Chapter 323： Ndebele uprising

Chapter 323 Ndebele Uprising

Constantine inspected Dodoma, in addition to being curious about the East African plateau, there were also reasons for supervising local work, but Constantine’s leisurely inspection in Dodoma did not last long.

April 2, 1871.

A telegram from the city of Lusaka reaches Constantine—the natives of the Matabele plateau have rebelled against the rule of the East African kingdom.

After Constantine read the content of the telegram, his face was ashen. He gritted his teeth and said to Stew: "It seems that we are still too kind to the natives of the Matabele Plateau. After the rebellion is put down this time, we must let the local Ndebe Lai people know what real colonialism is!"

Generally speaking, the East African Kingdom rarely pays too much attention to black resistance. Most of the indigenous people hold extremely primitive weapons and it is difficult to cause trauma to the East African army. Even if there is a resistance movement, it is only a small scale, but the Matabele uprising is not Similarly, it can be said that almost the entire territory of the Matabele Plateau (almost the entire territory of Zimbabwe in the previous life) was rebellious, and the main force of the rebellion was the Ndebele people.

The Ndebele people are a branch of the Zulu people. They are not native residents of Zimbabwe, but foreigners who entered Zimbabwe after 1837 and enslaved the local aborigines.

It originally lived in the Zulu Kingdom, and its leader was Mzilika, the general of the Zulu King Chaka. Around 1822, when Mzilikazi led the army to march north, he left Chaka because of disagreements. Ka, he led his troops to move to the Transvaal, and conquered the tribes of Sutu and Tswana along the way.

1836-1837, due to attacks by the Boers, he was finally forced to leave the Transvaal. The Ndebele people crossed the Limpopo River, conquered the Mashona people, occupied the vast area between the Limpopo River and the Zambezi River, and established the Matabele Kingdom, with its capital in Bulawayo.

Therefore, the country established by the Ndebele people, like Prussia, relies on the army to make a fortune. Its ruling class is the same as the Junker nobles in Prussia. The social organization is also divided according to military needs.

Men are divided into four categories. The first category, called "Macaicai", were underage juveniles who herded livestock and received preliminary military training. The second category, called "Ma Chacha", are unmarried warriors. Soldiers must perform meritorious service in battle before they can marry. The third category, known as "mantuto", are married warriors. The fourth category is called "Indonna", that is, military chiefs.

The social structure of the Ndebele people is destined to have a very strong martial nature, and the Ndebele people have fought against the Boers and the Portuguese, and they are not the kind of uncivilized indigenous people.

The reason why East Africa was able to seize the Matabele Plateau quickly was a mistake at the time, because in 1868, Mzili Kazi, the first leader of the Ndebele people, died, and in 1869 the entire Matabele Kingdom fell into a crisis. During the chaotic period of the struggle for the throne, it was not until 1870 that Mzilika's son Lobengula succeeded to the throne. When the East African Kingdom invaded the Matabele Plateau, it was the time when the Ndebele people were seriously injured.

Konstantin: "Sitt, you just happen to be here, how do you think we should suppress this large-scale rebellion!"

As the Chief of Staff of the East African Army, Wei Te analyzed: "Your Majesty, the military forces we can use at this time are mainly the border guards located in the South Salzburg Province on Lake Malawi. The military forces in Zambia cannot be changed at will, but Our troops on the Matabele Plateau are mainly concentrated on the border with the Transvaal and Mozambique. Due to information constraints, they may not know the news of the rebellion, and at the same time dare not act rashly."

As the hinterland of East Africa, Zambia’s military strength is actually not very strong, that is, it can just suppress the local indigenous people. The militia is the main force, so it must not be dispatched at will. The Matabele Plateau is not handled, but it will cause Zambia. unstable.

The rule of East Africa in Zambia is different from the rule of Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. It is a tough and repressive rule, relying on the East African plateau as the rear, and East Africa is not afraid of the resistance of Zambia's local indigenous people, and can support Zambia from the East African plateau at any time.

Zimbabwe is different. East Africa adopts the rule of Jiji in the local area, that is, to give full power to the local indigenous ruling class and maintain local stability for the time being. After Zambia is digested, the East African kingdom will transform it.

As a result, it now seems that the rule of Jiji is over, which is why Constantine is very angry. The uprising of the Ndebele people was a slap in the face. In the slightly more pleasant area of ​​East Africa, these natives did not give the East African kingdom face at all. This is the so-called toasting and not eating fine wine.

Stewart went on to say: "Our troops stationed in the Lake Malawi area are used to guard against the Portuguese. They are among the best in mobility and equipment, so now we can quickly suppress the local rebellion by heading south to the Matabele Plateau in time. After the information communication is clear, the border troops on the Matabele Plateau can also take the initiative to cooperate with the suppression."

The Ndebele uprising broke out almost instantly, because the central government still exists, and its monarch Lobengula should have completed the integration of various forces within the kingdom at this time. The Transvaal was tied at the border, but the inland was not very strong, so Lobengula took advantage of the loophole.

Lobengula is a relatively promising monarch. In history, after Lobengula succeeded to the throne, he continued to strengthen the military organization of the Matabele Kingdom and attached importance to army building. He recruited troops from conquered areas to supplement his army. At the same time, imitate the military training methods of the Zulu people, purchase new firearms, and improve the combat effectiveness of the troops. He also encouraged the tribe to intermarry with other tribes and maintain the original social structure of the conquered areas.

In this time and space, because of the birth of the East African Kingdom, his development trajectory was interrupted, but now it seems that even if history has changed, Lobengula still relies on his talents and has become the respected and convinced man of the Ndebele people. leader.

After all, the East African Kingdom has never met anyone who can organize such a large-scale uprising. Lobengula is the first native who made the East African Kingdom look up to him.

However, Constantine has decided that this son cannot stay, and the Ndebele People's Congress uprising also sounded the alarm for Constantine, reminding him that the Prince of Hechingen was merged into Prussia because of the popular uprising.

Constantine: "Sitt, this time you will put down the rebellion yourself. I have the following requirements. Remember, first, you must catch the terrorist Lobengula. You must see him alive or dead. Second, I will capture all Ndebele people after the war, and I will turn them all into slaves; third, all those who insist on rebels will be killed on the spot; finally, no indigenous people will be allowed to connect with each other. Rule them separately according to region."

Konstantin made up his mind to take the entire Ndebele tribe to the East African plateau for the cruelest rule, and let them know the consequences of offending him.

At the same time, the Ndebele uprising also gave itself a warning that the aborigines must not be allowed to form an absolute core. Next, the Kingdom of East Africa will destroy the central government of all indigenous forces in its territory to avoid the recurrence of the Ndebele uprising.

For the East African government, the Ndebele uprising is a large-scale rebellion, and it is the first time that East Africa has encountered a large-scale organized and premeditated indigenous rebellion, so it must strike hard.

(end of this chapter)