Swaziland: History

Pre-20th-Century History

In eastern Swaziland archaeologists have discovered human remains dating back 110,000 years, but the Swazi people arrived only relatively recently. During the great Bantu migration into southern Africa, one clan of the Nguni, moving down the east coast, settled around modern Maputo in Mozambique. Eventually the Dlamini family founded a dynasty there, but by the middle of the 18th century, pressure from the other clans forced a Dlamini king, Ngwane III, to lead his people south to what is now southern Swaziland, around the Pongola River. The Swazi now consider Ngwane III to be their first king.

Under pressure from the Zulu, the next king, Sobhuza I, withdrew to the Ezulwini Valley, which remains the centre of Swazi royalty and rituals today. King Mswazi, who ascended the throne next, was a gifted warrior and diplomat, and by the time he cashed his chips in 1868 the Swazi nation was secure.

The Zulus frequently clashed with the British and the Boers, which relieved pressure on the Swazis but created other problems. Swaziland attracted a ragtag bunch of great white hunters, inconsequential traders, fervent missionaries and land hungry farmers looking to feed their cattle. The kingdom's land was being gobbled up in leases granted to the Europeans, but in 1877 the British decided to run the place along their own lines and they annexed it lock, stock and barrel. The Swaziland Convention of 1881 guaranteed the nation's independence on paper, while considerably contracting its borders, and 'independence' proved to be just a word. In practice the Brits and Boers pursued their own interests with chaotic results, and after the Boer War the victors took over the reins of power. Swaziland joined the long list of countries administered by London.

Modern History

During the 20th century, land ownership grew into an issue threatening the viability of Swazi culture, given that Swazi kings are considered to hold the kingdom in trust for their subjects. With a large proportion of the kingdom in foreign hands, King Labotsibeni encouraged Swazis to buy back the farm, and many emigrated to South Africa to raise money by working in the mines. Land was gradually returned to the kingdom, both by direct purchase and by the British government, and at independence in 1968 around two-thirds of the kingdom was back in Swazi control. Britain's 66-year rule was overturned peacefully, and many streets in Mbabane retain their colonial-era names, perhaps indicative of the good will the colonial administration left behind.

Swaziland inherited a constitution largely the work of the British, and in 1973 King Sobhuza II suspended it on the grounds that it did not reflect Swazi culture. Four years later parliament reconvened under a new constitution that vested all power in the king. Sobhuza was followed in 1986 by King Mswati, who continues to maintain and represent tradition. He runs the country with the Council of Ministers, a small core of advisers.

Opposition parties remain illegal, and in 1995 the National Assembly and the homes of the deputy prime minister and the vice-chancellor of the University of Swaziland were burned in student riots. Following a general strike later that year the king's powers were partially reduced, and in 1997 the heads of Mozambique and South Africa held talks with the king on further democratisation in Swaziland.

Recent History

Since then King Mswati and the pro-democracy forces have engaged in a tit-for-tat game of one-upmanship; the increasingly fearless unions have organised strikes and bans on imported and exported products, which has resulted in government restrictions of trade union activities; pro-democracy groups have refused to recognise the Public Order Act, which forbids party politics in the kingdom and requires police permission to hold a meeting; in return, the king's office has refused to comment on a UN-sponsored report on the country's constitution.

To combat the AIDS epidemic, in 2001 the king prohibited men from having sex with teenage girls for five years. Just two months later he fined himself a cow for breaking the ban by taking a 17-year-old girl as his ninth wife. The ban was then prematurely lifted in 2005 just weeks before Mswati III chose another 17-year-old girl as his 13th wife. It is likely the mixed messages may have something to do with Swaziland's population now having the highest AIDS infection rate in the world, a staggering 40%. The king's spending is almost as controversial. While his nation has struggled through droughts and subsequent humanitarian crises, Mswati III purchased US$820,000 worth of BMWs for his wives and a US$500,000 Daimler Chrysler Maybach 62, which features a TV, DVD player, 21-speaker surround-sound system, mini-fridge, cordless phone and sterling champagne flutes, for himself. He's also asked his parliament for US$15 million for new palaces and US$45 million for a new personal jet.

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