Was the ""mfecane"" a figment of historians' imagination? How large a responsibility do Shaka and the Zulu people bear for the social turbulence in South-central and South-east Africa in the early decades of the 19th century? These are some of the issues explored in this collection.

The idea that the period of social turbulence in the nineteenth century was a consequence of the emergence of the powerful Zulu kingdom under Shaka has been written about extensively as a central episode of southern African history.
Considerable dynamic debate has focused on the idea that this period - the 'mfecane'- left much of the interior depopulated, thereby justifying white occupation. One view is that 'the time of troubles' owed more to the Delagoa Bay Slave trade and the demands of the labour-hungry Cape colonists than to Shaka's empire building. But is there sufficient evidence to support the argument?
The Mfecane Aftermath investigates the very nature of historical debate and examines the uncertain foundations of much of the previous historiography.