What had started as an Anglo-Ndebele quarrel in 1893 over the Ndebele’s punitive raids into the Victoria district exploded into full-scale war that same year. Peaceful co-existence between the Ndebele and the white settlers was not practical, and war was therefore inevitable. The main issue was most probably the incompatibility between the white settlers, who wanted to colonise both Mashonaland and Matabeleland, and the Ndebele, who posed a threat to the settlers by being an organised and armed African state.
This lesson seeks to explain the causes of the Anglo-Ndebele War and to show that the British were largely the guilty party.
Immediate cause
The immediate cause of the war was the Ndebele raid into the Victoria and Bere areas of the Victoria district (modern-day Masvingo), in violation of the “boundary” set up by the settler administration to delineate Matabeleland and Mashonaland.
The Victoria Incident
The Fort Victoria incident provoked the war. In May, 500 yards of telegraph wire was cut by a Shona group under Gomala. The white settlers asked either for the culprits to be handed over for trial and punishment or for a collective fine to be paid. They chose to pay the collective fine, but it turned out that the cattle used to pay the fine belonged to Lobengula.
Comment
Gomala had the audacity to expropriate Ndebele cattle. His behaviour was based on the thinking that white settlers were more powerful than the Ndebele and that the whites would protect him from Ndebele retaliation. Lobengula protested, the cattle were returned, and he punished Gomala to demonstrate his authority. Jameson returned the cattle because he wanted to avoid war. The problem was temporarily solved.
The Bere Incident
Chief Bere is said to have stolen cattle from the Ndebele, who reacted by organising a punitive raid. Lobengula sent an impi to the Victoria area under Manyao and Mgandani to punish the chief and the neighbourhood. The impis had instructions not to interfere with the whites. The attack still brought European mining and farming to a standstill for a week.
Starr Jameson gave an ultimatum to Manyao and Mgandani to withdraw. The Ndebele did not withdraw fast enough, and the whites killed retreating Ndebele, the first to die being Mgandani. This angered Lobengula and set the stage for war.
Comment
The British should shoulder much of the blame as they were largely instrumental in starting the war. In the wake of the Bere incident, settlers attacked Ndebele regiments who were clearly retreating from the Victoria district in compliance with Jameson’s demands. The killing of Ndebele military, including leaders like Mgandani, was a provocative act.
The full pack continues with long-term causes (labour, tribute, the “second Rand,” the railway, and the 1891–92 boundary) and a Section C–style revision question. That remainder is taught in the WhatsApp class.
Common questions
- What was the immediate cause of the Anglo-Ndebele War?
- The immediate cause was the Ndebele punitive raid into the Victoria and Bere areas of the Victoria district in 1893, in violation of the boundary set up by the settler administration between Matabeleland and Mashonaland.
- Why is the Anglo-Ndebele War called the War of Dispossession?
- Because the war resulted in the Ndebele losing their land, cattle and independence to the white settlers, making dispossession its defining outcome.
- Who was to blame for the Anglo-Ndebele War?
- These notes argue the British were largely the guilty party: after the Bere incident settlers attacked Ndebele regiments that were retreating in compliance with Jameson's ultimatum, killing leaders such as Mgandani, which was a provocative act.
