African Kingdoms

Modern Eswatini / Kingdom of eSwatini (Africa)
AD 2018 - Present Day

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The pre-history of Africa contains a far longer period of human habitation than any other area on Earth, thanks to it being the cradle of humankind's evolution. South Africa consists of a series of undulating plateaus which cover much of the region and extend northwards into Central Africa's Angola. The Kalahari desert forms a central depression in the Southern African plateau, while scrubland and grasslands cover much of the region's remainder.

Indigenous natives belong to one of two language families: Khoisan or Bantu. The former were first to be established, having inhabited the region for millennia. They were displaced in many areas by Bantu speakers. Regional archaeological and historical enquiry has been extremely uneven, with Namibia being the least-intensively studied while South Africa is at the opposite end of that scale. Establishing a coherent historical framework of events is an often controversial process with little universal agreement.

The independent nation state of eSwatini (correct spelling, or 'Eswatini' in conventional English-language reports) is a continuance of the country of Swaziland. Independent of British oversight within the 'Protectorate of Swaziland' since 1968, it has largely endured absolute monarchy to the detriment of its general population (as witnessed in multiple mass protests which, admittedly, only really took off following the death of King Sobhuza in 1982).

His successor, King Mswati III of Swaziland, took the decision in April 2018 to ditch the country's semi-colonial name, a mix of 'Swazi' and the Germanic word 'land', just fifty years after independence was achieved. Continued use of that semi-colonial name apparently created some dissatisfaction within the country (albeit according to the king himself during his announcement). The more authentic native name of eSwatini was chosen instead, meaning 'place of the Swazi'.

This landlocked country of one hundred and thirty kilometres in width sits on the eastern side of the South African region, encompassed on three sides by the nation state of South Africa (included in which is KwaZulu-Natal), and to its east by Mozambique. The Swazi are an amalgamation of over seventy clans within the area.

Please note that the History Files does not regularly monitor changes in modern heads of state or their representatives. Get in touch here if this section requires updating.

Principal author(s): Page created: Page last updated:

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the John De Cleene Archive, from Urban Africa; Histories in the Making (Africa's Urban Past), David M Anderson & Richard Rathbone (Eds), from Africana: The Encyclopaedia of the African and African American Experience, Anthony Appiah & Henry Louis Gates (Oxford University Press, 2005), from The New Atlas of African History, G S P Freeman-Grenville (Rex Collins, London, 1991), from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, 1979), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Swaziland (Flags of the World), and Swaziland (Rulers.org), and Swaziland king renames country (The Guardian), and Eswatini king's 16th wife (The Guardian).)

2018 - Present

King of Swaziland from 1982. Renamed country 2018.

2018

Having taken the decision during independence day celebrations in April 2018 to ditch the country's old name of Swaziland, which he sees as semi-colonial, King Mswati has renamed it with something which he sees as being more authentic: eSwatini.

King Mswati III was pictured here whilst playing host to Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, in Mbabane, Swaziland, very shortly before he made his announcement that the country's name would change to eSwatni

The change has not been a complete surprise within the country, as it has been mooted since at least 2015 and the king has already used the new name in his own addresses to the nation.

2021

Pro-democracy protests take place across the country as a result of anger regarding decades without meaningful political reform. Riots and looting are sparked, along with skirmishes with the country's police and military.

2024

The fifty-six year-old Mswati III is engaged on Monday 2 September 2024 to the twenty-one year-old Nomcebo Zuma, a daughter of former South African president, Jacob Zuma.

The engagement takes place during a traditional umhlanga reed dance ceremony in which Nomcebo is amongst hundreds of women and girls who collectively dance for the monarch. She will become the king's sixteenth wife.

The annual 'Umhlanga Reed Dance' gets local and international coverage, and never more so than when the king announced his engagement to twenty-one year-old Nomcebo Zuma, a daughter of former South African president, Jacob Zuma