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Conflict Africa

Mfecane (The Crushing)

1815 CE – 1840 CE · 25 years

The Mfecane was a massive upheaval triggered by Zulu expansion under Shaka that displaced millions across southern and eastern Africa, reshaping the entire region's political map.

See it on the timeline

Belligerents

The main peoples, kingdoms and states involved.

  • Zulu Kingdom (Shaka)
  • Ndwandwe, Mthethwa, displaced peoples across southern Africa

Key moments

Defining events in the Mfecane (The Crushing).

  1. 1818 Battle of Gqokli Hill
  2. 1819 Battle of Mhlatuze River
  3. 1830s Ndebele migration north

Elsewhere in Africa at the time

Records whose own span overlaps this one, found by the same test the canvas draws with. The bar under each card is where it sits inside this one.

See the whole view

Landmark · Africa

Taï National Park

3000 BCE – still standing

Polity · Africa

Liberia

Founded 1822 CE · attested to 2026 CE

Conflict · Africa

Oyo Empire Wars

1550 CE – 1836 CE

Trade route · Africa

Atlantic Middle Passage

1600 CE – 1850 CE

Landmark · Africa

Rwenzori Mountains

3000 BCE – still standing

Polity · Africa

Guanches

Attested 1500 BCE – 1815 CE

Conflict · Africa

Oyo–Dahomey Wars

1726 CE – 1823 CE

Landmark · Africa

Serengeti National Park

3000 BCE – still standing

Dated moments inside this span

Events the timeline places between 1815 CE and 1840 CE.

1816 CE Rise of the Zulu Kingdom (Mfecane) 1824 CE Anglo-Ashanti Wars 1815 CE Battle of Waterloo 1817 CE Seminole Wars 1817 CE Cisplatine Province conflicts

And in the rest of the world

Records running through the same years, on the other side of the map.

Acapulco Landmark · Americas 1565 CE – 1815 CE Argentina Polity · Americas Founded 1816 CE · attested to 2026 CE Manila Galleon Trade Trade route · East Asia 1565 CE – 1815 CE Napoleonic Wars Conflict · Europe 1803 CE – 1815 CE John Adams Figure · America 1735 CE – 1826 CE Portobelo Landmark · Americas 1597 CE – 1821 CE
Image credits5 pictures from Wikimedia Commons