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Get to know Mfecane better with 9 real example sentences, the meaning.

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Mfecane in a sentence

Mfecane meaning

A period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous ethnic communities in southern Africa between 1815 and about 1840.

Using Mfecane

  • The main meaning on this page is: A period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous ethnic communities in southern Africa between 1815 and about 1840.
  • In the example corpus, mfecane often appears in combinations such as: the mfecane.

Context around Mfecane

  • Average sentence length in these examples: 22.8 words
  • Position in the sentence: 1 start, 4 middle, 4 end
  • Sentence types: 9 statements, 0 questions, 0 exclamations

Often before:

traditional 1×

Often after:

theory 1× wrought 1× cannot 1× period 1× annihilation 1× nguni 1×

Sentence patterns with Mfecane

These short patterns come directly from the example sentences and show how the word is often embedded:

as the mfecane annihilation 1× as the mfecane nguni or 1× caused the mfecane to spread 1× clearly the mfecane had a 1× from the mfecane was the 1× including the mfecane period of 1× lifaqane or mfecane wrought havoc 1× secondly the mfecane cannot be 1×

Sentence openings and endings

Common sentence openings:

clearly the mfecane 1× general histories of 1× one view states 1× secondly the mfecane 1× somhlolo was a 1× the ripple effect 1×

Common sentence endings:

1821 to 1822 1× and then north 1× established by dingiswayo 1× isolated in time 1× mfecane to spread 1× on southern africa 1×

Words around Mfecane

Just before it in the word index:

mfe 4 mfdp 8 mfd 10 mfcoin 3 mfc 15 mfbs 5

Just after it in the word index:

mfee 4 mfer 2 mff 11 mfg 34 mfi 15 mfin 2

Similar in corpus frequency:

aakash 12 aanholt 12 aardwolf 12 abadan 12 abati 12 abcc 12

Corpus analysis for Mfecane

  • In this selection, "mfecane" usually appears in the middle of the sentence. The average example has 22.8 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
  • Around the word, traditional, theory, wrought and cannot stand out and add context to how "mfecane" is used.
  • Recognizable usage signals include as the mfecane annihilation and as the mfecane nguni or. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
  • By corpus frequency, "mfecane" sits close to words such as aakash, aanholt and aardwolf, which helps place it inside the broader word index.

Example types with mfecane

The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:

Short example sentences

Secondly, the 'mfecane' cannot be isolated in time. (8 words)

Clearly, the mfecane had a significant impact on Southern Africa. (10 words)

The scattering Ndwandwe and Swazi caused the Mfecane to spread. (10 words)

Longer example sentences

General histories of Southern Africa are also valuable including Noel Mostert's "Frontiers" and a detailed account of the results from the Zulu expansion, J. D. Omer-Cooper's "The Zulu Aftermath", which advances the traditional Mfecane theory. (38 words)

One view states that the first of these were marauding Zulu clans, displaced from Zululand as part of the Lifaqane (or Mfecane ), wrought havoc on the Basotho peoples they encountered as they moved first west and then north. (38 words)

Somhlolo was a strategic leader between 1815 and 1839 a period including the mfecane period of Shaka Zulu a Zulu illegitimate child of Senzangakhona who created his kingdom from the Mtetwa polity established by Dingiswayo. (35 words)

Example sentences (9)

Clearly, the mfecane had a significant impact on Southern Africa.

General histories of Southern Africa are also valuable including Noel Mostert's "Frontiers" and a detailed account of the results from the Zulu expansion, J. D. Omer-Cooper's "The Zulu Aftermath", which advances the traditional Mfecane theory.

One of the major states to emerge from the Mfecane was the Sotho Kingdom founded at Thaba Bosiu by Moshoeshoe I around 1821 to 1822.

One view states that the first of these were marauding Zulu clans, displaced from Zululand as part of the Lifaqane (or Mfecane ), wrought havoc on the Basotho peoples they encountered as they moved first west and then north.

Secondly, the 'mfecane' cannot be isolated in time.

Somhlolo was a strategic leader between 1815 and 1839 a period including the mfecane period of Shaka Zulu a Zulu illegitimate child of Senzangakhona who created his kingdom from the Mtetwa polity established by Dingiswayo.

The ripple effect caused by these mass migrations would become known (though only in the twentieth century) as the Mfecane (annihilation).

The scattering Ndwandwe and Swazi caused the Mfecane to spread.

This 19th-century process of warfare, state building and migration later became known as the Mfecane (Nguni) or Difaqane (Sotho).

Common combinations with mfecane

These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:

Frequently asked questions

How do you use "mfecane" in a sentence?
An example: "Clearly, the mfecane had a significant impact on Southern Africa." This page contains 9 example sentences with the word "mfecane" from authentic English texts.
What does "mfecane" mean?
Mfecane means: A period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous ethnic communities in southern Africa between 1815 and about 1840.
How many example sentences with "mfecane" are there?
Voorbeeldzinnen.info contains 9 example sentences with "mfecane", drawn from a database of millions of English sentences.