The First Chimurenga: 1896-1897 Uprising in Matabeleland and Mashonaland and the Continued Conflicts in Academia

Abstract

In this article, it will be argued that the First Chimurenga, or uprising in Southern Rhodesia was a complex set of struggles over land, cattle, and taxes rather than a planned, unified movement intended to overthrow the whites; neither the Africans nor the British were unified. It will evaluate historiography available on the subject, analyzing various weaknesses in scholarship due to the inherent lack of primary source material available from indigenous perspectives.