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

Make them [Zulu] out as blood thirsty as you can and endeavour
to give an estimation of the number of people that they have
murdered during their reign, and the frivolous crimes people
loose [sic] their lives for. Introduce as many anecdotes relative to
Chaka as you can, it all tends to swell up the work and make it
interesting. 102
Isaacs’ book contributed no new elements to the unfolding mfecane
historiography, but it solidified the pre-existing ideas - the conquest and
incorporation of the chiefdoms north of the Thukela River and the deliberate
genocidal depopulation of the area to the south - with the use of a myriad of
minute details by an alleged eyewitness. There were no references to any
chiefdoms being expelled to the highveld by Shaka’s Zulu, such as the
Mantatees, Ngwane or the Ndebele. Nor, and this is crucial, is there any
reference to the Fingo at all. Instead, he portrayed the survivors of Natal’s
genocide as stragglers who made contact with the Port Natal traders after their
arrival in 1824 and begged them for protection from Shaka. To thank the traders
for this, they worked the fields for them and were taught to be industrious. 103
Though Isaacs gave no indication of the number of Africans living under the
control of the traders, it is clear that the message embedded in the text was that
sufficient docile labour was available for future settlers after British annexation,
the promotion of which was the purpose of this book. As a result, the final
product is a carefully edited book with specific messages: firstly, that Britain and
British subjects were engaged in good deeds towards the African population;
secondly, that British subjects owned land legally in Natal. Thirdly, Wright
maintains that,
By depicting the Zulu and their King as a potential threat to the
security of the Cape’s eastern frontier region, or alternatively as
the potential allies of rival [World] powers, they hoped to
influence the British authorities into annexing Natal and thereby
102 P.R. Kirby, 'Unpublished Documents Relating to the Career of Nathaniel Isaacs, the Natal
Pioneer', Africana Notes and News, 18 (June 1968), 67.
103 Isaacs, Travels and Adventures, II, 65, 178.
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