They raided and plundered all the people around ending the era of peaceful
development of their neighbours.
 Most of the people of the weaker tribes were killed in raids and their houses were
burnt down. In fact Mzilikazi rejoiced the smoke of burning houses.
MAPS: Mashingaize pg 70/71
Dynamics of History pg 110
Wilson D pg 121

(B) THE NGONI

 The Ngoni were another very important Mfecane group, whose movement, like that of
the Ndebele influenced Historical development in Central Africa.
 Just like the Ndebele, The Ngoni were a mixture of various peoples united by the Nguni
language.
 The Ngoni travelled to their new areas in several groups, the main ones being the Maseko
Ngoni, first led by a man called Ngwane who was succeeded by his son Mputa, the Jere
Ngoni under Zwangendaba and Nxaba‟s under Msene Ngoni.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

(i) THE JERE NGONI

 The Jere Ngoni was made up of many clans of which the Jere were the largest.
 The Jere Ngoni lived in the Northern part of the Zululand.
 The leader of the Jere Ngoni was Zwangendaba the son of Hlatshwayo.
 Zwangendaba served as division commander of the powerful Zwide and Ndwandwe
group.

REASONS FOR MIGRATION

 The Jere Ngoni left Zululand in 1819 under Zwangendaba.
 They passed through modern day Swaziland attacking the Swazi and Thongo in the
process.
 They penetrated the southern Mozambique where they met other two Nguni groups
namely: the Shangani led by Soshangane and Nxaba‟s Ngoni group (the Maseko Ngoni).
 In 1831, the three groups quarrelled in Mozambique and in a war that followed; both
Zwangendaba and Nxaba were defeated by Soshangane.
 Zwangendaba led his followers further and entered Matabeleland in Southern Rhodesia
where they stopped for a while.
 They destroyed the Rozwi centres such as Dhlodhlo and Khama.
 One section of the Jere Ngoni under a woman general called Nyamazana refused to
follow the rest of the group and remained in Mashonaland.
 This group destroyed the Rozwi armies in 1834 at the battle of Thabazikamambo.
 The rest continued under Zwangendaba. They crossed the Zambezi River on 19th
November, 1835.
 On this day, three notable events happened: the Jere Ngoni crossed the Zambezi River,
there was an eclipse of the sun and M‟mbelwa, the son of Zwangendaba, was born.
 Travelling westwards, they devastated the Nsenga people of Peteuke capturing Chiwere
Ndhlovu.
 Entering Malawi, they first settled in Lilongwe area for a short period.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 They continued their journey northwards and settled at Mabiri near Embangweni in
Mzimba district.
 Here, they caused a great deal of destruction to the Tumbuka and Tonga people. The
Tumbuka called this period “The Time of Killing.”
 While at Mabiri, they heard about the red cattle in the Ufipa country in Tanzania.
 They continued their migration up to the Ufipa country and settled at Mapupo which
means “A place of Dreams.”
 At Mapupo, Zwangendaba died around 1848 after leading his people on a journey
covering a long distance from South Africa.

SUCCESSION CRISIS AND THE OCCUPATION OF CENTRAL AFRICA BY THE

JERE NGONI

 After the death of Zwangendaba, a succession crisis over the leadership of the group
started since Zwangendaba did not choose the next leader.
 At the time of his death, M‟mbelwa who would have become the next king was still
young and Mpezeni and Mtwalo, the elder brothers opposed to this.
 Mpezeni was the rightful heir because he was the eldest son of Zwangendaba from the
first wife. But some Indunas opposed to this because his mother had lost favour with
Zwangendaba over witchcraft affairs.
 While disagreements continued, one of the Zwangendaba‟s senior men, Ntabeni, became
a regent ( acting leader) of the Jere Ngoni.
 Such disputes split the Jere Ngoni into 5 groups of which some of them occupied Central
Africa. The following were the groups:

 The Ntabeni’s Group which was known as The Tutangoni.

 As a regent, Ntabeni made a mistake of supporting Mpezeni to be the next king.

 He died in a suspicious circumstances and Mgai took over as a leader.
 When Mgai took over as a regent leader, he supported M‟mbelwa as the next king.

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 This made Ntabeni‟s supporters to break away from Mapupo migrating northwards
settling near Lake Victoria in Kenya where they were referred to as the Tutangoni.
 The remaining group moved out of Mapupo under the leadership of Mgai. They moved
southwards in the direction from which they had come from.
 Mgai died just before entering Malawi and this led to further splitting of the group.

 The Zulu Gama’s Group which was also known as The Gwangwara
Ngoni
 Zulu Gama was another senior induna of Zwangendaba but not of a royal descent.
 He moved eastwards and settled at Songea in Tanzania where his group came to be
known as Gwangwara Ngoni.

 The Mpezeni’s Group

 Not satisfied with what was happening, Mpezeni and his brother, Mpherembe, went
southwestern side of Mapupo.
 Here, they suffered a humiliating defeat from the Bemba who used firearms.
 Finally, Mpezeni settled at Chipata in Eastren Zambia while Mpherembe re-entered
Malawi and settled in Mzimba.

 Gwaza Jere’s Group

 This was the main group under the leadership of Gwaza Jere, migrating further south
wards.
 Included in this group were the sons of Zwangendaba: M‟mbelwa and Mtwalo.
 They finally entered Malawi where they harassed the Ngonde and Tumbuka, destroying
the Chikulamayembe dynasty.
 The group finally settled in the Henga valley in Rumphi district where Gwaza handed
over the leadership to Mtwalo who declined the offer.
 Instead, Mtwalo gave it to his younger brother, M‟mbelwa who was installed as the king
at Ng‟onga and the group later moved to Mzimba.

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 Chiwere Ndhlovu’s Group

 Chiwere Ndhlovu was a Senga captive who broke away from the group in the Henga
Valley.
 He fled with two sons of Gwaza Jere, Msakambewa and Vuso.
 Chiwere Ndhlovu settled in Dowa district which had good pastures with peaceful Chewa
people.
 He failed to settle in Kasungu district because he was expelled by chief Mwase who used
guns that he acquired from Jumbe of Nkhotakota.

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE JERE NGONI

Political Organisation
 The Jere Ngoni‟s political organisation was similar to that of the Ndebele with some very
minor differences.
a) Paramount Chief
 At the top of helm was the paramount chief called Inkosi ya Makosi.
 The king was the supreme political authority.
 His power was unquestionable.
 He was the only one entitled to the royal salute called Bayethe.
 He was given judicial powers and was also the commander in chief of the Ngoni
Impi (age regiments ie a division of Ngoni army based on particular age groups).

b) Makosi ( district chiefs)

 Next in the Ngoni political structure were the Makosi.
 The Makosi came from the Jere clan.
 They derived their authority from the paramount chief.
 They administered some sections of the Ngoni kingdom on behalf of Inkosi ya
Makosi.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

c) Makosana ( subchiefs)

 These were ward chiefs who sometimes issued orders to the Balumuzana.

d) Balumuzana

 These were warrior clan leaders who assisted the paramount chief in the organisation of
the army.
 These included senior military advisors.
 The Balumuzana did not come from the Jere clan but from the assimilated people.

e) Makhanda ( Village Headmen)

 At the bottom of the Ngoni political hierarchy were the Makhanda.
 The Makhanda ruled over villages.
 The Makhanda settled family disputes in their villages.

f) The Ngoni Army

 The power of the Ngoni politics rested in the army.
 The Ngoni army did not live in barracks.
 The Ngoni army retained the enveloping battle tactics of Shaka Zulu.
 The Ngoni military groups were known as the Amabhutho.
 These were grouped into two main: Libandla or Amajaha made up of young boys of up to
21 years and Jadunas who were the district armies.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

Inkosi ya Makosi (
Paramount chief)

Makosi ( District
chiefs)

Makosana
(WardChiefs)

Balumuzana (
WarriorClanLeaders)

Makhanda ( Village
headmen)

T HE NGONI’S SOCIAL ORGANISATION

 Just like the Ndebele, the Ngoni society was organised into class system.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 After travelling thousands of kilometres from their homeland, the Ngoni captured
many tribal groups. These captives were given their own class.
 The original Ngoni were called Abezansi or Zansi.

(a) The Abezansi or Zansi

 This class was composed of the original Ngoni from South Africa.
 It was the privileged ruling class of the Ngoni society.
 The Makosi and Makosana were drawn from this class.

(b) The Abafo (Serf)

 This class was composed of the assimilated people (subjects).
 These assimilated people lived in a state of virtual servitude.
 They paid tributes to the Ngoni paramount.
 They also cultivated crops for the Ngoni.
 The young men from this class were incorporated into the Ngoni army.

The Abezansi
( The original
Ngoni)

The Abafo
(The
assimilated
people)

THE MASEKO NGONI

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 After Nxaba Ngoni were defeated by Soshangane around 1831 in Mozambique, the
Nxaba group split into two group:
 One group came to be known as the Msene and was led by Nxaba himself.
 The other group was the Maseko Ngoni which was led by Ngwane Mputa
Maseko.

 Therefore, following their defeat, the Maseko Ngoni moved northwards under the
leadership of Ngwane Mputa Maseko.
 They crossed Zambezi River much earlier than the Jere Ngoni and re-entered
Mozambique.
 They proceeded to Malawi and settled at Domwe Hills in Dedza district, among the
Chewa who were basically farmers and animal keepers.

What made the Maseko Ngoni leave Domwe Hills and start migrating again?
 The new that Zwangendaba Jere‟s group were coming the some direction made them
depart Domwe in 1837 in fear of an attack.
 They crossed the Shire River with help of Kalonga Sosola entering Mozambique.
 In Mozambique crossed the Ruvuma River where they dispersed the Yao, forcing them to
come to Malawi.
 The Maseko under Mputa settle at Songea district in Tanzania.
 They settled at Songea for some time until they were joined by the Gwangwara Ngoni
under Zulu Gama, a sub group of they jere Ngoni.

 They stayed together for a short period and they fought.

 Zulu Gama‟s group defeated the Maseko Ngoni and Mputa was killed.
 Following they defeat, The Maseko Ngoni started migrating southwards in the direction
from which they had come from.
 CHIDYAONGA, Mputa‟s relative, acted as regent, leading the group because Mputa‟s
son, Chikuse, was very still young.
 Chidyaonga led the Maseko back to Domwe hills in Dedza in 1860‟s.

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The Nyanja (Chewa) welcomed the Ngoni because they suffered under the Yao slave
traders.
 Chidyaonga defeated the Yao Chiefs, Tambala and Pemba, whose source of livelihood
was slave trade.

SUCCESSESION CRISIS AFTER THE DEATH OF CHIDYAONGA

 This happened when Chidyaonga died in 1878 between Chikuse and Chifisi.
 Chikuse who was the rightful heir to the throne but he was now challenged by Chifisi, the
son of Chidyaonga.
 This made Chikuse who took the title of Gomani I, break away and made his
headquarters at Lizulu in Ntcheu, while Chifisi took the title of Kachindamoto I, and
made his headquarters at Kachindamoto in Dedza.
 Wars between the two groups became very common.

INFLUENCE OF THE NGONI ON THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

 The Jere Ngoni and the Maseko Ngoni had both bad and good effect on the areas where
they finally settled in Malawi.

(a) Positive effects

 The Ngoni introduced judicial system where cases were judged.
 The Ngoni were anti-colonialists. They did not want to be under the whites.
They hated paying tax and working in European farms. They, therefore, united
many tribes and created a natural feeling against the colonial government.
 Some tribes such as the Tonga of northern Malawi were provoked into unity
and successfully resisted the Ngoni. The Tonga started living in big villages
which were stockaded to protect themselves from the Ngoni raids.
 The Ngoni customs and traditions have been copied by tribes which were
conquered and assimilated. Examples include dances, language and lobola
custom.

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 The Ngoni introduced the sound political system which was copied and
improved by some other tribes. For example, the cattle inheritance from father
to son. In addition, some tribes like the Tumbuka abandoned the matrilineal
system for patrilineal which was followed by the Ngoni in trying to preserve
strong young men for raids.
 They protected people from slave trading activities e.g. Chidyaonga defeated
chief Tambala and Pemba who were slave traders at Domwe.
 The conquered tribes imitated the Ngoni in building round houses and lived
on one place in what was known as Limana.

Negative Effects
 The Ngoni destroyed villages and settlements in the name of burning.
 There was the killing of people especially the weaker tribes such as the Tonga
and the Tumbuka. This caused depopulation.
 They looted people‟s property such as cattle, food women and children.
 The Ngoni invasions hindered the development of the small scale industries
(basket, weaving, mat making and agriculture).
 They disturbed normal civilisation which often led to famine as the people
kept on hiding in the bush being afraid of the Ngoni raids.
 Destroyed well established pre-colonial such as the Chikulamayembe and
Maravi, destroying the culture in the kingdoms.
 The Ngoni created the ripe conditions for slave trading though they themselves
did not practice slave trading. This was because the Ngoni impis displaced the
people as refugees who were easily captured by slave traders.
 The Ngoni military tactics were adopted by different tribal groupings. These
promoted tribal wars.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

TOPIC 4: THE MISSIONARY FACTOR IN MALAWI

ISLAM

In Malawi Islam was spread through two chief ways:

1. Long distance trade: The Swhili Arabs who conducted slave and ivory trade were
Muslims. They originated from the Land of Zanj ( East Coast of Africa) into the
interior.Through trade contacts, the Yaos adopted Islam.
2. The work of Muslim Missionaries: Missionaries in the likes of Sheikhs Kahari
Kapalasa,Abdul bin Hajj Mkwanda and bin Ngaunje preached mostly among the Yao
communities of Mponda, Makanjira , Liwonde etc.
Islam made significant gains in Malawi as compared to Zimbabwe and Zambia.. The Swahili
Arabs who settled in the two countries were more interested in gold and copper respectively than
religious efforts.

Similarly, Islamic impact in Malawi was more profound along the Lakeshore region. The
suggested explanation is that the Swahili Arab traders used the Lake for transport, and in the
course of that they often made contacts with the locals. Apart from that, the influential Swahli
Arabs who had moved into the interior established themselves along the Lakeshore.An example
is that of Jumbe and Mlozi.

However, Mlozi and his counterparts in Karonga did not much commit themselves to spreading
the faith because they were more interested in slave trade than religion. Second, Mlozi had ran
into conflict with the African Lakes Company

In contrast, Islam gained a strong ground in Nkhotakota largely because Jumbe encouraged local
chiefs to adopt Islam and he also sent their sons to Zanzibar to train as Walimu (Muslim
teachers).

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However, Islam spread more quickly among the Yao than any other society in Malawi.

Why Islam Spread Fast Among the Yao

 Being involved in slave trade as agents of the Swahili Arabs, the Yao wanted to strengthen
their economic ties with the Arabs.
 They also saw Islam a s a way of modernizing their society. The wealth they acquired and
certain aspects of Arabic culture they copied served to enhance their economic and social
status. In a way, they generally appreciated Arabic way of life.
 The Yao were interested in Arabic script so that they could easily communicate with the
Arabs in trade matters. In the process, they adopted the faith.
 Islam entrenched local beliefs and practices which are common to the Yao and Arabic or
Islam. Such customs and rites such as initiation rites, circumcision and polygamy. This
made it easy for the Yao to adopt Islam.
 Islamic teaching of brotherhood encouraged many to convert to Islam. According to this
teaching, no Muslims can enslave a fellow Muslim. This forced many Yaos to the faith
since the converts could not be captured as slaves.
However, slave trade was abolished when Nyasaland came under British colonial rule. Islam
began to spread peacefully. With urbanization, Islam spread with people who went to work for
the Asians and through marriages.

Impact of Islam on the Yao

 The Yao society benefited from Arabic literacy. The first school was opened at Malindi.
However, this type of education made the Yao to reject formal western education offered
by Christian missionaries for generations. This is because the Yao, having embraced
Islam, saw it as an attempt to convert them to Christianity. You may be reminded that the
problem was that Christian missionaries made Bible subject compulsory.
 Islam raised the status of the Yao chiefs. Most Yao chiefs regarded acceptance of Islam
as an increase in their political and economic status. They even employed scribes in their
courts.
 Islam strengthened economic ties with the Arabs which enabled the Yao to acquire a lot
of wealth from their participation in the long distance.

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 The Yao copied Arabic dressing, eating habits and housing styles. They built dome-
shaped and fenced homes which changed the outlook of the society.
 Through trade contacts, the country saw introduction of new crops into the interior such
as coconuts and rice.

CHRISTIANITY

DR DAVID LIVINGSTONE

 He was born on 19th march 1813 in Blantyre of Scotland.

 He qualified as a Medical Doctor and at first he wanted to do his medical work in china
but later changed and came to Africa.
 He was employed by the London Missionary Society.
 He was one of the most important Christian Missionaries with great impact in central
Africa.

STRATEGIES USED BY DR LIVINGSTONE TO OPEN UP CENTRAL AFRICA

 Livingstone used a number of methods in order to influence his contemporaries (friends)
from Europe to come to Central Africa and open missionary work.
 Such methods include:

(a) Through his writings

 He wrote books about Central Africa which widely circulated and read in Europe.
 These books and maps revealed a lot about Central Africa attempting the people to have a
desired of knowing a lot about central Africa.
 Examples of such books include:
 The Missionary Travel and Researches in Southern Africa
 The Narrative Expedition of the Zambezi River and its Tributaries.

(b) Through public lectures

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 MSCE History: Form Three Topics

 He made public and private lectures in Britain about Africa.

 For example, due to his lecture that he offered at Cambridge University, the Universities
Mission to Central Africa was formed and came to Africa as the mission.

(c) Through his expeditions

 He made several journeys into Central Africa with an aim of finding suitable routes in
the interior in order to carry out the missionary work properly.
 The three important journeys included:

 The First Journey (1852—1856)

 Dr. Livingstone‟s objective in this expedition was to explore the Zambezi
River and to see if it was navigable.
 On this journey, he discovered the falls in 1855 and named them„Victoria
Falls‟ after Queen Victoria of Britain.

 The Second Journey(1858—1864)

 He came with John Kirk, Charles Livingstone and Thomas Banes.
 They used the ship called Ma Robert.
 They discovered that the Zambezi was unnavigavible due to rapids.
 They explored the Shire River, turned east and discovered Lake Chilwa and
Lake Malawi in 1859.
 He welcomed the UMCA team with his wife at the mouth of Zambezi River
and travelled up to Magomero in 1861.
 The UMCA team used a small ship called Pioneer.
 Dr. David Livingstone was very disappointed during his second journey
because some members of the UMCA and his wife died of malaria.
 Mary Moffat was buried at Shupanga in Mozambique.

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 Third Journey( 1866—1873)

 Dr. Livingstone travelled from Zanzibar into Malawi.
 This journey was also known as the Nile Expedition because his aim was to
explore the source of the Nile River.
 This journey was personal and the reasons were geographical in nature.
 He met Henry Morton Stanley at Ujiji in Tanzania in 1871.
 H.M. Stanley was sent by the New York Herald to find out the whereabouts
of Dr. David Livingstone.
 On 1st May, 1873, Dr. David Livingstone died at Chitambo in Zambia.
 Livingstone‟s assistants, Susi, Chuma and Jacob Wain Wright brought his
body to Bangamoyo where it was shipped to England.
 He was buried at West Minister‟s Abbey in April, 1874.

 Through the opening up of mission stations

 He opened various mission stations in areas where he travelled.
 Examples of such mission stations included:
o Mabotsa
o Kolobeng
o Kololo
o Matabele

Reasons for Livingstone’s Missionary Work

 These can be looked at as Livingstone‟s aims in establishing Missions and his travels in
Central Africa.
 They include the following:
 Introducing Christianity in the interior of Africa.
- This presented him as a Missionary.
 Opening up legitimate trade in the interior so as to eliminate slave trade and
slavery.

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 Improving the living standards of the people through the provision of education.
 Exploring the interior of Central Africa in order to find out the interesting
features such as mountains, lakes, rivers, etc.

Successes and achievements of Dr Livingstone

 His geographical achievements were remarkable. He explored and mapped accurately an
extensive part of Africa previously unknown to Europe. Rivers such as Shire, Zambezi,
Ruvuma, were discovered, so were lakes such as Chilwa, Malawi, Mweru and
Bangweulu.
 His constant reference to slave trade made the British Government take drastic measures
to stop it. Thus after his death, John Kirk negotiated with the Sultan of Zanzibar closing
the Zambezi slave market in 1873. This was a step ahead in the abolition of slave trade.
 His books and maps revealed a lot about Central Africa.
 His most important achievement was his influence upon his contemporaries to come to
Africa.
 A very remarkable person in spreading Christianity in the Central African region.

Failures
 He failed to stop slave trade straight forward despite his preaching against it.
 He wrongly believed that Lualaba was a tributary of the Nile River.
 He failed to find an easily navigable route to the interior as the rivers were remarked with
rapids and gorges.

Protestant and Catholic Missions

(a) The Universities’ Mission to Central Africa

Origins

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It was formed as a direct response to Livingstone‟s appeal. The party, led by Bishop Mackenzie,
arrived in Malawi in 1860. On Livingstone‟s recommendation, they set up a station at Magomero
on 19 July, 1861.

Choice of Magomero
Magomero was chosen because of the following reasons:
 The need to fight slave trade as it a route for slave trade caravans.
 For easy transport because of its proximity to the lake.

Problems at Magomero
 Being on a slave trade route, the mission turned more or less into a refugee camp.
 Malaria led claimed the lives of Bishop Mackenzie and Henry Barrup.
 Lack of supplies such as food and medicine.
 Failure to understand that Africans would be more effective agents of evangelism.

Move to Zanzibar,1864
In 1863 the mission was moved to Chibisa. Later, in January 1864 Bishop Tozer moved the
mission to Zanzibar and located it where there was the slave market.

Back to Malawi,1885
This time the mission was led by William Percival Johnstone and made the headquarters at
Likoma Island in August 1885.They used a ship called Chauncy Mapples.

Choice of Likoma Island

 Unlike Magomero, the area was safe from hostile tribes as well as slave traders
 It would be easy to evangelize both sides of the Lake.

The Charles Jansen

On 17 September,1885 a steamboat, the Charles Jansen was launched at Matope. This steamboat
was important for two reasons:

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 It served as a link mission for stations on both sides of the lake.

 It acted as floating teacher training college
This mission is what came tro be known as the Anglican Church.It expanded its work to other
areas such sa Nkhotakota, Malindi, Mangochi etc.

The Scottish Missions

The failure of the UMCA and the death of Dr David Livingstone provoked a second attempt by
missioanries. This led to the coming of the Livingstone and Blantyre missions.

(a) The Livingstonia Mission

Origins
The Free Church of Scotland came to Malawi as the Livingstone Mission. It was named in
memory of Dr David Livingstone. Led by Captain Edward Young, the party set up a station
at Cape Maclear in 1875.

Reasons for Choice of Cape Maclear

 The site had a good harbor for their steamboat, Ilala.
 The site appeared a healthy place.

Problems at Cape Maclear

 The site lacked adequate agricultural land
 Malaria was a menace (threat) to missionary lives.
 The Yao boycotted the station because Christianity was a threat to the continuity of slave
trade.
 The area was less populous.
 They faced financial problems

The Bandawe Mission, 1881

In 1881 Dr Robert Laws moved the mission northwards to Bandawe. At Bandawe , many Tongas
got converted largely because they:

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 Viewed missionaries as allies against the Ngoni raiders

 Wanted to acquire skills provided by mission western education which were necessary
for employment in cash economy developing in the country and neighboring countries.
Here many could be employed as clerks, interpreters, foremen in plantations in the Shire
Highlands and mining industries in the Rhodesias.

The Ngoni Mission, 1882

The Ngoni could not accept Christianity in their warlike nature. The introduction of Christianity
would discourage their raiding life and culture such as beer drinking, polygamy and widow
inheritance. However, they later accepted missionaries in their area due to the following factors:
 The balance of power began to shift as there were insurrections by the subjects. For
example, Baza Dokowe revolt at Hora Mountain in 1880.The Ngoni thus wanted to ally
with the missionaries who would pacify the region.
 The Ngoni believed that the missionaries possessed supernatural powers especially when
William Angus Elmislie prayed for the rains at Ekwendeni after a severe dry spell
 They were persuaded by the Zulu teachers and evangelists from Lovedale in South
Africa. After resistance, it took Dr Laws to invite Mapasa Ntilintili, Isaac Wauchope,
Shadreck Ngunana and William Koyi to convince M‟mbelwa to accept missionary work
in his area.

As a result, a mission station was opened at Njuyu in 1882. They also started a school. The
mission was led by William Koyi and the first convert was Mawerera Tembo.

Other stations were opened at Hora and Loudon ( Embangweni)

Khondowe Mission, 1894

Dr Robert Laws later moved the mission from Bandawe to Khondowe in 1894 because
 Bandawe was increasingly becoming unhealthy
 Khondowe was a cool plateau, good for European stay
There, he opened the Overtoun Instution as a centre of higher educational work.It comprised a
primary, middle, normal, girls‟, technical, theological and a school for the blind

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NB: Dr Laws led the mission for fifty two(52) years and he was instrumental in the formation of
the CCAP in the 1920s.

The Blantyre Mission

The mission party was sent to Malawi by the Established Church of Scotland. It was named after
Livingstone‟s birth village. Led by Henry Henderson, the mission was officially established on
Chief Kapeni‟s land on 23 October 1876.

Problems at Kapeni Village

 Scarcity of money
 Poor relations with slave dealers
 Interference with local affairs lowered the missionary public opinion in Britain. They
took on civil jurisdiction e.g. they acted as judges to an extent that they ordered the
hanging of two African offenders in 1879.Reverend Duff Macdonald to be withdrawn in
1881 and replaced with David Clement Scot. In 1883 Dr Alexander Hetherwick took over
the leadership.

NB: Stations were opened at Domasi(1884), Mulanje(1890), Zomba(1895)

The Dutch Reformed Church

The mission came from South Africa in 1889 and was led by Andrew Charles Murray. He first
stayed with Dr Laws to gain necessary experience. He was later joined by Reverend T.C. Vlock.
They opened a station at Mvera in Chiwere Ndhlovu‟s area in Dowa in November 1889.
You correctly wonder how the warlike Ngonis allowed missionaries in their area.

Why the DRC missionaries were allowed by Chiwere

 The white missionaries would be source of prestige to the chief.
 The Ngoni hoped that Murray possessed supernatural powers especially after Elmislie
had successfully prayed for the rains at M‟mbelwa‟s request.

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Problems Encountered at Mvera

 Persistent threats of a Ngoni attack
 Tropical diseases such as malaria and wild animals
 Strained relationship with the colonial administration

Reasons for poor relations with the colonial administration

 In 1892 the DRC missionaries objected to the introduction of a hut tax
 The outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War(1899-1902) aroused government suspicion about
the DRC

NB: They expanded to Livulezi,Ntonda, Mkanda,Kasungu, Kongwe(1894) and Nkhoma.Later,

Nkhoma became its headquarters in 1924. in 1895 a girls‟ boarding school was opened at Mvera.
Arrangements were made to the effect that schools initially under Livingstonia Mission were left
under their charge.

The Roman Catholics

The Roman Catholics came later after the UMCA, the Scottish missions and the DRC had started
work. Even then they made little impact.

The White Fathers

They set up a station at Mponda‟s village on 28 December 1889.They chose Mponda because
this Yao chief earlier on had signed treaties with the Portuguese. Since these White Fathers were
supported by the Portuguese, it was their doorway.

Why Mponda welcomed them

 Becuse of the threat from the British imperialists
 He feared internal rebellion from Chingarungwaru and Malunda
 The missionaries assured him of material gains such as fire arms, cloths, gin etc.

Problems at Mponda

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 Rampant slave trade in the area

 Barbaric customs still being practised in the area e.g. trial by Mwavi ordeal
 Pre-existence of Islam hampered the efforts to spread Christianity
 Too many demands on missionaries by Mponda

Withdrawal from Mpondas

When the country was declared a British protectorate on 14 May 1891 their superiors in Paris
ordered them to leave. Thus they left the area on 16 June 1891. You were right to conclude that it
was because of their connections with the Portuguese. The two were just smarting from imperial
tensions over the area.

Return of the Catholics

The success of the Scottish prompted them to come back to the region. This time it was the
efforts of the Marist Fathers.

The Montfort (Marist) Fathers

They came to Nyasaland as a branch of the Louis Marie de Montfort in France. They were
encouraged by Father Dupont and Father Guilleme of Barotseland. They arrived at Nzama on 25
July 1901 but they established their headquarters at Nguludi in 1902.

The White Fathers

Under the leadership of Fr Guyard, they opened a station at Kachebere on 11 May 1903 and later
on 9 july 1903 at Likuni. They also set up other stations at Mua, Mtakataka and Bembeke. They
deployed nuns and brothers.

Impact of Missionary Work in Malawi

Achievements
 In the field of education, they opened schools where they taught people to read, write and
speak foreign languages. Their schools taught people practical skills like carpentry,
bricklaying and so on.

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 They encouraged legitimate trade which discouraged slave trade.

 They opened hospitals and trained health staff
 They trained people in industrial works e.g. the DRC taught people soap and cooking oil
making.
 They improved agriculture by introducing new farming methods
 They developed Christianity by evangelization and training of theologians.

Failures
 They facilitated and were harbingers of colonisation.e.g. Dr Laws is on record to have
written his home government to colonise Nyasaland so as to bring order and to have their
interest safeguarded.
 They discouraged people‟s cultures e.g. beer drinking, polygamy, widow inheritance,
languages dances like Nyau and Vimbuza etc as evil.
 They discouraged the African Traditional religions such as rain making, paying homage
to ancestral spirits etc.
 They brought about disunity they favoured certain groups over others. For example, the
Livingstonia mission favored Bandawe over Chifiira.
 They set a bad picture in that they differed on religious doctrines and interpretation of the
Bible.

Why Missionaries Failed

 Failure to understand African cultures which often led to resentment. They should have
integrated certain aspects of African cultures instead of condemning everything „black as
evil.‟
 There were communication difficulties such as impassable forests and rivers.
 Slow devolution of responsibility to Africans. This was a serious source of
disillusionment which later forced some Africans to form their own indigenous churches.
 Tropical diseases which often claimed missionary lives. Some missions were forced to
withdraw such as UMCA.
 Adverse climatic conditions made some to abandon certain areas.

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 Existence of slave trade

 Hostility from African societies due to their economic bases. E.g. the Yao and the Ngoni
 Wild beasts due to thick forests were a good menace e.g. at Mvera
 Per-existence of Islam hampered their efforts
 Lack of resources like medicine and funds.

Islam
In Malawi Islam was spread through two chief ways:
3. Long distance trade: The Swhili Arabs who conducted slave and ivory trade were
Muslims. They originated from the Land of Zanj ( East Coast of Africa) into the
interior.Through trade contacts, the Yaos adopted Islam.
4. The work of Muslim Missionaries: Missionaries in the likes of Sheikhs Kahari
Kapalasa,Abdul bin Hajj Mkwanda and bin Ngaunje preached mostly among the Yao
communities of Mponda, Makanjira , Liwonde etc.
Islam made significant gains in Malawi as compared to Zimbabwe and Zambia.. The Swahili
Arabs who settled in the two countries were more interested in gold and copper respectively than
religious efforts.

Similarly, Islamic impact in Malawi was more profound along the Lakeshore region. The
suggested explanation is that the Swahili Arab traders used the Lake for transport, and in the
course of that they often made contacts with the locals. Apart from that, the influential Swahli
Arabs who had moved into the interior established themselves along the Lakeshore.An example
is that of Jumbe and Mlozi.

However, Mlozi and his counterparts in Karonga did not much commit themselves to spreading
the faith because they were more interested in slave trade than religion. Second, Mlozi had ran
into conflict with the African Lakes Company

In contrast, Islam gained a strong ground in Nkhotakota largely because Jumbe encouraged local
chiefs to adopt Islam and he also sent their sons to Zanzibar to train as Walimu (Muslim
teachers).

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However, Islam spread more quickly among the Yao than any other society in Malawi.

Why Islam Spread Fast Among the Yao

 Being involved in slave trade as agents of the Swahili Arabs, the Yao wanted to strengthen
their economic ties with the Arabs.
 They also saw Islam a s a way of modernizing their society. The wealth they acquired and
certain aspects of Arabic culture they copied served to enhance their economic and social
status. In a way, they generally appreciated Arabic way of life.
 The Yao were interested in Arabic script so that they could easily communicate with the
Arabs in trade matters. In the process, they adopted the faith.
 Islam entrenched local beliefs and practices which are common to the Yao and Arabic or
Islam. Such customs and rites such as initiation rites, circumcision and polygamy. This
made it easy for the Yao to adopt Islam.
 Islamic teaching of brotherhood encouraged many to convert to Islam. According to this
teaching, no Muslims can enslave a fellow Muslim. This forced many Yaos to the faith
since the converts could not be captured as slaves.
However, slave trade was abolished when Nyasaland came under British colonial rule. Islam
began to spread peacefully. With urbanization, Islam spread with people who went to work for
the Asians and through marriages.

Impact of Islam on the Yao

 The Yao society benefited from Arabic literacy. The first school was opened at Malindi.
However, this type of education made the Yao to reject formal western education offered
by Christian missionaries for generations. This is because the Yao, having embraced
Islam, saw it as an attempt to convert them to Christianity. You may be reminded that the
problem was that Christian missionaries made Bible subject compulsory.
 Islam raised the status of the Yao chiefs. Most Yao chiefs regarded acceptance of Islam
as an increase in their political and economic status. They even employed scribes in their
courts.

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 Islam strengthened economic ties with the Arabs which enabled the Yao to acquire a lot
of wealth from their participation in the long distance.
 The Yao copied Arabic dressing, eating habits and housing styles. They built dome-
shaped and fenced homes which changed the outlook of the society.
 Through trade contacts, the country saw introduction of new crops into the interior such
as coconuts and rice.

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