Settler colonialism, conflicts, and genocide: interactions between hunter-gatherers and settlers in Kenya, and Zimbabwe and northern Botswana

Abstract

Violent and non-violent conflicts and interactions between hunter-gatherers and settlers took place in a number of areas in eastern and southern Africa during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Foragers had to cope with the incursions of settlers in their territories, which resulted in significant competition over land and natural resources. This paper examines two such cases: (1) Kenya, looking specifically at conflicts between settlers and local foraging peoples (e.g. Ogiek, ‘Dorobo’, Mukogodo, Boni, Waata, Dahalo, and Aweer, among others) and (2) western Zimbabwe and north eastern Botswana (Tshwa San) and the Zambezi Valley (Doma) of Zimbabwe. In these cases, lands populated by indigenous hunter-gatherers were taken over by settlers, ranchers, state institutions, and private companies. Conflicts between the groups occurred, although there was variation in the degree to which relationships were characterized by violence. Settler colonialism had diverse impacts. Not all of the situations involved deadly conflict; some also involved coercion, collaboration, and co-option. In some instances, settlers and immigrant pastoralists and agriculturalists negotiated with hunter-gatherers to enable them to gain entry to their areas. Some of the questions addressed in this paper include: (1) whether the interactions between hunter-gatherers and settlers can be characterized as cases of either physical or cultural genocide, neither, or both; (2) the role of the state in favoring certain groups (e.g. settlers) at the expense of others; (3) the effectiveness of strategies employed by hunter-gatherers to resist or go along with the agendas of settlers, ranchers, and companies; and (4) the importance of reconciling competing agendas of these different groups.

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