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Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age 5–3000 years ago have been found in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Prehistoric rock art paintings date from ca. 25,000 B.C. and continuing up to the 19th century can be found in various places around the country. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by the kashian hunter tribe during Bantu migrations who hailed from the Great Lakes regions of eastern and central Africa. Evidence of agriculture and iron use dates from about the 4th century and people speaking languages ancestral to current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century. The Swazi settlers, then known as ''the Ngwane'' (or ''bakaNgwane''), before entering Swaziland had been settled on the banks of the Pongola River and prior to that in the area of the Tembe River near present day Maputo. Continuing conflict with the Ndwandwe people pushed them further north, with Ngwane III establishing his capital at Shiselweni at the foot of the Mhlosheni hills. Under Sobhuza I, the Ngwane people eventually established their capital at Zombodze in the heartland of present-day Swaziland. In this process, they conquered and incorporated the long established clans of the country known to the Swazi as ''Emakhandzambili''.〔Bonner, Philip (1983). ''Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires: The Evolution and Dissolution of the Nineteenth-Century Swazi State''. Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press. See esp. pp. 60, 85–88.〕 The country now derives its name from a later king named Mswati II. ''KaNgwane'', named for Ngwane III, is an alternative name for Swaziland the surname of whose royal house remains ''Nkhosi Dlamini''. ''Nkhosi'' literally means "king". Mswati II was the greatest of the fighting kings of Swaziland, and he greatly extended the area of the country to twice its current size. The ''Emakhandzambili'' clans were initially incorporated into the kingdom with wide autonomy, often including grants of special ritual and political status. The extent of their autonomy however was drastically curtailed by Mswati, who attacked and subdued some of them in the 1850s.〔 With his power, Mswati greatly reduced the influence of the ''Emakhandzambili'' while incorporating more people into his kingdom either through conquest or by giving them refuge. These later arrivals became known to the Swazis as ''Emafikamuva''. The clans who accompanied the Dlamini kings were known as the ''Bemdzabuko'' or ''true Swazi''. The autonomy of the Swaziland nation was influenced by British and Dutch rule of southern Africa in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1881 the British government signed a convention recognising Swazi independence despite the Scramble for Africa that was taking place at the time. This independence was also recognised in the convention of 1884. However, because of controversial land/mineral rights and other concessions, Swaziland had a triumviral administration in 1890 following the death of King Mbandzeni in 1889. This government represented the British, the Dutch republics and the Swazi people. Finally, in 1894, a convention placed Swaziland under the South African Republic as a protectorate. This continued under the rule of Ngwane V until the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899. King Ngwane V died in December 1899 during incwala after the outbreak of the Boer war when his successor, Sobhuza, was only four months old. Swaziland was indirectly involved in the war with various skirmishes between the British and the Boers occurring in the country until 1902. In 1903, after British victory in the Anglo-Boer war, Swaziland became a British protectorate. Much of its early administration (for example, postal services) being carried out from South Africa until 1906 when the Transvaal colony was granted self-government. Following this, Swaziland was partitioned into European and non-European (or native reserves) areas with the former being two thirds of the total land. Sobhuza's official coronation was in December 1921 after the regency of Labotsibeni after which he led an unsuccessful deputation to the Privy council in London in 1922 regarding the issue of the land. In the period between 1923 and 1963, Sobhuza established the Swazi Commercial Amadoda which was to grant licences to small businesses on the Swazi reserves and also established the Swazi National School to counter the dominance of the missions in education. His stature grew with time and the Swazi royal leadership was successful in resisting the weakening power of the British administration and the incorporation of Swaziland into the Union of South Africa.〔 The constitution for independent Swaziland was promulgated by Britain in November 1963 under the terms of which legislative and executive councils were established. This development was opposed by the Swazi National Council (liqoqo). Despite such opposition, elections took place and the first Legislative Council of Swaziland was constituted on 9 September 1964. Changes to the original constitution proposed by the Legislative Council were accepted by Britain and a new constitution providing for a House of Assembly and Senate was drawn up. Elections under this constitution were held in 1967. Swaziland was briefly a Protected State until Britain granted it full independence in 1968. Following the elections of 1973, the constitution of Swaziland was suspended by King Sobhuza II who thereafter ruled the country by decree until his death in 1982. At this point Sobhuza II had ruled Swaziland for 83 years, making him the longest ruling monarch in history. A regency followed his death, with Queen Regent Dzeliwe Shongwe being head of state until 1984 when she was removed by Liqoqo and replaced by Queen Mother Ntombi Twala. Mswati III, the son of Ntombi, was crowned king on 25 April 1986 as King and ''Ingwenyama'' of Swaziland. The 1990s saw a rise in student and labor protests pressuring the king to introduce reforms. Thus, progress toward constitutional reforms began, culminating with the introduction of the current Swaziland constitution in 2005. This happened despite objections by political activists. The current constitution does not clearly deal with the status of political parties. The first election under the new constitution, took place in 2008. Members of parliament were elected from 55 constituencies ( also known as tinkhundla ). These MPs served five year terms which ended in 2013. In 2011, Swaziland suffered an economic crisis, due to reduced SACU receipts. This led to the government of Swaziland to request a loan from neighbouring South Africa. However, the Swazi government did not agree with the conditions of the loan, which included political reforms. During this period, there was increased pressure on the Swaziland government to carry out more reforms. Public protests by civic organizations and trade unions became more common. Improvements in SACU receipts from 2012 onwards, eased the fiscal pressure on the Swazi government. The new parliament, the second since promulgation of the constitution, was elected on 20 September 2013. This saw the reappointment of Sibusiso Dlamini, by the king, as prime minister for the third time. ==Early settlements by Swazis (until 1700s)== The early Swazis ( ''bemdzabuko'' ) lived around the present day Tembe River near Maputo, Mozambique. Dlamini I was able to increase his followers by conquering many clans along the Lubombo after departure from Tembe. As part of the Nguni expansion southwards, the Swazis crossed the Limpopo River and settled in southern Tongaland (today in southern Mozambique near Maputo) in the late fifteenth century. The Ngwane people are recorded as having entered the present territory of Swaziland around the year 1600. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Swaziland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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