1.
Great Trek
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The Great Trek resulted from the culmination of tensions between rural descendants of the Capes original European settlers, known collectively as Boers, and the British Empire. The Great Trek led directly to the founding of several autonomous Boer republics, namely the South African Republic, the Orange Free State, and the Natalia Republic. It was also responsible for the displacement of the Northern Ndebele people, vrijburgers were granted tax exempt status for twelve years and loaned all the necessary seeds and farming implements they requested. They were married Dutch citizens, considered of good character by the Company, as a result, by 1691 over a quarter of the colonys European population was not ethnically Dutch. Nevertheless, there was a degree of assimilation due to intermarriage. Following the Flanders Campaign and the Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam, France assisted in the establishment of a client state. This opened the Cape to French warships, to protect her own prosperous maritime shipping routes, Great Britain occupied the fledgling colony by force until 1803. From 1806 to 1814 the Cape was again governed as a British military dependency, the British formally assumed permanent administrative control around 1815, as a result of the Treaty of Paris. Just over a quarter were of German ancestry and about one-sixth were descended from French Huguenots, there were also 30,000 African and Asian slaves owned by the settlers, and about 17,000 indigenous Khoisan. Relations between the settlers—especially the Boers—and the new administration quickly soured, the British authorities were adamantly opposed to the Boers ownership of slaves, and what was perceived as their unduly harsh treatment of the indigenous peoples. The British government insisted that the Cape finance its own affairs through self taxation, in 1815, the controversial arrest of a white farmer for allegedly assaulting one of his servants resulted in the abortive Slachters Nek Rebellion. The British retaliated by hanging at least five Boers for insurrection, in 1828 the Cape governor declared that all native inhabitants but slaves were to have the rights of citizens, in respect of security and property ownership, on parity with the settlers. This had the effect of alienating the colonys white population. Boer resentment of successive British administrators continued to grow throughout the late 1820s and early 1830s and this replaced Dutch with English as the language used in the Capes judicial system, putting the Boers at a disadvantage, as most spoke little or no English at all. Great Britains alienation of the Boers was particularly amplified by the decision to abolish slavery in all its colonies in 1834. All 35,745 slaves registered with the Cape governor were to be freed and given rights on par with other citizens, although in most cases their masters could retain them as apprentices until 1838. Compensation was indeed offered by the British government, but payment had to be made in London and they resolved to trek beyond the colonys borders on their own. Droughts Perceived antagonism from British missionaries, the official recognition of the equality between settlers and native inhabitants
2.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
3.
Impi
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Impi is a Zulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is used to refer to a Zulu regiment. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, when groups of armed men called impis battled and these innovations in turn drew upon existing tribal customs, such as the iNtanga. This was an age grade tradition common among many of the Bantu peoples of the southern region. Youths were organised into age groups, with each responsible for certain duties. Kraal or settlement elders generally handled local disputes and issues, above them were the inDunas, and above the inDunas stood the chief of a particular clan lineage or tribe. The inDunas handled administrative matters for their chiefs – ranging from settlement of disputes, in time of war, the inDunas supervised the fighting men in their areas, forming leadership of the military forces deployed for combat. The age grade iNtangas, under the guidance of the inDunas, militarily warfare was mild among the Bantu prior to the rise of Shaka, though it occurred frequently. Objectives were typically limited to such matters as recovering cattle, avenging some personal insult, generally a loose mob, called an impi participated in these melees. There were no campaigns of extermination against the defeated and they simply moved on to other open spaces on the veldt, and equilibrium was restored. The bow and arrow were known but seldom used, warfare, like the hunt, depended on skilled spearmen and trackers. The primary weapon was a thin 6-foot throwing spear, the assegai, defensive weapons included a small cowhide shield, which was later improved by King Shaka. Many battles were prearranged, with the clan warriors meeting at a place and time. Ritualized taunts, single combats and tentative charges were the typical pattern, if the affair did not dissipate before, one side might find enough courage to mount a sustained attack, driving off their enemies. The defeated clan might pay in lands or cattle and have captives to be ransomed, outside the ritual battles, the quick raid was the most frequent combat action, marked by burning kraals, seizure of captives, and the driving off of cattle. Pastoral herders and light agriculturalists, the Bantu did not usually build permanent fortifications to fend off enemies, a clan under threat simply packed their meager material possessions, rounded up their cattle and fled until the marauders were gone. If the marauders did not stay to permanently dispossess them of grazing areas, the genesis of the Zulu impi thus lies in tribal structures existing long before the coming of Europeans or the Shaka era. In the early 19th century, a combination of factors began to change the customary pattern and these included rising populations, the growth of white settlement and slaving that dispossessed native peoples both at the Cape and in Portuguese Mozambique, and the rise of ambitious new men
4.
Dingane kaSenzangakhona
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Dingane kaSenzangakhona Zulu —commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan—was a Zulu chief who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828. He set up his royal capital UmGungundlovu, and one of military encampments or kraals. Dingane came to power in 1828 after assassinating his half-brother Shaka with the help of brother, Umhlangana, as well as Mbopa. They were traditionally said to have killed Shaka because of his increase in brutal behaviour after the death of his mother Nandi, the assassination took place at present-day Stanger. Dingane built his city of UmGungundlovu in 1829 and enlarged it five years later. UmGungundlovu was built according to the layout of a Zulu military settlement. The ikhanda consisted of a large, central circular parade ground, surrounded by warriors barracks, the isibaya was entered from the north. The royal enclosure was situated on the side of the complex. The king, his mistresses and female attendants, a total of at least 500 people, the women were divided into two groups, namely the black isigodlo and the white isigodlo. The black isigodlo comprised about 100 privileged women, and within that group another elite called the bheje, a small settlement was built for them behind the main complex where they could enjoy some privacy. The remainder of the women were called the white isigodlo. These consisted mainly of girls presented to the king by his important subjects and he also selected other girls at the annual First fruit ceremony. A huge half-moon shaped area was included in the black isigodlo, here the women, the huts in the black isigodlo were divided into compartments of about three huts each, enclosed by a two-metre-high hedge of intertwined withes, which created a network of passages. The kings private hut was located in one such triangular compartment and had three or four entrances and his hut was very large and was kept very neat by attendants, it could easily accommodate 50 people. Modern archaeological excavations have revealed that the floor of large hut was approximately 10 metres in diameter. Archaeologists found evidence inside the hut of 22 large supporting posts completely covered in glass beads and these had been noted in historical accounts by Piet Retief, leader of the Voortrekkers, and the British missionaries Champion and Owen. On the south side, just behind the complex, were three separate enclosed groups of huts. The centre group was used by the women of the black isigodlo
5.
Zulu people
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The Zulu are a Bantu ethnic group of Southern Africa and the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with an estimated 10–11 million people living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Small numbers also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, the Zulu were originally a major clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal, founded ca.1709 by Zulu kaMalandela. In the Nguni languages, iZulu means heaven, or weather, at that time, the area was occupied by many large Nguni communities and clans. Nguni communities had migrated down Africas east coast over centuries, as part of the Bantu migrations probably arriving in what is now South Africa in about the 9th century, the Zulu formed a powerful state in 1818 under the leader Shaka. Shaka, as the Zulu King, gained an amount of power over the tribe. On 11 December 1878, agents of the British delivered an ultimatum to 11 chiefs representing Cetshwayo, the terms forced upon Cetshwayo required him to disband his army and accept British authority. Cetshwayo refused, and war followed January 12,1879, during the war, the Zulus defeated the British at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January. The British managed to get the hand after the Battle at Rorkes Drift. After Cetshwayos capture a month following his defeat, the British divided the Zulu Empire into 13 kinglets, the sub-kingdoms fought amongst each other until 1883 when Cetshwayo was reinstated as king over Zululand. This still did not stop the fighting and the Zulu monarch was forced to flee his realm by Zibhebhu, one of the 13 kinglets, Cetshwayo died in February 1884, killed by Zibhebhus regime, leaving his son, the 15-year-old Dinuzulu, to inherit the throne. In-fighting between the Zulu continued for years, until Zululand was absorbed fully into the British colony of Natal, under apartheid, the homeland of KwaZulu was created for Zulu people. In 1970, the Bantu Homeland Citizenship Act provided that all Zulus would become citizens of KwaZulu, KwaZulu consisted of a large number of disconnected pieces of land, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal. By 1993, approximately 5.2 million Zulu people lived in KwaZulu, the Chief Minister of KwaZulu, from its creation in 1970 was Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. In 1994, KwaZulu was joined with the province of Natal, Inkatha YeSizwe means the crown of the nation. In 1975, Buthelezi revived the Inkatha YaKwaZulu, predecessor of the Inkatha Freedom Party and this organization was nominally a protest movement against apartheid, but held more conservative views than the ANC. For example, Inkatha was opposed to the struggle. Inkatha was initially on good terms with the ANC, but the two came into increasing conflict beginning in 1976 in the aftermath of the Soweto Uprising. The modern Zulu population is evenly distributed in both urban and rural areas
6.
Battle of Blood River
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Casualties amounted to 3,000 of king Dinganes soldiers dead, including two Zulu princes competing with prince Mpande for the Zulu throne. Three Pioneers commando members were wounded, including Pretorius himself. After these two battles, Dinganes prime minister and commander in both the Battle of Maqongqe and the Battle of Blood River, General Ndlela, was strangled to death by Dingane for high treason. General Ndlela had been the protector of Prince Mpande, who after the Battles of Blood River and Maqongqe, became king. Dingane had agreed that, if Retief could recover approximately 700 head of cattle stolen from the Zulus by the Tlokwa, the accompanying request for the surrender of Trekker muskets at the entrance was taken as normal protocol when appearing before the king. While the Trekkers were being entertained by Dinganes dancing warriors/soldiers, Dingane suddenly accused the party of witchcraft and ordered his men. Dinganes soldiers then proceeded to impale all Retiefs men, lastly clubbing to death Retief, after the Battle of Blood River, the Dingane-Retief treaty was found on Retiefs bodily remains, providing a driving force for an overt alliance against Dingane between Prince Mpande and Pretorius. On 26 November 1838, Andries Pretorius was appointed as general of a wagon commando directed against Dingane at UmGungundlovu, by December 1838, Prince Mpande and 17,000 followers had already fled from Dingane, who was seeking to assassinate Mpande. In support of Prince Mpande as Dinganes replacement, Pretorius strategy was to target Dingane only, to allow Prince Mpande to oust King Dingane through military might, Pretorius had first to weaken Dinganes personal military power base in UmGungundlovu. Trekker leader Hendrik Potgieter had abandoned all hope of engaging Dingane in UmGungundlovu after losing the battle of Italeni, the military commander during Dinganes attack on Veglaer, was Ndlela kaSompisi. The highly experienced general Ndlela had served under Shaka, and was prime minister. Ndlela with his 10,000 troops had retreated from Veglaer, after three days and nights of fruitless attempts to penetrate the enclosed Trekker wagon laager, General Ndlela personally protected Prince Mpande—whom Pretorius later crowned as Zulu king in 1840—from Dinganes repeated assassination plans. King Dingane desired to have his half brother Mpande, the prince with children. Prince Mpande was married to Msukilethe, a daughter of general Ndlela, General Ndlela, like Pretorius the promotor of Prince Mpande, was responsible for Dinganes UmGungundlovu defence during the Trekkers second attack attempt under Pretorius in December 1838. Given general Ndlelas previous defence and attack experience at Italeni and Veglaer during April 1838 and August 1838 respectively, Ndlela had to let Pretorius come close to UmGungundlovu at Italeni, and lure the Trekkers into attack. Ndlela was not to attack the Trekkers when they were in a wagon laager position. The problem for Pretorius was that he had somehow to find a way to make Dinganes soldiers attack him in a defensive position at a place of his choice, far away from UmGungundlovu. The so-called covenant included that a church would be built in honour of God, should the commando somehow be successful, after the meeting with friendly Zulu chiefs at Danskraal, Pretorius let the commando relax and do their washing for a few days at Wasbank till 9 December 1838
