The Historiographical Development of the Concept “mfecane” and ...

what he claimed was ‘an impartial ethnological inquiry’ 17 into the history of the
African peoples of South Africa. He died in 1882 before the manuscript was
published. The first volume, containing the history of the Khoi-San and the
chiefdoms of the Transvaal, found its way to Theal, who published it under
Stow’s name. Theal not only reduced the voluminous text considerably by
eliminating most of Stow’s lengthy quotes and their references, but also made
relatively minor textual interventions, including additional chapter headings,
turning Stow’s pro-San work into racist history. 18 While the linguistic concept of
Bantu had been known in the literature for half a century, it only found entry into
many historical texts after 1905 through Stow’s work. Theal used Bantu as a
racial term copiously in his later works, but his first use, in a section entitled the
“Bantu race”, was only in 1908, which demonstrated his indebtedness to Stow’s
book. Writing before Theal published his Zulu-centric, geographically-integrated
mfecane narrative for the first time in 1885, and referring to the impact of the
Mantatees and the Ndebele on the Transvaal chiefdoms, Stow felt, that ‘the
infection of war and plunder was such that scarcely a tribe or town in the whole
country was exempt’. 19 More details of his micro-histories are considered in the
section below on the Ndebele and the chiefdoms of the Transvaal. His bold and
detailed portrayal of mfecane history led to his work being immediately
accepted by many authors as an authoritative source. 20 Since the majority of
the works considered in this chapter focused on events taking place in specific
regions, this chapter will be subdivided geographically.
17 Stow, Native Races of South Africa, viii.
18 Ibid. xi. De Kock et al. (eds), Dictionary S. A. Biography (1972), II, 711-12. Potgieter (ed),
Standard Encyclopaedia (1974) X, 315-16. Dubow, Scientific Racism, 69-71, 74. The
manuscript’s second volume was missing until Professor Young of Johannesburg found it in
Smithfield in boxes belonging to Stow in 1905-06, shortly before they were destined to be
burnt. (CA) A302, 1, J.M. Orpen, letter to D.F. Ellenberger, 6 March 1906, 1-2. (CA) MSB 472,
G.W. Stow, The Intrusion of the Stronger [Bantu] Races (1882). Volume two consists of parts 3,
5 and 6. Still missing are Part 4 as well as section 2 and 3 of Part 6.
19 Stow, Native Races of South Africa, 483-84.
20 Ibid., 421-452, 460-485. W.H.I. Bleek, A Comparative Grammar of South African Languages,
4 Vols. (London, 1862 - 1869). Theal, History of South Africa, Second Series, III, 399-400. G. M.
Theal, The Yellow and Dark-Skinned People of African South of the Zambezi (London, 1910).
Dubow, Scientific Racism, 69-71, 74.
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