Chapter 323 Ndebele Uprising
Constantine's inspection of Dodoma was not only due to his curiosity about the East African Plateau, but also for the purpose of supervising local work. However, Constantine's leisure time in Dodoma did not last long.
April 2, 1871.
A telegram from Lusaka reached Constantine - the indigenous people of the Matabele Plateau had launched an uprising against the rule of the East African Kingdom.
After reading the contents of the telegram, Constantine's face turned pale. He gritted his teeth and said to Whitt, "It seems that we are still too kind to the natives of the Matabele Plateau. After we put down the rebellion this time, we must let the local Ndebele people know what true colonialism is!"
Generally speaking, East African kingdoms rarely paid much attention to black resistance. Most of the indigenous people held extremely primitive weapons and it was difficult for them to cause damage to the East African army. Even if there was a resistance movement, it was only on a small scale. However, the Matabele Uprising was different. It could almost be said that the entire Matabele Plateau (almost the entire Zimbabwe in the previous life) rebelled, and the main force behind the rebellion was the Ndebele people.
The Ndebele people are a branch of the Zulu people. They are not native inhabitants of Zimbabwe, but foreigners who entered Zimbabwe after 1837 and enslaved the local indigenous people.
They originally lived in the Zulu Kingdom. Their leader was Mzilika, a general under the Zulu King Shaka. Around 1822, when Mzilikazi led his army to the north, he broke away from Shaka due to disagreements. He led his troops to Transvaal and conquered the Sotho and Tswana tribes along the way.
In 1836-1837, they were attacked by the Boers and were eventually forced to leave Transvaal. The Ndebele crossed the Limpopo River, conquered the Mashona, occupied the vast area between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers, and established the Matabele Kingdom with its capital in Bulawayo.
Therefore, the country established by the Ndebele people, like Prussia, relied on the army for its prosperity. Its ruling class, like the Junker nobles of Prussia, were military aristocrats, and social organizations were also divided according to military needs.
Men were divided into four categories. The first category, called "Ma Cai Cai", was young men who had not reached the age of conscription. They herded livestock and received preliminary military training. The second category, called "Ma Cha Cha", was unmarried warriors. Soldiers had to make merit in battle before they could get married. The third category, called "Man Tuo Tuo", was married warriors. The fourth category, called "Ying Dong Na", was the military commander.
The social structure of the Ndebele people destined them to have a very strong martial spirit. Moreover, the Ndebele people have fought against the Boers and the Portuguese, and they are not uncivilized natives.
The reason why East Africa was able to quickly seize the Matabele Plateau was that it was lucky because in 1868, the first leader of the Ndebele people, Mzilikazi, died. In 1869, the entire Matabele Kingdom fell into a chaotic period of struggle for the throne. It was not until 1870 that Mzilikazi's son Lobengula inherited the throne. When the East African Kingdom invaded the Matabele Plateau, the Ndebele people were seriously injured.
Constantine: "Sweet, since you are here, how do you think we should suppress this large-scale rebellion?"
As the Chief of Staff of the East African Army, Soft analyzed: "Your Majesty, the military forces we can mobilize at this time are mainly the border guards located in the South Salzburg Province on the shores of Lake Malawi. The military forces in Zambia cannot be changed at will. Our troops on the Matabele Plateau are mainly concentrated on the borders with Transvaal and Mozambique. Due to information constraints, they may not be aware of the news of the rebellion. At the same time, they dare not act rashly because of the border defense."
As the hinterland of East Africa, Zambia's military strength is actually not very strong. It is just enough to suppress the local indigenous people. It is mainly composed of militia, so it certainly cannot be deployed at will. If the Matabele Plateau is not taken care of, it will cause instability in the Zambia region.
East Africa's rule in Zambia is different from the vassal rule in Zimbabwe. It is a tough and repressive rule. Relying on the East African Plateau as its rear base, East Africa is not afraid of resistance from local indigenous people in Zambia and can support Zambia from the East African Plateau at any time.
Zimbabwe is different. The East African Kingdom has adopted a system of tributary rule in the local area, which means giving full power to the local indigenous ruling class to temporarily maintain local stability. Only after digesting Zambia will the East African Kingdom transform it.
As a result, it now seems that the system of tributary rule is finished. This is also the reason why Constantine is very angry. The Ndebele uprising is simply a slap in his own face. In the areas with tough rule, the natives are not a force to be reckoned with. As a result, in the slightly more friendly areas of East Africa, these natives do not give the East African Kingdom any face at all. This is the so-called toast, but if you don't accept it, you will be punished.
Siwei Te went on to say: "The troops we stationed in the Lake Malawi area are used to guard against the Portuguese. They are among the best in terms of mobility and equipment. So if we go south to the Matabele Plateau now, we can quickly suppress the local rebellion. Once the information communication is smooth, the border troops on the Matabele Plateau can also actively cooperate in the suppression."
The Ndebele uprising broke out almost instantly. Because its central government still existed, its monarch Lobengula should have completed the integration of various forces within the kingdom at this time. In addition, East Africa's military forces on the Matabele Plateau were tied down at the border by Mozambique and Transvaal, and were not very strong in the interior, so Lobengula took advantage of the opportunity.
Lobengula was a relatively capable monarch. After he succeeded to the throne, he continued to strengthen the military organization of the Matabele Kingdom and attached importance to the construction of the army. He recruited soldiers from the conquered areas to supplement his army. At the same time, he imitated the military training methods of the Zulus, purchased new firearms, and improved the combat effectiveness of the troops. He also encouraged intermarriage between his own tribe and other tribes, and maintained the original social structure of the conquered areas.
In this time and space, the emergence of the East African Kingdom interrupted his development trajectory. However, it now seems that even if history has changed, Lobengula still relies on his talents and remains a leader respected and obeyed by the Ndebele people.
After all, the East African Kingdom had never met someone who could organize such a large-scale uprising. Lobengula was the first indigenous person who made the East African Kingdom take notice.
However, Constantine had already decided that this boy could not stay. The Ndebele uprising also sounded a wake-up call to Constantine, reminding him that the Principality of Hechingen was incorporated into Prussia because of a popular uprising.
Constantine: "Sweet, this time you will be the one to quell the rebellion yourself. I have the following requirements. Remember them. First, you must capture the terrorist Lobengula, alive or dead. Second, after the war, all Ndebele people must be captured and I will turn them all into slaves. Third, all those who persist in resisting must be shot on the spot. Finally, no indigenous people will be allowed to collude with each other. We will rule them separately according to their regions."
Constantine was determined to capture the entire Ndebele people and bring them to the East African plateau to rule them in the most brutal way, to let them know the consequences of offending him.
At the same time, the Ndebele Uprising also gave themselves a warning that they must never allow the indigenous people to form an absolute core. Next, the East African Kingdom will destroy the central government of all indigenous forces in the country to prevent the recurrence of the Ndebele Uprising.
For the East African governments, the Ndebele Uprising was a large-scale rebellion, and it was the first time that East Africa had encountered a large-scale rebellion organized and premeditated by the indigenous people, so it had to be dealt with heavily.
(End of this chapter)
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