Paper 1 · the First Chimurenga: the Ndebele Uprising of 1896
A source on the start of the 1896 Ndebele revolt records that when the word went round that war had started, 'it was still summer and crops were still in the field'. That timing was strange because...
Athe rains had not yet begun in Matabeleland
Bthe Ndebele had not yet hidden their weapons
Cthe men were needed to bring in the harvest
Dthe rivers were too low for the impis to cross
Explanation: A rising in the growing season took men away from the fields at the moment the crop had to be guarded and reaped, and an abandoned harvest meant hunger later in the year. A people choosing their own moment would normally wait until the grain was in, which is what makes the timing worth explaining.
Derived from ZIMSEC History Paper 1, Nov 2025, Q1