The Great Trek coincided with the conclusion of the Mfecane. The Mfecane was a period of widespread warfare and migrations among the Nguni and Sotho-Tswana societies in southern Africa during the 1820s and early 1830s.[498] Socio-economic factors, such as rapid population growth in certain areas resulting in land scarcity, were the underlying causes of the Mfecane. The rise of the Zulu kingdom and the formidable military campaigns led by King Shaka played a pivotal role in initiating and expanding the Mfecane.[499]
