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83-587: The Natal legislature established the Natal Mounted Police in 1874 following a rebellion by Chief Langalibalele . However, the Natal legislature were slow to appropriate funds for the organization. The first commandant was Major John George Dartnell (1838-1913) formerly of the 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot while the first enrolled trooper was Edward Babington of Londonderry in 1874. Dartnell later described his recruits as the: ...flotsam and jetsam of

166-405: A "diplomatic agent" who was to act on behalf of the native people who were subject to "native law" rather than "colonial law", "in so far as it was not repugnant to the dictates of humanity". From 1856 until 1877, the post of diplomatic agent was held by Sir Theophilus Shepstone , son of a missionary and who had been brought up at the mission station. King Langalibalele I (literally "the sun

249-468: A chief, summoned to the royal kraal in the manner in which Langalibilele had been summoned by the Natal Government, was often executed or at the very least had his cattle and wives confiscated. He also explained that his personal interest in the case was the protection that he had received from Langalibilele's namesake during the latter stages of his journey to Lourenco Marques. The ruling government of

332-677: A claim to a kingship. South Africa Medal (1880) The South Africa Medal (1880) , often referred to as the Zulu War Medal , is a campaign medal instituted in 1880 and awarded by the British Government to members of the British Army , Royal Naval Brigade and Colonial Volunteers who were involved in a series of South African tribal wars in the Cape of Good Hope , Colony of Natal and Transvaal between 1877 and 1879, most notably for

415-500: A larger force overran his fortress in November 1879. The defenders of the fortress were killed almost to a man, largely by African soldiery. Even though an independent commission had adjudged in 1878 that most of the Zulu claims to border territories were justified, the repeated infractions and raids which were either perpetrated or provoked by the Zulu subjects of Cetshwayo led to a decision by

498-425: A lengthy process, apply for exemption from native law. As of 1876, no indigenous people had successfully made such an application. The trial of Langalibalele started on 16 January 1874 and was described by Pearse as a "disgrace to British justice". Langalibalele was tried under native law with Pine and Shepstone, the chief accusers presiding over the court without the assistance of a Supreme Court judge. Langalibalele

581-522: A long history of escapes including escaping being killed by the AmaZulu Clan. In 1848 King Mpande of AmaZulu Clan summoned King Langalibilele I to the royal kraal. King Langalibalele I, mindful of what had happened to his brother King Dlomo III, refused, and King Mpande, incensed by King Langalibalele I's refusal, launched an attack. The AmaHlubi and the *AmaPutini* fled across the Buffalo River into

664-465: A neighbouring state with the custody of a prisoner, who, if released, could increase the threat of war on the Cape frontier or Natal. It was argued that Langalibalele had been tried under Native Law, and that this should be honoured, regardless of how harsh the sentence seemed. The resulting bill to have Langalibalele released from Robben island faced opposition in the Cape's Legislature, and only succeeded when

747-593: A number of nurses received the Egypt Medal for their services during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War , the committee's decision was reversed. This was therefore the earliest campaign in which women received a British campaign medal. The campaigns were the Gaika-Gcaleka War from 26 September 1877 to 28 June 1878, the action against Chief Pokwane from 21 to 28 January 1878, the Griqua War from 24 April to 13 November 1878,

830-679: A proclamation announcing the establishment of British authority over the Transvaal . No overt opposition was made to the annexation The Natal Mounted Police saw little action until the Zulu War of 1879 when it was attached to the British Army as part of the Colonial mounted force and entered into the Zulu Kingdom with the Central Column under the command of Lord Chelmsford . One detachment of 97 men of

913-681: A small British settlement at Port Natal (later to become Durban) but the British Government declined to take possession of the port. From 1834 onwards, the Voortrekkers (Dutch-speaking farmers) started to migrate from the Cape Colony in large numbers and in 1837 crossed the Drakensberg into KwaZulu-Natal where, after the murder of one of their leaders, Piet Retief , in the massacre at Weenen they defeated King Shaka's successor King Dingane at

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996-615: A staunch believer in the expansion of the British Empire bore the brunt of the criticism – both his theological views and his liberal views towards the native population were unpopular in the Natal Colony. To a lesser extent Durnford's views that were similar to Colenso's, and although he had held his nerve during the confrontation with the amaHlubi at the top of the Bushmans River Pass, he was ostracised from local society. One of

1079-661: A team from the Royal Engineers caught the Boers off-guard and forced them to withdraw and abandon their guns. The Royal Engineers placed explosives on a howitzer artillery piece and a Long Tom , taking the breechblock from the Long Tom and removing a Maxim gun back to Ladysmith. Being on the other side of a hill the Natal Police did not hear the bugle call "retire" and were late returning to Ladysmith . The NP saw further action during

1162-583: A united nation until King Shaka kaSenzangakhona united them once again in over 350 years, by attacking neighbouring clans and assimilating the survivors; his actions led to The Great Scattering . At the time of King Langalibalele I's birth, European settlements in Southern Africa were confined to the British controlled Cape Colony and to the Portuguese fortress of Lourenço Marques . In 1824 Fynn established

1245-524: A year before his own death, so that Prince Langalibalele I became king of the AmaHlubi . Under the guidance of Zimane, the great man in the AmaHlubi kingdom, that King Langalibalele I was circumcised and initiated into the rituals of the kingdom. He then took his first wife – he was later to take another three wives. Prince Duba, Princess Mini and Prince Luphalule were King Langalibalele I's half brothers & sister who plotted to have him killed and eaten by

1328-491: Is shining"), He was the second son of King Mthimkhulu II who was born in 1818 and was originally known as Prince Midinga. In 1818 King Dingiswayo of AbaThethwa clan attacked and looted the amaNgwana clan who, to replenish their losses of cattle, and than attacked the AmaHlubi . when King Mthimkhulu II died in the ensuing battle and as both Prince Langalibalele I and his elder brother Prince Dlomo III were Still children, and so King Mthimkhulu II's brother Prince Mahwanqa assumed

1411-625: The Anglo-Zulu War and the First Anglo-Boer War , among other conflicts. In the end, the confederation plan came to naught. The year before the rebellion, the Cape Colony had been granted responsible government and in Natal there was agitation for a similar form of government. The Colonial Office however reviewed the role of native law and in 1875 established the Native High Court which

1494-523: The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. In 1854, Queen Victoria had given approval for the award of the South Africa Medal (1853) to members of the British Army who had served in any one of the three South African Xhosa Wars of 1834–36, 1846–47 and 1850–53 on the Eastern Frontier of the Cape of Good Hope. Between 1877 and 1879 a number of particularly difficult punitive expeditions were mounted by

1577-629: The Battle of Blood River , and they put his youngest brother King Mpande on the AmaZulu throne and established the republic of Natalia . Friction between the Voortrekkers and the AmaPondo nation , a kingdom whose territory lay between Natalia and the Cape Colony, led to the British occupying Port Natal, the subsequent Battle of Congella followed by the siege and relief of the port. After the port had been relieved,

1660-633: The Battle of Rorke's Drift , where one of them, Sidney Hunter, was killed in action. The first detachment of the NMP under Dartnell returned to Isandlwana on the evening of the battle where they spent the night among the ruins of the camp and the bodies of their colleagues before accompanying Lord Chelmsford 's relief column on its advance to Rorke's Drift early the next morning. When Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived in Durban in July 1879 to supersede Lord Chelmsford as commander of

1743-469: The Battle of Ulundi , after which most of the Zulu chiefs sought peace. Cetshwayo became a fugitive and was eventually captured and imprisoned in Cape Town. The medal was struck in silver and is a disk, 36 millimetres in diameter, with a swivelling suspender. The medal's obverse displays the diademed head of Queen Victoria, facing left. The medal is inscribed "VICTORIA" at left and "REGINA" at right around

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1826-611: The First Anglo-Boer War ) (1880–81) when the NMP was used to form a mounted military force on the border with the Transvaal. When after these Rebellions normal policing duties were resumed, men of the NMP provided an escort for the Empress Eugénie in 1880 when she came to Natal to see where her son, Napoléon the Prince Imperial , had been killed the previous year during the Zulu War . The only campaign medals ever awarded to men of

1909-677: The Siege of Ladysmith . The Natal Police came under fire at Lombard's Kop on 30 October 1899. At Ladysmith the Natal Police had one man killed and three wounded while a further three died of disease. On 7 December 1899 during the Siege the Natal Volunteers and the Imperial Light Horse launched a night attack from Ladysmith on Gun Hill with the Natal Police guarding the left flank during the action. The Imperial Light Horse and Natal Carbineers with

1992-573: The amaHlubi people presented a Submission to the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims under the Framework Act to recognise Ingonyama Muziwenkosi ka Tatazela ka Siyephu ka Langalibalele, otherwise known as Langalibalele II as king of the amaHlubi . However, in 2010 the Nhlapo Commission found that since the amaHlubi has been dispersed before the colonial era they did not have

2075-595: The 17th century, they had certainly settled there and displaced the Bushmen, who migrated into the foothills of the Drakensberg . The amaHlubi , a Bantu tribe speaking a Tekela dialect, had settled in the northern part of the province between the Buffalo and Blood Rivers . During the first decade of the nineteenth century the AbaThethwa King Dingiswayo , a neighbour of the AmaHlubi , set about consolidating

2158-557: The 1850s military levies and a hut tax were imposed on the native population who lived within the limits of the Colony. In 1873 a marriage tax of £5 imposed by the colonial government caused much resentment. The discovery of diamonds in Kimberley , in the British Colony of Griqualand West , attracted thousand of workers, black and white. Many young men from the amaHlubi became labourers on

2241-591: The Boers withdrew. The Siege of Ladysmith ended on 28 February 1900 when an advance party of the Composite Regiment of the Mounted Brigade reached Ladysmith which including 15 members of the Natal Police. Those men of the Natal Police who were not at Ladysmith when it was besieged were excused police duties and instead served in a military role with the Natal Police Field Force (NPFF). One section

2324-521: The British against Xhosa, Zulu and Basuto tribes in the eastern area of the Cape of Good Hope and northern Natal, as well as against the Bapedi of Chief Sekhukhune in the northern Transvaal. In 1880 a medal was sanctioned for these campaigns, which was a new version of the South Africa Medal (1853) with minor alterations to the reverse design. While Army Order no. 103 of August 1880, which instituted

2407-493: The British as a threat to his rule and embarked upon a programme to equip his army with muskets, while inciting revolts among other tribes all along the British and Boer borders with the Zulus. Actions to counter these revolts and attacks escalated and led to reinforcements being sent from Britain over the course of 1878 to quell Cetshwayo and his uprisings. The Gaika-Gcaleka War was a series of punitive campaigns which resulted from

2490-517: The British commissioner in the area, Sir Henry Bartle Frere , to finally reduce the independence of the Zulu Kingdom. He demanded a complete disarmament on the part of the Zulus and the imposition of a British residency. When Cetshwayo ignored this demand, British forces invaded Zululand in January 1879. After an initial British defeat in the Battle of Isandlwana , reinforcements ensured British victory in

2573-674: The Cape Prime Minister himself threatened to resign if it was not passed. The pressure to reconsider the sentence grew, and in August 1875, after Carnarvon, the Colonial Secretary had finally referred the case back to the courts in the Cape Colony , Langalibalele was allowed to leave Robben Island. He was obliged to remain in the Cape Colony for the time being, until 1887 when he was permitted to return to Natal. On his return to Natal, he

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2656-530: The Chief was immediately transferred. Almost immediately after Langalibalele arrived at Robben island, information began to surface across southern Africa about the unfair nature of the Chief's treatment. Doubts were soon raised about the fairness of the trial, and about whether Langalibalele actually intended to rebel at all. John Colenso , first Bishop of Natal , led the outcry. He journeyed to England to plead Langalibalele's case personally and succeeded in getting

2739-647: The Colonial police forces were wound down with the Natal Police ceasing to exist in 1913. Its police officers were reassigned to military units including the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the South African Mounted Riflemen or into the South African Police or the South African Prisons Service. Langalibalele#The rebellion Langalibalele ( isiHlubi : meaning 'The blazing sun', also known as Mthethwa, Mdingi (c 1814 – 1889),

2822-400: The Colony as lieutenant governor in July 1873 ordered the arrest of Langalibalele. Meanwhile, Langalibalele and his people made plans to flee to Basutoland (modern Lesotho ) via the Bushmans River Pass. The Natal Colonial government proposed a three-pronged police operation with military support to arrest Langalibalele – initially Lieutenant Colonel Miles was to have overall command, but he

2905-540: The Drakensberg. It was hoped that the AmaHlubi would provide a buffer between the bushmen and the settlers and so protect the settlers' cattle from the bushmen. This area proved too small and within a few years, the Hlubi kingdom settlement had spread to over 6000 km . The British Government required that the colonies be self-supporting in so far as was possible, resulting in various taxes being imposed on all residents. In

2988-520: The Gcaleka peoples, to the Cape of Good Hope. Once the Gaika-Gcaleka War was settled, those forces not embroiled in the developing conflict in Zululand were employed against a Basuto tribe in the northern Transvaal, the Bapedi of Chief Sekhukhune , whose raids had begun to affect tribes under British protection. After an initial sally against his fortress at Thaba Ya Leolo in late 1878 had proved ineffective,

3071-593: The Klip River country and King Langalibilele I appealed to Martin West , the lieutenant governor of Natal for protection. In December 1849, after negotiations in which Shepstone exhibited considerable diplomacy, the *AmaChibi* , now reduced to 7000 in number, were granted 364 km of good land on the banks of the Little Bushmans River, between the newly established European settlement of Bushmans River ( Estcourt ) and

3154-497: The NMP led by Major Dartnell was sent to find the location of the Zulu army of Cetshwayo kaMpande while the second detachment of 34 men fought in the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879. Of this second detachment 25 were killed in the battle with 21 killed fighting alongside 19 Natal Carbineers in a 'last stand' defending Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Durnford . Three men of the NMP were in hospital at Rorke's Drift where they fought in

3237-572: The Natal Mounted Police mustered 50 whites and 150 Africans; it was seriously under-manned and poorly equipped yet nevertheless managed to gain an enviable reputation for camaraderie and efficient policing. The first headquarters were at Fort Napier in Pietermaritzburg . In 1877, twenty-five men of the Natal Mounted Police provided the protective escort for Sir Theophilus Shepstone , the Special Commissioner, when he went to Pretoria to issue

3320-465: The Natal Mounted Police were earned during this period. These were 257 awards of the South Africa Medal (1877–79) for service during the Zulu War and the Cape of Good Hope General Service Medal for service during the Basutoland Rebellion. After 1881 police out-stations were set up across Natal with policing often consisting of long patrols in remote locations. By 1885 the roll-call of the NMP

3403-541: The Voortrekkers withdrew from KwaZulu-Natal into the interior and the British established the Colony of Natal . The following decades saw the rise of the British industrial base – emigration was used to control unemployment and thereby boost the British economy. The Colony of Natal was one destination of such emigrants. In 1856 the colony was granted representative government by the British Government with responsible government following in 1895. The British government appointed

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3486-479: The action against Chief Sekhukhune in late 1878, the Anglo-Zulu War from 11 January to 1 September 1879, the action against the uprising in Basutoland under Chief Moirosi from 25 March to 20 November 1879 and the second action against Chief Sekhukhune from 11 November to 2 December 1879. King Cetshwayo kaMpande became King of the Zulus in 1873, but had been their effective ruler since 1856. Cetshwayo perceived

3569-741: The attacks of the Gcaleka and Gaika tribes on a protected people, the Fengu . The campaigns against the insurgent Gcaleka and Gaika lasted some eight months and were carried out by local Colonial Forces as well as contingents of both the British Army and the Royal Navy serving ashore. The Gaika-Gcaleka War, which became known as the Ninth Cape Frontier War , ended with the annexation of the Transkei , homeland of

3652-595: The campaigns in South Africa between September 1877 and December 1879. The military operations during this period were a series of separate campaigns against specific tribes and the unrest would eventually culminate in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. Hence, the medal is often referred to as the Zulu War Medal. Fourteen medals without clasp were awarded to nurses who served in Natal during the Anglo-Zulu War. A War Office committee, appointed to consider their claim, had previously ruled against granting medals, there being no precedent to award campaign medals to women. However, after

3735-425: The cannibals. Prince Duba asked King Langalibalele I to accompany him to his mother's place at the AmaJuba Clan mountains. King Langalibalele I was tied to a pole. It is said he was saved by girls who saw King Langalibalele I and reported the matter to Gxiva, his friend. Gxiva managed to release King Langalibalele I who escaped during the night and crossed the Mzinyathi river which was in flood. King Langalibalele I had

3818-503: The case returned to the South African courts. Charles Rawden Maclean (John Ross) wrote a letter to the editor of The Times in support of Langalibalele. In 1824 Maclean had been shipwrecked at Port Natal as a boy and stranded with his companions for four years. In 1827 he walked to Lourenco Marques, some 600 km away to obtained medical supplies. In his letter, Maclean, who had spent much of his time in Southern Africa at Shaka's royal kraal, described that in traditional African society

3901-470: The clasp. Only one clasp was awarded with each medal. In addition, 5,610 no clasp medals were awarded to members of the military who, during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, had been mobilised in Natal but who had not crossed the Tugela River into Zululand . This included Naval shore parties. Since fighting was confined to the northern side of the Tugela, the no-clasp medals are frequently viewed as non-combat awards. The number, rank, name and regiment of

3984-403: The colonial authorities of Natal demanded that the guns be registered; Langalibalele refused and a stand-off ensued, resulting in a violent skirmish in which British troops were brutally killed. Langalibalele ran across the mountains into Basutoland , but was kidnapped, tried and banished to Robben Island . He after 30 years, returned to his home, but remained under life arrest. His imprisonment

4067-503: The colony, and a very rough lot they proved to be, being principally old soldiers and sailors, transport riders, and social failures from home, etc. They were, however, a very fine, hardy lot of men, ready to go anywhere and do anything, and very willing and cheerful if a little troublesome in town; but in the country, away from temptation, they were excellent men who grumbled occasionally, of course, but were more inclined to laugh at and make light of discomfort and hardship. In its early days

4150-453: The east. Alison and Barter were to travel under cover of darkness and to meet up at the top of the Bushmans River Pass on Monday 3 November 1873 at 0600 hrs and block Langalibalele's flight. The entire force comprised 200 British troops, 300 Natal Volunteers and about 6000 Africans. To the south, Durnford accompanied Barter and led by native guides followed the route across countryside that much more rugged than expected and they ended up to

4233-409: The evening of 5 January 1900 when a picket near Caesar's Camp (named after Caesar's Camp , an ancient feature near Aldershot which it resembled) were fired on during a major assault by the Boers on the British at Wagon Hill. Early next morning the Boers shot the horses of the NP forcing them to make their own way back by foot at the same time enduring withering rifle fire. After a British counterattack

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4316-409: The first casualties were a Natal Police picket at De Jager's Drift who were captured by the Boers. Consequently all the men of the Natal Police in northern Natal were sent to Dundee where they fought in the Battle of Talana Hill on 20 October 1899. The British forces including 90 men of the Natal Police under the command of Colonel Dartnell then retired to Ladysmith where they became besieged during

4399-433: The forces in the Zulu War and as Governor of Natal and the Transvaal and the High Commissioner of Southern Africa the Natal Mounted Police provided his escort during his visit to Zululand in the final days of the War. Natal Mounted Policemen later served in the Basuto Gun War (1880–81), where they defended the passes of the Drakensberg against attack from the Basuto , and the Transvaal Rebellion (also known as

4482-416: The medal was instituted in 1880 to recognise service in a number of campaigns over the preceding three years to bring the eastern area of the Cape of Good Hope and northern Natal under British control, which effectively meant the pacification by force of the local tribes. The medal could be awarded to all personnel, including British regular forces, Colonial Volunteers and native levies, who had served in any of

4565-421: The mines and some were paid in guns rather than in money, a practice that was legal in Griqualand West . The Hlubi labourers habitually brought these guns back to their home in the Natal Colony, upon returning from the mines. In 1873, John Macfarlane, then magistrate in Estcourt, ordered that Langalibalele hand in his people's guns for registration. As Langlibalele did not know who held guns, he refused to enforce

4648-401: The new South Africa Medal (1880), made no mention of any change in design of the 1854 medal, the year "1853" in the older medal's reverse exergue was replaced by a military trophy consisting of a Zulu ox-hide shield and four crossed assegais . The obverse of the new medal remained identical to that of the earlier medal. A total of approximately 36,600 medals were awarded. The new version of

4731-441: The nineteenth century, the Colony of Natal had two systems of law – colonial law which applied to settlers and which was based on Roman Dutch law and native law which applied to the indigenous population and which was based on traditional tribal law. Native law was administered by the indigenous chiefs and, "in so far it was not repugnant to the dictates of humanity", was upheld by colonial magistrates. Indigenous people could, after

4814-478: The order of wear prescribed by the British Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood , but are grouped together as taking precedence after the Queen's Medal for Chiefs and before the Polar Medals , in order of the date of the campaign for which awarded. On 6 April 1952 the Union of South Africa instituted its own range of military decorations and medals. These new awards were worn before all earlier British decorations and medals awarded to South Africans, with

4897-430: The order. Walker records that the government named eight men who were to be ordered to register their guns and that after some hesitation, Langalibalele sent in five of the named eight men. Pearse on the other hand records that Langalibalele himself was ordered to appear before Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs and that Langalibalele refused on grounds of ill health. In the event, Sir Benjamin Pine, who arrived in

4980-404: The perimeter. The reverse shows a crouching lion on a plinth in front of a protea bush with a single flower. The medal is inscribed "SOUTH AFRICA" around the top perimeter and has a military trophy consisting of a Zulu ox-hide shield and four crossed assegais in the exergue. Seven clasps were awarded, inscribed as shown below, to recipients who had served in a campaign in the year(s) denoted on

5063-489: The protection of Chief Molapo. After the assassination of King Shaka kaSenzangakhona in 1828, Prince Mahwanqa returned to the AmaHlubi's traditional lands. Since Prince Mahwanqa was not subject to King Dingane , King Shaka's successor, he set about rebuilding his army. Once Prince Dlomo III came of age, Prince Mahwanqa was reluctant to relinquish the regency and wished to transfer the Kingship to Prince Langalibalele I, but Prince Mahwanqa's troops revolted and Prince Mahwanqa

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5146-404: The protectorate via the Orange Free State and on 11 December reached a spot in the Maluti Mountains that bore evidence of Langalibalele having recently been there. In reality, Langalibalele had thrown himself at the mercy of the Basuto chief Molapo, but Molapo had already handed Langalibalele over to a local force who, on 13 December, handed him and five of his sons over to Allison. During most of

5229-484: The recipient is engraved on the rim of the medal in capital letters. The ribbon is similar to that of the South Africa Medal (1853), but with wider blue pinstripe bands. It is 32 millimetres wide, with a 2½ millimetres wide golden yellow band, a 4 millimetres wide blue band, a 3 millimetres wide golden yellow band and a 1 millimetre wide blue band, repeated in reverse order and separated by an 11 millimetres wide golden yellow band. Campaign medals are not listed by name in

5312-452: The regency. Prince Mahwanqa, rather than resolve the differences with the amaNgwana, fled northwards across the Pongola river (northern boundary of KwaZulu-Natal) to the Wakkerstroom area of Mpumalanga with the two boys where he sought sanctuary amongst the AmaNgwana Clan. Other members of the tribe fled southwards to Pondoland , or westwards to the Orange Free State and the Basutoland ; those fleeing to Basutoland placing themselves under

5395-402: The semi-independent Cape Colony soon came to the conclusion that Langalibalele had been unjustly sentenced, though much of the Cape's legislature on the other hand remained wary of the Hlubi chief. The Cape government Minister and spokesman John X. Merriman publicly condemned the trial ( "Natal Prisoner's Bill" ) and demanded that it be considered illegitimate. The Cape government at the time

5478-468: The south of Giants Castle, not to the north where the pass lay. After a consultation, the guides took the party up the Hlatimba Pass, some 20 km south of the Bushmans River Pass. After negotiating the 2867 m summit of the pass, Durnford and his force consisting of 33 carbineers and 25 Basuto proceeded to the top of the Bushmans River pass where they intercepted the amaHlubi tribesmen 24 hours later than expected. Durnford attempted to negotiate with

5561-468: The tribal elders while Barter and the rest of the party covered him. Some of the British forces lost their nerve and shots were fired. Durnford and his men retreated back down the Hlatimba Pass having lost five of their number. Allison had meanwhile failed to find the Champagne Castle Pass. On 11 November martial law was declared in the Natal colony, and two flying columns, one under Allison, were sent to search for Langalibalele in Basutoland . They entered

5644-404: The underlying causes of the Langalibalele "rebellion" was an inconsistent policy in the various British colonies towards the native populations and in particular the ownership of guns. In the United Kingdom, Lord Carnarvon who returned to the post of Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1874 proposed a confederation of states in Southern Africa, under the control of Britain, but in reality this

5727-416: The various Nguni people under his leadership. In 1818 he was killed in battle and after a civil war, power passed into the hands of one of his lieutenants, Shaka , King of the Zulu clan. King Shaka expanded the Zulu clan into a kingdom for the first time since King Malandela KaLuzumana died way back in the year 1551, where he divided the kingdom into two clans, AmaZulu and AmaQwabe, thus they were no longer

5810-458: Was 300 white officers and 25 Africans. In 1894 the Natal Mounted Police was merged with the Colony of Natal 's various police and prison services to create the Natal Police (NP), the name it was known by until it was disbanded in 1913. Commandant John Dartnell was appointed the first Chief Commissioner of Police of the new force. The Natal Police were the first to introduce finger-printing in Africa for use in forensic identification. The scheme

5893-411: Was a euphemism for a common native policy. While his proposed native policy was too liberal for the Boer republics , it was considered too harsh by the Cape's government, which also rejected the way in which it was to be forcibly imposed on southern Africa from outside. The ill-fated confederation scheme also required the British annexation of the remaining independent states of southern Africa, leading to

5976-506: Was a watermark in South African political history that split the colonial population of the Colony of Natal. The Bushmen , a hunter-gatherer people, were the original inhabitants of the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal. Historians are divided as to when the Bantu , a pastoral people, first migrated southward into the province, although most think it was well before 1200. By the end of

6059-471: Was an improvement in the colony's security and the search for a scapegoat. Security was improved by the Governor of the Cape Colony , Sir Henry Barkly , sending a contingent of 200 men to Natal while both the neighbouring Boer Republics mobilised men to prevent Langalibalele seeking help for the Zulu king Cetshwayo . With most of the colonists supporting the colonial government, Colenso, who had once been

6142-644: Was confined to the Swartkop location near Pietermaritzburg. He never regained his power as leader of the Hlubi; he died in 1889 and was buried at Ntabamhlope, 25 kilometres west of Estcourt . In keeping with the amaHlubi tradition, his burial place was kept secret until in October 1950 his grandson revealed the site to the Native Commissioner in Estcourt. The immediate reaction to the failure to apprehend Langalibalele

6225-468: Was denied the right to have a counsel until the third day of the trial, the counsel was not permitted to interview the prisoner nor was he permitted to cross-examine the witnesses. Langalibalele was sentenced to banishment for life and as the Colony of Natal had no suitable place of detention, the neighbouring Cape Colony to the west was prevailed upon to make Robben Island available for Langalibalele's imprisonment. British Governor Henry Barkly assented and

6308-524: Was dominated by liberals, and their arguments on the matter were twofold. Firstly, they insisted that no white man would have been sentenced so severely, that the Natal court had therefore been guilty of racial prejudice, and that Langalibalele "had been victimised because of his colour". Secondly, they argued that, as a locally elected government, they neither fell under Natal's jurisdiction, nor were obliged to follow British imperial requests in this regard. In response, many stated that they had been entrusted by

6391-425: Was king of the amaHlubi , a Bantu tribe in what is the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal , South Africa. He was born on the edge of the arrival of European settlers in the province. After conflict with the Zulu king Mpande , he fled with his people to the Colony of Natal in 1848. During the diamond rush of the 1870s, many of his men worked on the mines in Kimberley , where they acquired firearms. In 1879

6474-606: Was launched by Sub-Inspector W. J. Clarke of the Natal Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who was impressed by the effective use of finger-printing for solving crime in Calcutta in 1897 and who tried to introduce the system in Natal in 1898. His superiors in the Natal Police did not share his enthusiasm for this new forensic innovation so Clarke launched the system at his own expense. Once it had proved its worth by leading to more arrests and crime-solving finger-printing became part of normal police procedure in Natal. So effective

6557-654: Was not happy with many details and was happy to hand command over to Major Durnford . The plan was for Captain Allison to cross the Drakensberg via the Champagne Castle Pass , some 25 km to the north of the Bushmans River Pass, Captain Barter was to cross the Drakensberg via the Giants Castle Pass , some 10 km to the south of the Bushmans River Pass while other forces would approach Langalibalele's territory from

6640-556: Was slain in the ensuing battle. Then Prince Dlomo III took over; on taking the Kingship he paid a visit to the then AmaZulu king Dingane at the royal kraal in UMGungundlovu where he argued that the best course would be for him King Dlomo III to retain the Kingship of the AmaChibi and than King Dingane should return his cattle. King Dingane however ordered the murder of King Dlomo III in 1839,

6723-459: Was the bodyguard for General Sir Redvers Buller VC when he was appointed to the Command of the British forces in Natal. Dartnell retired in 1903 as Major-General Sir John Dartnell, KCB, CB The 1,100 men of the Natal Police saw action during the 1906 Natal Rebellion which broke out in Natal during a Zulu revolt against British rule and taxation. Following the unification of South Africa in 1910

6806-508: Was the system that by 1910 the Natal Police's CID had more sets of finger-prints in its records than Scotland Yard had in its. Clarke was to succeed Dartnell as Chief Commissioner on his retirement in 1903 When in September 1899 war with the Boer Republic looked likely the men of the Natal Police were put on alert and used to watch the borders. When war was eventually declared in October 1899

6889-420: Was to rule on matters pertaining to native law. Responsible government did not come to Natal until 1895, over twenty years after the rebellion. Langalibalele's legacy continued into the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In 1990, shortly after his own release from Robben Island Nelson Mandela laid a wreath on Langalibalele's grave in recognition of Langalibalele's own internment there. In 2005

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