An Excursion Through The Kingdom of Eswatini Quiz

Answer: To give it a Swazi name

The Kingdom of Eswatini has a long history, that dates back to the Old Stone Age. It has been settled by many groups of people. The earliest group, the Khoisan, were replaced two or three thousand years ago by the Nguni during the period known as the Bantu expansion.

In the 1700-1800s King Sobhuza I, leader of the Ngwane, conquered people living in the area of modern Eswatini and welcomed them into the region that was eventually known as Swaziland; the area was named for Mswati II, a warrior king who ruled from 1840-68, whose efforts led to the country doubling in size.

The people today are ethnic Swazis, and the language they speak is also called Swazi. In the Swazi language, however, the country is called Eswatini, which means land of the Swazis, and in celebration of 50 years of independence, the name was changed in 2018.

Answer: Great Rift Valley

We are talking about quite a long fault line here! It begins in Lesotho in the Drakensberg Mountains and continues north through Zimbabwe, until it reaches the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. Needless to say, the location on a fault line makes the threat of earthquake very common in Eswatini, as well as in the other countries that lie on the fault's boundaries.

In 2006 an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 occurred north of Eswatini in Mozambique, which was felt in many neighboring countries, including Eswatini.

While the earthquake did not cause large scale destruction, it did result in the appearance of a surface rupture. In July 2019 an earthquake with a 3.6 magnitude occurred in Eswatini.

Answer: Scramble for Africa

After the Age of Exploration, countries began to claim parts of Africa, but settlements generally consisted of posts in coastal areas. It has been estimated that by 1870 only 10% of the continent had been claimed by Europeans. The Industrial Revolution, however, created the needs for raw materials. European powers competed for colonies in Africa during the period of time known as the Scramble for Africa or the Partition of Africa.

At the Berlin Conference in 1884 lines were drawn without regard for culture groups, tradition, history, or geographic allowances (like a country being landlocked), and territories were claimed. Eswatini became a British protectorate in 1899. By 1914 when World War I began, an estimated 90% of Africa had been claimed.

Answer: Escarpment

Typically an escarpment, also called a scarp or scarp face, breaks into two parts which both have different elevations. In Eswatini, the tallest part of the scarp is located in the region called the Highveld, which contains some large scale farming operations and its capital.

The lower part is in the Middleveld, which is a more rural area that is covered in shrubs and grass. The area between these two landforms is also called an escarpment. The capital of Eswatini, Mbabane, named for Chief Mbabane Kuene, was founded in 1887 and became the capital of the British Protectorate of Swaziland in 1902.

Answer: Queen Mother

Many traditions are still observed in Eswatini; for example, in rural areas people still live in traditional huts like the ones in the picture. In their society the Queen Mother, with the title of "Indlovukazi" (Great She-Elephant), is considered to be a joint head of state with the king. As is the custom, the current king of Eswatini, King Mswati III, choose his mother for the position when he was crowned. While the King is the administrative head of state, the Queen Mother is viewed as the spiritual leader.

The State Wife is the king's first wife, and the person in charge of the home. If a new king is too young to run the country by himself, his mother and uncles will rule until he is old enough. Although the government of Eswatini is an absolute monarchy, a prime minister is appointed to carry out different functions of government.

Answer: False

Eswatini is a small country, consisting of just 6704 square miles (17,363 square km), but it is not the smallest in Africa. The island nation of the Republic of Seychelles is the continent's smallest country with just 451 square miles; Eswatini is 7th on the list of African countries according to size.

While research for this quiz has yielded some sites that state that Eswatini is the smallest country in Africa, there are five island nations that are smaller, followed by The Gambia, which is 4,008 square miles (10,380 square km) in size.

Answer: Red Ochre

"Ngwenya" means crocodile in the Swazi language. The mine was given that name due to the shape of the mountains where it is found. Interestingly, when the Ngwenya Mine was first used during the Mesolithic Age, it was used to mine red ochre. Ancient people used ochre for many reasons - as an insect repellent, protection from the sun, or even as a way to stop bleeding. But it was also used as a cosmetic and for making art; the ancestors of the San are credited with prehistoric rock painting in Eswatini. Sometime around 400 AD, Bantu tribes, already knowledgeable in iron production, moved into the area and mined iron ore there.

The rock painting in the picture was created by the San in the Cederberg Mountains of South Africa.

Answer: Makhonjwa Mountains

Also known as the Barberton Greenstone Belt, the Makhonjwa Mountains, called the "genesis of life", have some of the oldest exposed rocks on earth. A 75 x 37 mile strip of the mountains - about 20% of the range - is found in Eswatini, and the rest is in South Africa. Also containing gold deposits and volcanic rock, such as the komatiite in the picture, the mountains were the site of a major discovery in 2014. Scientists believe they found evidence of a meteor impact that happened about 3.26 billion years ago. Believe it or not, geologists are still looking for the crater which may have been created by the impact, but there is a possibility that it no longer exists.

Answer: South Africa

Eswatini shares a border of approximately 108 kilometers (67 miles) with Mozambique in its northeastern region, and the rest of the country shares a border of 438 kilometers (272 miles) with South Africa. In fact, South Africa is also Eswatini's main trading partner on the continent, and its currency, the lilangeni, is also accepted in South Africa. Since 1993 the two countries have shared an agreement that South African officials serve as judges in Eswatini courts and also provide training for Swazi officials.

Answer: Hlane Royal National Park

Eswatini has abundant wildlife; in fact, the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo) can be seen there. At the Hlane Royal National Park there is a vast variety of animals to view including lions, elephants, wildebeests, as well as zebras and recently reintroduced cheetahs.

It also boasts the largest group of nesting vultures in the world! Visitors may choose from many activities while in the park, including guided hikes, driving tours, and mountain biking. There are even cottages available for overnight stays; at some there are viewing places where guests may watch the animals come to drink at night.