The reasons for the migration of the Bantu are not known but they most likely included the following;
Drought
and famine: They moved due to the fear of famine, which broke out due
to overcrowding and drought. The climate in their cradle land had become
unreliable/unpredictable.
Population
increase which resulted into over crowding: They migrated due to
population pressure, e.g. they became overpopulated in their cradle
land. This led to the scarcity of grazing and agriculture land, and so
they had to move to look for more land, both for agriculture and for
their cattle.
The
constant attacks (external pressure) from stronger tribes in West
Africa and the Nile valley. They moved due to external pressure,
especially due to the migration of the Arabs into West Africa. The Arabs
were believed to be more hostile, and so Africans were forced to move
southwards.
Internal
conflicts from the Bantu tribes: they migrated due to internal
misunderstandings/conflicts between the different clans. These conflicts
concerned the ownership of agriculture area, the shortage of grazing
lands and watering areas.
Epidemics
and diseases/natural calamities: The Bantu moved due to natural
disasters, e.g. earthquakes, over flooding of rivers like river Niger,
sickness, diseases such as Nagana caused by Tsetse flies, sleeping
sickness e.t.c.
Search for fertile land: Since they were predominantly farmers, the Bantu migrated
in
order to find more land which could be more fertile than the cradle
land, which could no longer support them. E.g. they had changed from
hunting and gathering fruits, to farming and had even discovered new
crops such as yams, banana, and e.t.c
Love
for adventure: They moved due to their desire for adventure, i.e. they
wanted to find out what was happening in other areas.
Group influence: Some moved because they had seen their relatives and friends move.
Need for water and pasture for their animals forced them to move.
The
Bantu migrated in order to export their iron-working culture. They had
discovered the knowledge of iron working and had invented iron tools.
These iron tools had transformed the agricultural sector by making the
clearing of land fro cultivation faster and more efficient.
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