54-580: The Battle of Ndondakusuka , often known as the Second Zulu Civil War , fought on 2 December 1856, was the culmination of a succession struggle in the Zulu Kingdom between Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi, the two eldest sons of the king Mpande . Mbuyazi was defeated at the battle and was killed, leaving Cetshwayo in de facto control of the kingdom, though his father remained king. Mbuyazi's followers, including five other sons of King Mpande, were massacred in
108-604: A better system" than that which had characterised the previous regime. Shepstone had been summoned home to advise the Colonial Office on South African affairs and he reached England in May 1879; on his return to Natal he retired (1880) from the public service. In 1883, however, he was commissioned to replace Cetshwayo as king in Zululand. He was active in church matters in Natal, and was, prior to
162-451: A boat waiting on the Natal boundary of the river; it was said that escaping Mbuyazi forces were refused a place on the boat. Very quickly, the battle turned into the slaughter of all Mbuyazi’s surviving followers. In the aftermath of the battle the uSuthu faction slaughtered, with their assegais, every iziGqoza they could find, including the women and children. The justification for this act was that women bore warriors and children grow up. It
216-562: A land deal for the voortrekkers. In November, about 1,000 Voortrekker wagons began descending the Drakensberg mountains from the Orange Free State into what is now KwaZulu-Natal . Dingane asked that Retief and his party retrieve some cattle stolen from him by a local chief as part of the treaty for land for the Boers. This Retief and his men did, returning on 3 February 1838. The next day,
270-782: A major contributing source of income is derived from tourism – the area is known for its savanna covered hills. It is home to a WWF Black Rhinoceros reintroduction project known as "The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project" within the Zululand Rhino Reserve (ZRR) . The ZRR is a 20,000 hectare reserve consisting of 15 individually owned farms that have lowered their fences in order to further conservation. The Zulu royal family still fulfils many important ceremonial duties. 28°17′51″S 31°25′18″E / 28.29750°S 31.42167°E / -28.29750; 31.42167 Theophilus Shepstone Sir Theophilus Shepstone KCMG (8 January 1817 – 23 June 1893)
324-601: A murderous campaign against other Nguni tribes and clans, setting in motion what became known as Difaqane or Mfecane , a mass-migration of tribes fleeing the remnants of the Ndwandwe fleeing the Zulu. The Ngoni people fled as far north as Tanzania and Malawi. The death toll has never been satisfactorily determined, but the whole region became nearly depopulated. By 1822, Shaka had conquered an empire covering an area of around 80,000 square miles (210,000 km ), covering Pongola to
378-588: A new leader, Andries Pretorius , who led a successful defence of the Voortrekker position from the Zulu forces and Dingane at the Battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838, when 15,000 Zulu impis (warriors) attacked a group of 470 Voortrekker settlers led by Pretorius. Following his defeat, Dingane burned his royal household and fled north. Mpande , the half-brother who had been spared from Dingane's purges, defected with 17,000 followers, and, together with Pretorius and
432-712: A redirection of the war effort, and the British, though outnumbered, began winning small engagements and later larger setpiece encounters. The fighting culminated in the Siege of Ulundi , the Zulus' capital city, and the subsequent defeat of the Zulu Kingdom. Cetshwayo was captured a month after his defeat, and then exiled to Cape Town . The British passed rule of the Zulu kingdom onto 13 "kinglets", each with his own subkingdom. Conflict soon erupted between these subkingdoms, and in 1882, Cetshwayo
486-541: A sacrifice of an ox, the point was made known when Mpande ordered that the shields to be made from the hide would have the best side used for Mbuyazi. An inDuna pointed out to Mpande that this meant he was renouncing Cetshwayo as rightful heir. Mpande retorted that when he was a commoner he had fathered Mbuyazi on behalf of Shaka, and that now as king the significance of that birth would be recognized by being Mpande's successor. The public consequences of that action were realized when Mpande ordered Mbuyazi to move his supporters,
540-468: A second attack. Cetshwayo's inner circle of supporters were then sent in, along with the Mandlakazi who far outnumbered the iziGqoza. Mbuyazi's army was overwhelmed. Mbuyazi and five of his siblings were killed. Others were swept away by the river when they attempted escape. Mpande's aging general Nongalaza, barely swam to safety. John Dunn and his forces were to the left of Mbuyazi’s and escaped by means of
594-668: A treaty was signed, wherein Dingane ceded all the land south of the Tugela River to the Mzimvubu River to the Voortrekkers. Celebrations followed. On 6 February, at the end of the celebrations, Retief's party were invited to a dance, and asked to leave their weapons behind. At the peak of the dance, Dingane leapt to his feet and yelled "Bambani abathakathi!" ( isiZulu for "Seize the wizards"). Retief and his men were overpowered, taken to
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#1733093134955648-594: A wave of Boer (also known as Voortrekkers) migration northwards from 1836 onwards in order to establish autonomous Boer states independent of British control. The Boers settlers began moving across the Orange River northwards. While travelling they first collided with the Ndebele kingdom, and then with Dingane's Zulu kingdom. In October 1837, the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief visited Dingane at his royal kraal to negotiate
702-563: Is estimated that 20,000 people were killed and the mouth of the Tugela river where the bodies washed up began to be referred to as the Mathambo ("place of bones") John Dunn later negotiated with Cetshwayo for the return of settler property captured after the battle. He later became an important advisor to Cetshwayo and an influential intermediary between the Zulus, Boers and British. Mpande was inconsolable and resentful, and when Cetshwayo presented all
756-660: The Colonial Office , "will or can save the state, and nothing else can save South Africa from the direst consequences. All the thinking and intelligent people know this, and will be thankful to be delivered from the thraldom of petty factions by which they are perpetually kept in a state of excitement and unrest because the government and everything connected with it is a thorough sham" ( Martineau 's Life of Sir Bartle Frere , ch. 18). Shepstone's action has been condemned as premature. He had, however, reason to believe that if Britain remained inactive, Germany would be induced to undertake
810-571: The Union of South Africa . Shaka was the illegitimate son of Senzangakhona , Chief of the Zulus. He was born c. 1787. He and his mother, Nandi , were exiled by Senzangakhona, and found refuge with the Mthethwa . Shaka fought as a warrior under Dingiswayo , leader of the Mthethwa Paramountcy . When Senzangakona died, Dingiswayo helped Shaka become king of the Zulu. After Dingiswayo 's death at
864-631: The Zulu Empire, was a monarchy in Southern Africa . During the 1810s, Shaka established a standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to the Pongola River in the north. A bitter civil war in the mid-19th century erupted which culminated in
918-603: The 1856 Battle of Ndondakusuka between the brothers Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi. In 1879, a British force invaded Zululand, beginning the Anglo-Zulu War . After an initial Zulu victory at the Battle of Isandlwana in January, the British regrouped and defeated the Zulus in July during the Battle of Ulundi , ending the war. The area was absorbed into the Colony of Natal and later became part of
972-508: The British and the Boers, resulting in the British annexation of Natalia. Mpande shifted his allegiance to the British, and remained on good terms with them. In 1843, Mpande ordered a purge of perceived dissidents within his kingdom. This resulted in numerous deaths, and the fleeing of thousands of refugees into neighbouring areas (including the British-controlled Natal ). Many of these refugees fled with cattle. Mpande began raiding
1026-438: The British suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 where the Zulu army killed more than 1,000 British soldiers in a single day. The Zulu deployment at Isandhlwana showed the well-organized tactical system that had made the Zulu kingdom successful for many decades. This constituted the worst defeat the British army had ever suffered at the hands of a native African fighting force. The defeat prompted
1080-665: The Ifafa Hills and headed south. Cetshwayo believed that it was the time to act decisively and mobilised his forces. He intended to remove this threat to his succession to the Zulu kingship, starting the Second Zulu Civil War. In response to this mobilization, in mid-November 1856 Mbuyazi and his forces fled further south toward the Tugela River and Natal, with the hope that he would receive asylum there. Cetshwayo's forces followed. Mbuyazi had far fewer supporters than Cetshwayo. On
1134-476: The Langalibalele "rebellion", a close friend of Bishop Colenso . The two men, though, became estranged following Colenso's gradual realisation that Shepstone exerted a malign influence on Zulu affairs. Shepstone opposed the grant of self-government to Natal. He died at Pietermaritzburg on 23 June 1893. Although Shepstone's life and work have at times been celebrated by Britons and South Africans, experts on
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#17330931349551188-430: The Natal peoples. While he remained in charge there was but one serious revolt—that of Langalibalele in 1873 against a demand that guns be registered. Shepstone's influence with the Zulus was made use of by the Natal government; in 1861 he visited the Zulu Kingdom and obtained from Mpande a public recognition of Cetshwayo as his successor. Twelve years later Shepstone attended the proclamation of Cetshwayo as king,
1242-569: The Tugera Rivers. An offshoot of the Zulu, the amaNdebele, better known to history as the Matabele , created an even larger empire under their king Mzilikazi , including large parts of the highveld and modern-day Zimbabwe . [1] Shaka was succeeded by Dingane , his half-brother, who conspired with Mhlangana, another half-brother, and Mbopa, an induna , to murder him in 1828. Following this assassination, Dingane murdered Mhlangana, and took over
1296-617: The Union of South Africa was formed, Louis Botha became its first prime minister, and he arranged for his old ally Dinuzulu to return to South Africa and live in exile on a farm in the Transvaal, where he died in 1913. Dinuzulu's son Solomon kaDinuzulu was never recognised by South African authorities as the Zulu king, only as a local chief, but he was increasingly regarded as king by chiefs, by political intellectuals such as John Langalibalele Dube and by ordinary Zulu people. In 1923, Solomon founded
1350-506: The Voortrekkers, went to war with Dingane. Dingane was assassinated near the modern Swaziland border. Mpande then took over rulership of the Zulu nation. Following the campaign against Dingane, in 1839 the Voortrekkers, under Pretorius, formed the Boer republic of Natalia , south of the Tugela, and west of the British settlement of Port Natal (now Durban ). Mpande and Pretorius maintained peaceful relations. However, in 1842, war broke out between
1404-615: The Zulu chief promising Shepstone to live at peace with his neighbours. In 1874 and again in 1876 Shepstone travelled to London on colonial affairs. When in London in 1876 Shepstone was entrusted by the 4th earl of Carnarvon , then secretary of state for the colonies, with a special commission to confer with the Transvaal executive on the question of the federation of the South African states, and given power, should he deem it necessary, to annex
1458-400: The advice of his father, he sought help from white settlers in Natal led by John Dunn . Dunn gathered a small group of thirty-five Natal Border Police with an additional force of about a hundred native hunters. Mbuyazi's own forces totaled 7,000 warriors. Cetshwayo was seen by many as the rightful heir, so warriors flocked to his support, which numbered between 15,000 and 20,000 men. The guns of
1512-442: The aftermath of the battle. Inheritance and succession in Zulu society followed complex rules, but stated simply, the first-born son of a chief's "great wife" was the presumptive heir , although identification of "great wife" was often delayed until a chief neared his end. With respect to the Zulu king, succession had been murky ever since 1816 when Shaka had supplanted his half-brother and presumptive heir Sigujana . Cetshwayo
1566-454: The bank of the lower Tugela River, the latter filled by the seasonal rains that swelled the river into a torrent. Mbuyazi had his warriors burn a line in the grass which would serve as a marker of no further retreat as they pledged to win, and if not to die on the field. Cetshwayo's first attack failed, giving heart to the Mbuyazi forces after they repelled it. But Cetshwayo had enough reserves for
1620-413: The captured iziGqoza cattle to his father, Mpande refused and ordered Cetshwayo to leave. He left without any retaliation to the rejection and bided his time until the natural death of his father in 1872. Cetshwayo was crowned king by Theophilus Shepstone on 1 September 1873. Zulu Kingdom The Zulu Kingdom ( / ˈ z uː l uː / ZOO -loo ; Zulu : KwaZulu ), sometimes referred to as
1674-401: The colonials could only help Mbuyazi up to a point, as their numbers were too few to overcome such a large enemy force, but he was not discouraged. Mbuyuzi remembered that Mpande's general Nongalaza had overcome a superior force during the Battle of Maqongqo against Dingane . Nongalaza himself joined Mbuyazi at Mpande's request. Mbuyazi's forces had their backs to the kingdom's border along
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1728-537: The country, subject to the confirmation of the British government. Shepstone went to Pretoria in January 1877, and on 12 April issued a proclamation announcing the establishment of British authority over the Transvaal. Shepstone's force consisted of twenty-five men of the Natal Mounted Police only, but no overt opposition was made to the annexation; the republic at the time was in a condition bordering on anarchy. "Nothing but annexation," wrote Sir Theophilus to
1782-455: The hands of Zwide , king of the Ndwandwe , around 1816, Shaka assumed leadership of the entire Mthethwa alliance. Shaka's clan at first numbered no more than a few thousands, but eventually grew in size to 45,000 after absorbing neighboring clans. His military reforms included new battle techniques, training, and tough discipline, as well as the replacement of long-throwing spears in exchange for
1836-514: The independent Republic of Vryheid. This alarmed the British who wanted to prevent the Boers access to a harbour. The British then annexed Zululand in 1887. Dinuzulu became involved in later conflicts with rivals. In 1906 Dinuzulu was accused of being behind the Bambatha Rebellion . He was arrested and put on trial by the British for "high treason and public violence". In 1909, he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment on St Helena island. When
1890-400: The intent of instigating a war with the Zulu, Sir Henry Bartle Frere , on his own initiative and without the approval of the British government, presented an ultimatum to the Zulu king Cetshwayo in terms with which he could not possibly comply: that the Zulu army be disbanded and the Zulus accept a British resident. British forces crossed the Tugela river at the end of December 1878. Initially,
1944-534: The iziGqoza faction, to the south of the Mhlathuze River , the area that Cetshwayo, as the first son, had occupied with his followers, the uSuthu faction. In 1856, Mpande granted Mbuyazi land just north of the lower Tugela River on the border of Natal , in the hope that his alliance with the Boers there would aid Mbuyazi in the conflict with Cetshwayo. Mbuyazi set out with his followers, families and cattle, leaving
1998-425: The more effective short-stabbing spears. Conscripted men were segregated from the rest of Zulu society to be trained as an organized standing army called the amabutho . The alliance under his leadership survived Zwide's first assault at the Battle of Gqokli Hill (1818). Within two years, Shaka had defeated Zwide at the Battle of Mhlatuze River (1820) and broken up the Ndwandwe alliance, some of whom in turn began
2052-426: The native levies; in 1855 judicial assessor in native causes; and, in 1856, on the remodelling of the Natal government, secretary for native affairs and a member of the executive and legislative councils. This position he held until 1877. Thus for over thirty years, he was the director of native policy in Natal. A man of strong will and pronounced views he gained a great influence over the indigenous people, by whom he
2106-469: The native mission stations at which his father worked, and the boy acquired great proficiency in the indigenous languages of South Africa, a circumstance which determined his career. In the Xhosa War of 1835 he served as headquarters interpreter on the staff of the governor, Sir Benjamin d'Urban , and at the end of the campaign remained on the frontier as clerk to the agent for the local tribes. In 1838 he
2160-424: The nearby hill kwaMatiwane, and executed. Some allege that they were killed for withholding some of the cattle they recovered, but it is likely that the deal was a plot to overpower the Voortrekkers. Dingane's army then attacked and massacred a group of 250 Voortrekker men, women and children camped nearby. The site of this massacre is today called Weenen , ( Dutch for "to weep"). The remaining Voortrekkers elected
2214-518: The new province of KwaZulu-Natal . The name KwaZulu translates roughly as Place of Zulus , or more formally Zululand . The Zulu Kingdom is currently part of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal (of which the King of the Zulu Nation is the monarch), one of the country's nine provinces, under the leadership of King MisuZulu ka Zwelithini . A large portion of the territory is made up of wildlife reserves and
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2268-612: The organisation Inkatha YaKwaZulu to promote his royal claims, which became moribund and then was revived in the 1970s by Mangosuthu Buthelezi , chief minister of the KwaZulu bantustan. In December 1951, Solomon's son Cyprian Bhekuzulu kaSolomon was officially recognised as the Paramount Chief of the Zulu people, but real power over ordinary Zulu people lay with South African government officials working through local chiefs who could be removed from office for failure to cooperate. KwaZulu
2322-503: The period such as South African historian Jeff Guy implicate him in building a conspiracy to promote the invasion of the Zulu kingdom and its dismemberment by forces from Natal and the Transvaal. His motive seems to have been both to fill the increasing demand for labour in Natal colony and to win back the friendship of the Transvaal government. In 1833 Shepstone married Maria, daughter of Charles Palmer, commissary-general at Cape Town ; they had six sons and three daughters. One of his sons
2376-534: The protection of the Transvaal. Moreover, had the policy of self-government for the Boers which he outlined in his annexation proclamation been carried out, the revolt of 1880–81 might not have occurred. Shepstone remained in Pretoria as administrator of the Transvaal until January 1879; his rule was marked, according to Sir Bartle Frere , who described him as "a singular type of an Africander Talleyrand ," by an "apparent absence of all effort to devise or substitute
2430-496: The surrounding areas, culminating in the invasion of Swaziland in 1852. However, the British pressured him into withdrawing, which he did shortly. At this time, a battle for the succession broke out between two of Mpande's sons, Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi. This culminated in 1856 with the Battle of Ndondakusuka , which left Mbuyazi dead. Cetshwayo then set about usurping his father's authority. When Mpande died of old age in 1872, Cetshwayo took over as ruler. On 11 December 1878, with
2484-493: The throne. The academic Roberto Breschi notes that Zululand had a flag from 1884 to 1897 but this is pure conjecture as A.P. Burgers notes in his book. It consisted of three horizontal bands in equal width of gold, green and red. Dinuzulu made a pact with the Boers of his own, promising them land in return for their aid. The Boers were led by Louis Botha . Dinuzulu and the Boers defeated Zibhebhu in 1884. They were granted about half of Zululand individually as farms, and formed
2538-527: The throne. One of his first royal acts was to execute all of his royal kin. In the years that followed, he also executed many past supporters of Shaka in order to secure his position. One exception to these purges was Mpande , another half-brother, who was considered too weak to be a threat at the time. In the Cape Colony , increasing tensions between some Dutch Settlers and the British colonial authorities led to
2592-575: Was a bantustan in South Africa , intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital was moved from Nongoma to Ulundi in 1980. It was led until its abolition in 1994 by Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Zulu royal family and head of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). It was merged with the surrounding South African province of Natal to form
2646-455: Was a British South African statesman who was responsible for the annexation of the Transvaal to Britain in 1877. Shepstone is the great great grandfather of international artist Conor Mccreedy . Theophilus Shepstone was born at Westbury-on-Trym near Bristol , England. When he was three years old his father, the Rev. William Theophilus, emigrated to Cape Colony . Young Shepstone was educated at
2700-561: Was allowed to visit England. He had audiences with Queen Victoria and other famous personages before being allowed to return to Zululand to be reinstated as king. In 1883, Cetshwayo was put in place as king over a buffer reserve territory, much reduced from his original kingdom. Later that year, however, Cetshwayo was attacked at Ulundi by Zibhebhu , one of the 13 kinglets. Cetshwayo was wounded and fled. Cetshwayo died in February 1884, possibly poisoned. His son, Dinuzulu , then 15, inherited
2754-466: Was called "father old man," and given the nickname "Somtseu" (a famed black hunter) by the Zulus , allegedly when he fled before an elephant, but more likely in childhood. The main line of his policy was to maintain tribal customs as far as consistent with principles of humanity, and not to attempt to force the civilisation. The result of his policy remained traceable for some time in the condition and status of
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#17330931349552808-528: Was killed at the Battle of Isandlwana ; of the other sons H. C. Shepstone (born 1840) was secretary for native affairs in Natal from 1884 to 1893; Theophilus was adviser to the Swazis (1887–1891); and A. J. Shepstone (born 1852) served in various native expeditions, as assistant-commissioner in Zululand, in the South African War , 1899–1902, and became in 1909 secretary for native affairs (Natal) and secretary of
2862-585: Was one of the party sent from Cape Colony to occupy Port Natal on behalf of Britain. This force was recalled in 1839 when Shepstone was appointed British resident among the Fengu and other tribes in Kaffraria . Here he remained until the definite establishment of British rule in Natal and its organisation as an administrative entity, when Shepstone was made (1845) agent for the native tribes. In 1848 he became captain-general of
2916-464: Was the eldest son of the King Mpande kaSenzangakhona. Many of the izikhulu supported Cetshwayo, but Mpande favoured his next-eldest son Mbuyazi. Previous kings had succeeded to the throne through bloody means, and Mpande's successor would face the same trial. Mbuyazi was Mpande's second son by a widow of Shaka. The higher status was Mpande's justification that the elder Cetshwayo should be bypassed. At
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