|
The
Life and Times of the Kings of the
Zulu |
Senzangakhona,
is chief of a small clan known as
the Zulu.
Shaka
is born near present-day Melmoth sometime
in the mid-1780's.
His mother, Nandi, is a member of
the eLangeni tribe and his father
is Senzangakhona.
Shaka's parents' marriage fails and
Nandi is forced to take refuge amongst
the Mthethwa clan. |
1780 |
The
social system of the Nguni people
is based on a network of numerous
clans, each numbering no more than
1000 in population and occupying
no more than
about 2000 hectares.
The people survive
on subsistence farming with the
womenfolk responsible for the growing
of crops such as maize, sorghum,
pumpkins and beans while the men
build the distinctive beehive homesteads
woven with saplings and grass. Their
most important task is to tend their
herds of cattle which provide meat
and milk. |
| Shaka
is taken under the wing of Dingiswayo,
the powerful leader of the Mthethwa,
and proves himself as a promising
young soldier. |
|
| Senzangakhona
dies and Shaka is named Chief of
the Zulu.
Shaka immediately imposes a ramrod
discipline over his troops and develops
innovative battle strategies. |
1816 |
It is said his men
can march over 80 kms in under 24
hours with no food and little water
and then still fight a full-scale
battle.
|
|
|
1819 |
Shaka
defeats his powerful rivals as
more and more clans tender their
allegiance to the Zulu clan and
call themselves Zulu.
By now, Shaka reigns
supreme and is absolute master
of practically all clans and chiefdoms
north of uThukela river and south
of uPhongolo river.
|
| Shaka's
influence extends to the foothills
of the Drakensberg and uMzimkhulu
river in the south. |
1824 |
British
settlers establish a base at Port
Natal (Durban) and thrive under
Shaka's protection, hunting for
ivory and trading with the Zulus. |
Nandi
dies of dysentry and this is followed
by a period of mourning during which
thousands of people are reportedly
killed.
Resistance to his rule develops within
the Royal Family. |
1827 |
Shaka
moves his capital to kwaDukuza (Stanger)
to increase his authority south
of uThukela. |
Shaka
is assassinated by his two half-brothers,
Dingane and Mhlangana.
Dingane is declared the new king. |
1828 |
King
Dingane is obliged to embark on
an extensive purge of pro-Shaka
chiefs in order to secure his position. |
| |
1837 |
The
Voortrekkers, of Dutch descent,
begin arriving on the western boundaries
of the Zulu kingdom on their trek
away from the Cape colony. This
leads to a series of small skirmishes. |
| Pieter
Retief, a Voortrekker leader,
and his followers are killed at uMgungundlovu
following negotiations over land concessions
with Dingane. |
1838 |
The
Voortrekkers, seeking vengeance
on Dingane, engage the Zulu army
in the Battle of Blood River (the
Ncome River), leaving over 3000
Zulu soldiers dead and four Voortrekker
men wounded. |
| With
the aid of the Voortrekkers, Dingane's
half-brother Mpande leads a successful
revolt against Dingane, who is forced
to seek refuge north of uPhongolo
river. |
1840 |
Dingane
is assassinated near the present-day
border with Swaziland by members
of the local Nyawo clan. |
 Mpande,
the third of Senzangakhona's sons
to rule the Zulus, is proclaimed
king.
King
Mpande establishes his royal residence
at kwaNodwengu on the Mahlabathini
plain.
|
1850 |
Mpande
opens Zululand to Christian missionaries
and allows Hans Schreuder of the
Norwegian Missionary Society to
establish a station near the mouth
of uMhlatuze river. |
The
Zulu nation is threatened by civil
war over the the issue of succession.
Mpande's
sons clash at the bloody Battle of
Ndondakusuka on the banks of the Thukela
river.
Cetshwayo is victorious but thousands
- including six of the king's sons
- are slaughtered or drown. Historians
regard this as the bloodiest battle
ever fought on South African soil.
|
1856 |
Natal
becomes a British
colony with uThukela river as
its border with Zululand. |
| Mpande,
now old, ailing and unable to walk,
names Cetshwayo as his heir-apparent
and Cetshwayo takes increasing control
of the Zulu Kingdom. |
1861 |
Cetshwayo
establishes John
Dunn as his 'white chief' on
the coastal region between the Thukela
and uMhlatuze rivers. |
Mpande
dies at the age of 74 and Cetshwayo
is proclaimed the new king.
King Cetshwayo moves his capital to
oNdini. |
1872 |
Tensions
develop over land disputes along
the western boundaries with the
Boer settlers. |
 |
1877 |
Britain
annexes the Transvaal Boer Republic
and inherits the inflammatory border
disputes between the Boers and the
Zulus. |
Following
a series of border incidents, Cetshwayo
is presented with an ultimatum
by the British calling for the disbanding
of the Zulu army and the subservience
of the Zulu king to the British.
The Zulu army prepares for war. |
1878 |
John
Dunn deserts Cetshwayo and takes
refuge in Natal. |
| Cetshwayo
ignores the ultimatum deadline date
and the following day British forces
invade the Zulu Kingdom.
The
war continues for another 6 months
until King Cetshwayo is defeated
at the Battle of Ulundi and he flees
his capital.
Cetshwayo
surrenders to the British at Ngome
Forest and is taken to Cape Town
as a prisoner of war.
|
1879 |
One
of the first battles of the Anglo-Zulu
War ends in a victory for the
Zulu at Isandlwana. Some 1300
British soldiers are slaughtered.
Within hours a small group of
100 British soldiers successfully
defend a mission hospital for
12 hours against 4000 Zulu soldiers.
Cetshwayo's
capital oNdini and other royal
homesteads in the area are burnt
to the ground and the Zulu army
is dispersed across Zululand.
The British divide the Zulu Kingdom
into 13 independent chiefdoms
and appoint men amenable to British
control.
John Dunn is re-instated as chief
of the coastal region north of
uThukela.
|
Cetshwayo
is allowed to sail to England for
an audience with Queen
Victoria to present his case. |
1882 |
|
Cetshwayo
returns to Zululand and is restored
as monarch but with limited powers.
Cetshwayo is speared
in the thigh while trying to flee
the attack on his capital by neighbouring
rival chiefs.
He hides in Nkandla forest before
finding refuge in Eshowe.
|
1883 |
Clashes
between pro-Cetshwayo factions and
the independent chiefs lead to a
bitter civil war. |
Cetshwayo
suddenly collapses and dies after
eating a midday meal.
 Cetshwayo's
15-year-old-son, Dinuzulu, is
proclaimed king.
King Dinuzulu recruits help from
the Boers to deal with internal
opposition.
|
1884 |
The
true cause of his death is never
ascertained.
He is buried in uThukela
valley below Nkandla forest.
Dinuzulu's
main rivals are routed at the
Battle of Tshaneni along uMkhuze
river but as reward for their
assistance, the Boers claim a
large portion of northen Zululand
- including access to the sea
at St
Lucia.
|
Britain
annexes most of Zululand as a British
colony with Eshowe
as its capital.
Dinuzulu
refuses to recognise the move and
Britain responds by returning his
arch rival Zibhebhu to his former
chiefdom. |
1887 |
Administration
of the new colony is to be paid
by a hut tax enforced on all Zulus.
Renewed
unrest breaks out with Dinuzulu
and his supporters taking on the
British as well as their Zulu
collaborators.
|
| Dinuzulu
is charged and found guilty of high
treason and banished to the island
of St Helena. |
1889 |
The
colony of Zululand is annexed to
Natal. |
Dinuzulu
returns to Zululand not as king
but as a chief. |
1898 |
|
Zululand
Lands Delimitation Commission opens
up 40 percent of the land for farming
and commerce for white settlers.
Dinuzulu is again charged with treason
after the Bhambatha
Rebellion against the hut tax
and he is banished to a farm in the
Transvaal. |
1903 |
Zululand
and the Boer Republic merge with
Natal after the Anglo-Boer War.
In
1910 Natal becomes a province of
the Union of South Africa. |
| Dinuzulu
dies and is succeeded by his son Solomon,
who was born on St Helena. |
1913 |
The
government of the Union of South
Africa denies Solomon official recognition
as the King of the Zulu. It will
only recognise him as Chief of the
uSuthu clan. |
| King
Solomon is succeeded at his death
by his brother Arthur as regent until
Solomon's son, Cyprian, comes of age
in 1948. |
1933 |
A
renewed sense of Zulu national consciousness
and pride in its pre-colonial past
develops around the 20th Century royal
house. |
 King
Cyprian is succeeded by his son, King
Goodwill Zwelithini. |
1968 |
The
apartheid government sets up the
homeland of KwaZulu under the
leadership of Chief Mangosuthu
Buthelezi.
It
later becomes a self-governing
territory comprising 29 separate
pockets of land with retricted
power.
|
The
first democratic elections are held
in South Africa in 1994
and under a new constitution, the
institution, role, authority and
status of the Zulu monarch are recognised
in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. |
King
Shaka establishes his capital at
