Concept: The Mfecane was a period of violent upheaval in Southern Africa triggered by the military expansion of the Zulu Kingdom.
Explanation: Shaka Zulu ruled the Zulu Kingdom from
1816 to
1828.
He reorganised the army with new weapons such as the short stabbing spear and introduced superior battle tactics.
His forces conquered neighbouring chiefdoms and absorbed their people into the Zulu state.
These relentless campaigns caused widespread displacement and warfare across the region, a period remembered as the Mfecane, meaning "crushing."
Through these conquests, Shaka greatly expanded Zulu territory and made the kingdom the dominant power in south-east Africa.
Thus, he is the Zulu king responsible for the kingdom's expansion during the Mfecane.
The other options do not fit: King Moshoeshoe resisted the Mfecane by uniting refugees into the Basotho nation, King Cetshwayo ruled long after Shaka, and Nelson Mandela was a modern anti-apartheid leader, not a Zulu king.
Answer: D. Shaka Zulu