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Xhosa: Cattle Killing Movement

Overview of issue

Xhosa Map

Geography: The movement of Cattle Killing began among the Xhosa people in 1856. Because Xhosa believed that this action would bring about salvation by supernatural spirits, they began to destroy crops and killing cattle. During two years, Xhosa people killed about 400 thousand of their cattle and burned countless crops. At the end, this action made 40 thousand Xhosa die by starvation.

Who are the leaders of the movements?

Nonggawuse

The movement was started when a Xhosa prophetess, Nongqawuse, she told Xhosa killing their cattle and destroying their corn, then their ancestors can help them spiritually to make European settlers stay away from taking their lands.

How did things end? What group emerged in power?

Many people died because of starvation and left their homes, which makes it a good opportunity for Cape Colony Gov. George Grey and other British settlers to control the Xhosa area they have been waiting to conquer for a long time. Many Xhosa became refugees supplemented the original inhabitants, causing too much population. The other Xhosa remained in the colony were forced to adopt European lifestyles.

Timeline of events

1)     The first settlers who came to Africa to establish a colony around Cape Town were the Dutch settlers. At first, it was a small settlement for producing ship supplied.

German Settlers

This was a cause of the rebellion because the Europeans settlers were beginning to take away their territories.

2) Another reason for Xhosa people to carry out Nonggawuse's prophecy of cattle killing movement was the lung epidemic of cattle. In 1853, this lung disease infected South African cattle after a Dutch shipment of bulls. The sickness caused 100 thousands of cattle died in South Africa.

African Cattle

This is a cause of the rebellion because the lung diseases that were infecting cattle was also one of the reasons that so many Xhosa people started killing cattle.

3)     In April 1856, 16 year old Xhosa prophetess Nonggawuse began to convince people that she received a message from ancestors, and it would end their hard life by burning crops and cattle. She told people that ancestors would return from afterlife; take the Europeans settlers away to the sea; give Xhosa abundance of natural gifts and food.

burning of crops and cattle

This is a starting action of the rebellion that Xhosa started to convince people that they were required to kill cattle and burn crops.

4)     At first no one believed what Nongguwuse said and the Xhosa people ignored her prophecy. Not until the Chief Sarhili began to kill his cattle, more people began to follow his actions to kill cattle and burned crops because they began to believe Nongguwuse can actually communicate with ancestors. The movement spread quickly across the eastern Cape Town. The government authorities was afraid that this movement will cause negative effects on economics and cause chaos.

food source crops

This is an action when more and more people started to engage in burning crops and killing cattles because they believe Nonguwuse was diviner who could communicate with the ancestors.

5)     Nongguwuse predicted the ancestors would retern on 18 February 1857. The Xhosa and chief Sarhili demand people to continue burn and destroy food sourses across the country. However when the ancestor return day came, nothing predicted happened. It was a disappointment, and then famine set in.

This is the effect of the rebellion that all people burned food they need to eat.

6)     The cattle killings continued into 1858, leading to the starvation of thousands. Disease was also spread from the cattle killings. The settlers take chance to take over the remainder of Xhosa country since starved people were forced to turn to the colonists for food sources and to be alive.

This is the effect of the rebellion that the Xhosa people were weak because they have no food sources which make them vulnerable for European settlers to conquer.

Xhosa war with the European Settlers

Motivations for imperialism

1)    After the British annexed the Cape in 1806, the British authorities started to focus on taking over the Eastern regions because of the petitions by the settlers about Xhosa attacks.

Analysis: the ambition Europeans had led them to conquer more regions since they already conquered a portion of them.

2)    the European settlers initially had an advantage through being equipped with guns and horses, which gave them superior firepower and mobility.

Analysis: the Europeans had strong military power compared to the Xhosa.

3)    On the European side, British Empire and the Cape Colony's local settler government were having conflicts and could occasionally broke down.

Analysis: the British Empire does not have a good relation with the local settler government, so the conquest would be unpredictable when their relationships broke down.

4)    The mass killing of cattle and burning of crops ended the food source for Xhosa people that many of them were starved to death, they were vulnerable.

Analysis: The decreasing population and lack of food source they own make it a good opportunity for European settlers to conquest.

5)    The British Government wanted to expand its control in southern Africa by uniting all the states of the region into a Confederation under the complete rule of the British Empire. This Confederation plan can only be achieved when they have all the remaining independent Black States be conquered and incorporated, and a frontier war was seen as an perfect opportunity for such a conquest.

Analysis: The British Government wanted British settlers in Africa to conquer the Black States that had not been conquered yet.

I believe the top two motivations are The British Government wanted British settlers in Africa to conquer all the independent Black State; the cattle killing movement make Xhosa people very vulnerable to conquer. Since the settlers cannot disobey what the government told them to do, this is one of the reason they kept conquering all the other states too. Also the Cattle Killing Movement made Xhosa very vulnerable and even if they fought back they have little chance to win the Europeans.

Assertion of agency

What did the oppressed group do in order to regain their agency? How was it implemented?

Xhosa's belief in resurrection of the dead and the concurrent spread of Christianity in South Africa supported its belief. She received prophecy from chiefs and leaders which further promote the whole country cattle killing movement. The reason they kill cattle and burn crops was because they wanted the European settlers to stay out of their territories and they believed that by doing so the ancestors will return back and help them to achieve this goal. The lung disease in cattle that spread out was one of the influence that made all Xhosa people started doing so. However, opposite to what Xhosa expected, on the predicted day, the ancestors did not come back and help them to fight off the European settlers. This cattle killing movement is a history altering event for the Xhosa people. Not only did four hundred thousand cattle die and approximately forty thousand people lose their lives, but it made the Xhosa people extremely vulnerable to British attacks. Already a long shot to win the war, the cattle killing movement nearly assured defeat for the Xhosa people. The cattle killing movement is undeniably a great tragedy. At the time of Nongqawuse, the Xhosas had so many reasons to believe her prophecy, but one hundred and fifty years after the event, it is hard to find one.

What were the short and long term impacts of this movement?

Short Term Effect: The mass dying of people by starvation, many left their homes and turned to the British Colonists for food and supplies. Cape Colony and British Colony finally had full control over the territory of Xhosa that they had been trying to completely conquer for decades.

Long term effect: More than 150 years later, the Xhosas have never fully recovered from the cattle-killing catastrophe. Later on, Nelson Mandela, a Xhosa born 100 miles east of the Gxarha, was elected in 1994 as South Africa’s first democratic president. Eastern Cape remains the poorest province in the country. This event has cause Christianity to take hold. With the European dominance, the Xhosa thought that "white people had access to a very powerful god" since the cattle killing movement did not bring back their ancestors to help them fight off European settlers. In 1850, almost no one in South Africa, excluding the Europeans, was Christian. However, after the European taking over this land, almost everyone practices Christianity by 1950.

How did it shape the groups identity moving forward?

Xhosa 1851

The Xhosa Cattle-Killing was a very early example of a mass movement. The self-sacrifice involved in destroying the resources controlled by the ruling classes, but needed by the nation as a whole, can perhaps be connected to elements in 20th-century nationalist activity, such as bus or shop boycotts, civil disobedience or mass arrests.