Towards a reconstruction of some aspects of the environmental History of the South-Sotho communities in the Sourthen Highveld, 1500-1800

Abstract

Some aspects of the Environmental History of Sotho speaking communities in the Southern Highveld between 1500-1800 have not been well documented. So far, the main focus of existing literature of these groups is on the socio-political and economic history. There is less attention on their interaction with environment during this period. This study reconstructs some aspects of the Environmental History of these Sotho-speaking groups to examine their nature of their interaction with the environment. The study argues that the environment influenced their migration pattern, economic formations, political organisation as well as their belief systems. The study used available records and literature to carry out this research. The findings reveal that these communities were strategic and intentional about their choice of settlements. They selected landscapes that ecologically supported their trade patterns and survival. Political and socio- cultural forms were embedded and interwoven with their environment, with a strive to attain a degree of mutually reciprocity and sustainability. Not much was always in their control; conditions of ecological catastrophe and depletion often led to scarcity, poverty and internal conflicts that often bred secessions of various forms