Paper 1 · June 2024 · the First Chimurenga in Mashonaland, 1896-1897
A Native Commissioner at Salisbury testified in 1897 that the Mashona war had as clearly defined a head as the last Zulu War, and that Mashayamombe's was the centre of the rebellion because Kaguvi was there. He argued in that way mainly because he wanted to show that...
Athe rising had been provoked by the Company's taxes
Bcapturing one leader would bring the war to an end
Cthe Shona had no organisation worth fighting against
Dthe settlers should abandon Mashonaland altogether
Explanation
His whole testimony builds to the sentence 'If we capture Kaguvi, the war is over'. Treating the rising as the work of a single head made it look like a policing problem with a quick solution, which suited an official who had to justify the cost and length of the campaign to his superiors.
Derived from ZIMSEC History Paper 1, Jun 2024, Q1