Paper 1 · the First Chimurenga: the Ndebele Uprising of 1896
A source on Matabeleland in 1896 records an outbreak of mass cattle deaths, after which the authorities of the chartered company ordered the wholesale slaughter of herds to stop the disease spreading. Name that cattle disease.
Model answer
rinderpest
Also accepted: cattle plague, rinderpest (cattle plague)
Explanation: Rinderpest swept south through Africa and reached Matabeleland early in 1896, killing herds within days. The Company's answer, shooting surviving cattle to create a barrier, destroyed the wealth, the bridewealth and the food reserve of Ndebele families at once, and it is among the grievances that brought on the rising in March of that year.
Derived from ZIMSEC History Paper 1, Nov 2025, Q1