---
title: "Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement — AP World Definition"
description: "The Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement (1856-57) was a religious anticolonial response in South Africa. AP World Topic 6.3 example, often paired with the Ghost Dance."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-world/key-terms/xhosa-cattle-killing-movement"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP World History: Modern"
unit: "Unit 6"
---

# Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement — AP World Definition

## Definition

The Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement (1856-1857) was a religiously inspired response to British imperialism in southern Africa, in which the Xhosa slaughtered their cattle and destroyed crops believing this would cleanse the land, revive their ancestors, and drive out colonizers. The resulting famine devastated Xhosa society.

## What It Is

The Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement was a millenarian response to [colonialism](/ap-world/key-terms/colonialism "fv-autolink") among the Xhosa people of southern Africa in 1856-1857. After decades of frontier wars with British settlers, land loss, and a cattle disease epidemic, a young prophetess named Nongqawuse claimed the ancestors had given her a message. If the Xhosa killed their cattle and destroyed their grain, the dead would return, healthy new cattle would rise, and the European colonizers would be swept away.

Many Xhosa believed her and acted. Hundreds of thousands of cattle were slaughtered and fields were left unplanted. The promised renewal never came. Instead, mass famine killed tens of thousands of Xhosa, and the survivors were pushed into wage labor on colonial farms and towns. The movement is the [AP World](/ap-world "fv-autolink") go-to example of resistance to [imperialism](/ap-world/unit-6/rationales-for-imperialism-1750-1900/study-guide/SpRzOFVRtT5Quq4copYW "fv-autolink") driven by religious and prophetic ideas, and it shows how that resistance, however meaningful, sometimes accelerated colonial control instead of breaking it.

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **Topic 6.3, Indigenous Responses to Imperialism**, inside [Unit 6](/ap-world/unit-6 "fv-autolink") (Consequences of Industrialization, 1750-1900). It directly supports learning objective **6.3.A**, which asks you to explain how internal and external factors shaped state building from 1750 to 1900. The CED's essential knowledge says it plainly: increasing discontent with [imperial rule](/ap-world/key-terms/imperial-rule "fv-autolink") led to rebellions, 'some of which were influenced by religious ideas.' The Cattle-Killing Movement is the textbook case of that religious strand of resistance.

It also matters for the bigger Unit 6 picture. Colonized peoples didn't just passively absorb imperialism. They resisted in many forms, from armed [rebellion](/ap-world/unit-5/continuity-change-industrial-age/study-guide/h7nWPN3Ym7RP14VxaKfe "fv-autolink") (Túpac Amaru II, the 1857 rebellion in India, Yaa Asantewaa) to prophetic movements like this one. Knowing which form is which, and what each accomplished, is exactly the kind of comparison the exam rewards.

## Connections

### [Ghost Dance Movement (Unit 6)](/ap-world/key-terms/ghost-dance-movement)

The [Ghost Dance](/ap-world/key-terms/ghost-dance "fv-autolink") among Native Americans in the 1880s-90s is the closest parallel on the entire course outline. Both were prophetic movements promising that ritual action would bring back the dead, restore the old way of life, and remove the colonizers. If a question asks for a comparison of religiously inspired resistance, these two are the matched pair.

### [1857 Rebellion in India (Unit 6)](/ap-world/key-terms/1857-rebellion-in-india)

Same topic, different style of resistance. The [Indian rebellion of 1857](/ap-world/key-terms/indian-rebellion-of-1857 "fv-autolink") was armed, direct resistance that also had religious triggers (the greased cartridge controversy). Comparing it with the Cattle-Killing shows the CED's point that anti-imperial resistance 'took various forms,' from military uprisings to spiritual renewal movements.

### Great Trek (Unit 6)

The Great Trek of the 1830s pushed Boer settlers deep into southern African interior lands, intensifying the land pressure and frontier conflict the Xhosa faced. It is part of the backstory that made a desperate prophecy believable by the 1850s.

### [Economic Exploitation (Unit 6)](/ap-world/key-terms/economic-exploitation)

The movement's aftermath feeds straight into colonial economics. Famine destroyed Xhosa self-sufficiency, and survivors became laborers in the colonial economy. It is a grim example of how failed resistance could deepen the forced-labor and exploitation patterns covered in Topics 6.5 and 6.6.

## On the AP Exam

This term shows up almost entirely in multiple choice, usually in Topic 6.3 stems. Questions tend to test three things. First, what the Xhosa believed (killing cattle would bring renewal and expel colonizers). Second, what the movement led to (famine and weakened resistance to British control, not liberation). Third, how to categorize it (a religiously influenced indigenous response to imperialism). One common MCQ angle asks which response to imperialism shows 'the oppressed using religion as a means of resistance,' and the Cattle-Killing is a correct fit alongside the Ghost Dance.

No released FRQ has used this term verbatim, but it is excellent evidence for an LEQ or DBQ on responses to imperialism in 1750-1900. Use it to show variety of resistance (spiritual vs. armed) or to argue about consequences, since it demonstrates that resistance could unintentionally strengthen colonial power.

## Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement vs Ghost Dance Movement

Easy to mix up because both are prophetic, anti-colonial movements promising the return of ancestors and the removal of settlers. The difference is who, where, and when. The Xhosa Cattle-Killing happened in southern Africa in 1856-1857 against British colonialism and involved destroying the Xhosa's own cattle and crops. The Ghost Dance spread among Native Americans in the United States in the late 1880s and centered on a ritual dance, ending violently at Wounded Knee in 1890. On the exam, match the movement to its continent and decade.

## Key Takeaways

- The Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement (1856-1857) was a prophetic response to British imperialism in southern Africa, sparked by Nongqawuse's vision that destroying cattle and crops would bring back the ancestors and expel the colonizers.
- It is the AP World illustrative case of rebellion 'influenced by religious ideas' under Topic 6.3 and learning objective 6.3.A.
- The movement backfired badly. The resulting famine killed tens of thousands of Xhosa and made it easier for the British to dominate the region.
- Pair it with the Ghost Dance Movement for comparison questions, since both were millenarian movements responding to colonial pressure on indigenous peoples.
- It shows that indigenous responses to imperialism took many forms, and spiritual or prophetic resistance belongs in any essay alongside armed rebellions like the 1857 rebellion in India.

## FAQs

### What was the Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement?

It was a religious movement among the Xhosa people of southern Africa in 1856-1857, based on the prophecy of Nongqawuse that slaughtering their cattle and destroying crops would resurrect the ancestors and drive out British colonizers.

### Did the Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement succeed in resisting colonialism?

No. The prophecy failed, famine killed tens of thousands of Xhosa, and the weakened survivors fell more fully under British colonial control, with many forced into labor in the colonial economy.

### How is the Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement different from the Ghost Dance?

The Cattle-Killing happened among the Xhosa in southern Africa in 1856-1857 and involved destroying their own livestock and crops. The Ghost Dance spread among Native Americans in the late 1880s and was a ritual dance movement. Both were prophetic responses to colonization, which is why AP questions pair them.

### Why did the Xhosa kill their own cattle?

They believed Nongqawuse's prophecy that the sacrifice would cleanse the land, bring healthy new cattle and the ancestors back to life, and sweep away the colonizers. The belief made sense in context, after decades of frontier wars, land loss, and a devastating cattle disease.

### Is the Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement on the AP World exam?

Yes, it fits Topic 6.3 (Indigenous Responses to Imperialism) in Unit 6. It mostly appears in multiple choice as an example of religiously influenced resistance to imperialism, and it works well as essay evidence for 1750-1900 prompts about responses to empire.

## Related Study Guides

- [6.3 Indigenous Responses to Imperialism](/ap-world/unit-6/indigenous-responses-imperialism-1750-1900/study-guide/vgkA3ahtOVnDXI0POqDq)

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