Globalization and Change
KwaZulu-Natal has had a long
journey on the road to globalization. South Africa in general was first explored
by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. The British colonize
South Africa during the 1800s and attempt to incorporate their culture by
teaching and English and pushing their own religious beliefs upon the natives.
The Shaka Zulu Empire is founded around the same time colonization begins in
the early 1800s and the Zulu people make great strides to defend themselves and
defeat the British and surprisingly put up a good fight against their
significantly more advanced enemy. Unfortunately for Shaka Zulu his empire
falls after being defeated in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879 after more than 50
years of a conflicted relationship. The Anglo-Boer Wars break out at the turn
into the 20th century. During the early 1900s the National Party (NP)
and the African National Congress (ANC) are founded. And in 1948 apartheid is
set into law by the National Party and remains so for the next 46 years. The
population is segregated by race and the ANC is consequently banned but Nelson
Mandela leads the ANC into civil dispute. The presence of the Dutch and the
British brings upon significant changes in globalization for the Zulu people whose
culture is suffering due to previous colonization but they can also now take part in
trade so advances in technology come with. The British originally wanted
control over trade to India so South Africa would become a large place of transit
for the world economy. But in 1964 Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in
prison so cultural globalization in terms of race has made little progress in a
world where racism is quickly dying trend. Nelson Mandela is released from
prison in 1990 after about 27 years and the African National Party is no longer
banned. Now despite apartheid being repealed at this time the ANC faces a new
political enemy. The Zulu people create the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) as a
means to preserve the traditional ways they still have left. The IFP felt they
were not being represented enough by the government. Although the IFP has never
taken control they still remain a strong political force in their country. It
is nice to see the Zulu people and their customs still surviving aside from the
endless barrage of war, conflict, and political struggle. Globalization has made
its mark on present day KwaZulu-Natal through the diversity of its races and
also the most common religion is now a mixture of Christianity and traditional
practices.
BBC News. N.p.. Web. 22 Jul 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14094918>.
Carton, Benedict. N.p.. Web. 22 Jul 2013. <http://www.globality-gmu.net/archives/1159>.
BBC News. N.p.. Web. 22 Jul 2013. .
ReplyDeleteCarton, Benedict. N.p.. Web. 22 Jul 2013. .
I cannot help but respect the people of the Zulu Nation because of their strength in surviving the constant hardships of the world and people around them. Although they practice violent tactics in battle and foreign relationships, they still show such powerful nationalism by overcoming so many forces that act to divide them. Great Britain was the most powerful country in the world and the Shaka Zulu put up a great fight with respect to its fellow Africans who could stand up to them. And even after being defeated and later suffering from apartheid in the 20th century a significant amount of the people stay true to the flag with more than ten million in population of present day KwaZulu Natal. And 77% of them still speaking Zulu. From an anthropological view I think the story of the Zulu people is a sad one due to the cultural insensitivity of most foreigners who came into contact with them. But as of today they are a prideful people and have a very interesting history.
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