1.
Great Trek
–
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
Great Trek
–
Trekboers making camp (1804) by
Samuel Daniell. The Trekboers were largely Dutch descendent nomadic pastoralists that were some of the predecessors of the Voortrekkers.
Great Trek
–
A map charting the routes of the largest trekking parties during the first wave of the Great Trek (1835-1840) along with key battles and events. It marks the routes taken by
Louis Tregardt,
Janse van Rensburg,
Hendrik Potgieter,
Gerrit Maritz,
Piet Retief, and
Piet Uys.
Great Trek
–
An artists impression of a trekker ox wagon traversing a mountain range (1840).
Great Trek
–
A romanticized depiction of the Great Trek.
2.
South Africa
–
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
South Africa
–
Mapungubwe Hill, the site of the former capital of the
Kingdom of Mapungubwe
South Africa
–
Flag
South Africa
–
Arrival of
Jan van Riebeeck, the first European to settle in South Africa, with
Devil's Peak in the background
South Africa
–
Depiction of a
Zulu attack on a Boer camp in February 1838
3.
Impi
–
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
Impi
–
The impi was a military formation that transformed the face of southern Africa, on into East and central Africa. Its highest development took place under Shaka, initiator of several important organizational, weapons and tactical innovations.
Impi
–
Zulu warrior armed with the iklwa stabbing spear (assegai) and iwisa club (knobkerrie). His kilt is of
genet tails
Impi
–
"Ready for War"; "A Zulu"; "Zulu Policemen"
Impi
–
Zulu warrior in full regimental regalia, carrying the large isihlangu war shield. c. 1860. The upper body is covered in cow tails, the kilt is of spotted cat, genet or civet skin and the shins are decorated with cowtails. The elaborate headdress consists of a browband and face-framing flaps of leopard skin with another band of otter skin above. There are multiple ostrich feather plumes and a single upright crane's feather.
4.
Dingane kaSenzangakhona
–
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
Dingane kaSenzangakhona
–
Dingane orders the killing of Piet Retief's party of Voortrekkers (portraying their deaths in the kraal; in fact they were killed on the execution hill)
Dingane kaSenzangakhona
–
Dingane in ordinary and dancing dress
5.
Zulu people
–
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
Zulu people
–
Jeff Radebe
Zulu people
–
Shaka, king of the Zulu. After a sketch by Lt. James King, a Port Natal merchant
Zulu people
–
Lucas Radebe
Zulu people
–
Zulu in traditional clothes
6.
Afrikaans language
–
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and, to a lesser extent, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Hence, it is a language of Dutch, and was previously referred to as Cape Dutch or kitchen Dutch. Although, it is described as a creole, a partially creolised language the least. The term is derived from Dutch Afrikaans-Hollands meaning African Dutch. It is the first language of most of the Afrikaner and Coloured people of Southern Africa, therefore, differences with Dutch often lie in the more analytic morphology and grammar of Afrikaans, and a spelling that expresses Afrikaans pronunciation rather than standard Dutch. There is a degree of mutual intelligibility between the two languages—especially in written form. With about 7 million native speakers in South Africa, or 13. 5% of the population and it has the widest geographical and racial distribution of all the eleven official languages of South Africa, and is widely spoken and understood as a second or third language. About 1. 5% of black South Africans speak it as their first language, large numbers of speakers of Bantu languages and English-speaking South Africans also speak it as their second language. It is taught in schools, with about 10.3 million second-language students and it, along with German, was among the official languages of Namibia until the country became independent in 1990, 25% of the population of Windhoek spoke Afrikaans at home. Both Afrikaans and German survive as recognised regional languages in the country, estimates of the total number of Afrikaans speakers range between 15 and 23 million. The Afrikaans language arose in the Dutch Cape Colony, through a gradual divergence from European Dutch dialects, there is a degree of mutual intelligibility between the two languages, particularly in written form. Nevertheless, Dutch speakers are confronted with fewer non-cognates when listening to Afrikaans than the way round. Mutual intelligibility thus tends to be asymmetrical, as it is easier for Dutch speakers to understand Afrikaans than for Afrikaans speakers to understand Dutch, in general, mutual intelligibility between Dutch and Afrikaans is better than between Dutch and Frisian or between Danish and Swedish. The workers and slaves who contributed to the development of Afrikaans were Asians and Malagasys, as well as the Khoi, San, and Bantu peoples who also lived in the area. African creole people in the early 18th century — documented on the cases of Hendrik Bibault, Only much later in the second half of the 19th century did the Boers adopt this attribution, too. The Khoi and mixed-race groups became collectively referred to as Coloureds, beginning in about 1815, Afrikaans started to replace Malay as the language of instruction in Muslim schools in South Africa, written with the Arabic alphabet, see Arabic Afrikaans. Later, Afrikaans, now written with the Latin alphabet, started to appear in newspapers and political, in 1925, Afrikaans was recognised by the South African government as a real language, rather than simply a slang version of Dutch proper. Before the Boer Wars, and indeed for some time afterwards, rather, Afrikaans was described derogatorily as ‘a kitchen language’ or as ‘a bastard jargon, suitable for communication mainly between the Boers and their servants
Afrikaans language
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Slogan in front of the Afrikaans Language Monument, near Paarl, South Africa. Loosely translated, it reads "This we care about/This is important to us", or, literally, "This is our seriousness".
Afrikaans language
–
Regions shaded dark blue represent areas of concentrated Afrikaans-speaking communities
Afrikaans language
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Side view of the Pretoria Art Museum in Arcadia, Pretoria, with Afrikaans language sign.
Afrikaans language
–
Sign in Afrikaans: "Gevaar Slagysters" or "Warning (danger), Traps"
7.
Massacre
–
A massacre is a specific incident which involves the killing of people, although not necessarily a crime against humanity. Further origins are dubious, though may be related to Latin macellum provisions store, robert Melsons basic working definition, reads, by massacre we shall mean the intentional killing by political actors of a significant number of relatively defenseless people. The motives for massacre need not be rational in order for the killings to be intentional, Mass killings can be carried out for various reasons, including a response to false rumors. Should be distinguished from criminal or pathological mass killings, as political bodies we of course include the state and its agencies, but also nonstate actors. Equally important is that massacres are not carried out by individuals, the use of superior, even overwhelming force. Levene excludes legal, or even some quasi-legal, mass executions and he also points out that it is. most often. When the act is outside the normal bounds of the society witnessing it. List of events named massacres Disaster Ethnic cleansing Genocide Killing spree Mass murder Pogrom Tragedy Tragedy War crime
Massacre
–
The
Chios Massacre refers to a famous incident during the
Greek War of Independence in 1822.
Massacre
–
Twenty-six republicans were assassinated by fascists that belonged to
Franco's Nationalists at the beginning of the
Spanish Civil War, between August and September of 1936. This mass grave is placed at the small town named as
Estépar, in Northern Spain. The excavation occurred in July–August of 2014.
Massacre
–
The
El Mozote massacre, El Salvador 1981
8.
Voortrekkers
–
The Voortrekkers were Boer pastoralists from the frontiers of the Cape Colony who migrated eastwards during the Great Trek. Voortrekker Leaders arranged in order by size of party, - Hendrik Potgieter, Sarel Cilliers, Piet Retief, see List of massacres in South Africa. See List of massacres in South Africa Arie Zacharias Visagie, David Stephanus Fourie, Jan Matthys De Beer, Hermanus Stephanus Lombard, the total number of families that trekked under a trek leader is 1093. From available sources it was found that during the years 1835 to 1845 a total of about 2540 families took part in the Great Trek, some of them were wealthy men though most were not as they were from the poorer communities of the frontier. It was recorded that the 33 Voortrekker families at the Battle of Vegkop lost 100 horses, the Voortrekkers were mainly of Trekboer descent living in the eastern frontiers of the Cape. Hence, their ancestors had established a semi-nomadic existence of trekking into expanding frontiers. Amongst the Voortrekkers were poor men too belonging to the squatter or bywoner class, the British possession of the Cape was affirmed with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. With this change in government came a loss of control of the Cape and its resources such as land, the reasons for the mass emigration from the Cape Colony have been much discussed over the years. Afrikaner historiography has emphasized the hardships endured by the farmers which they blamed on British policies of pacifying the Xhosa tribes. Other historians have emphasized the harshness of the life in the Eastern Cape compared to the attractions of the country of Natal, the Orange Free State. Growing land shortages have also cited as a contributing factor. The revocation of Lord Glenelg of the Province of Queen Adelaide, the continued chronic insecurity on the frontier. Being blamed by the Government for provoking an unjust war, the Colony was perceived as being no place for Christian people to live. Land was becoming scarce and expensive owing to increase in the Afrikaans-speaking population. The advance of the English tongue, especially in official circles, the emancipation of the slaves ordained by the British in 1833. The inadequate compensation for the slaves by the British. The emancipation of the slaves took effect during harvest season, chronic mortification at the way the Boers actions were so freely criticized by the missionaries. The official recognition of the equality between colored men and whites, the Commisie Treks returned filled with enthusiasm for the countries they had visited
Voortrekkers
–
Voortrekkers in a 1909 illustration
Voortrekkers
–
Statue of
Andries Pretorius in front of the City Hall of Pretoria
Voortrekkers
–
View of the Bloukrans Memorial commemorating the death of the Boers who lost their lives at Moordspruit, 17 February 1838.
Voortrekkers
–
Copy of the treaty between
Piet Retief and Dingane which led to the establishment of the Natalia Republic
9.
Zulu Kingdom
–
The area was subsequently absorbed into the Colony of Natal and later became part of the Union of South Africa. Shaka Zulu was the son of Senzangakona, King of the Zulus. He and his mother, Nandi, were exiled by Senzangakona, Shaka fought as a warrior under Jobe, and then under Jobes successor, Dingiswayo, leader of the Mthethwa Paramountcy. When Senzangakona died, Dingiswayo helped Shaka claim his place as chief of the Zulu Kingdom, after Dingiswayos death at the hands of Zwide, king of the Ndwandwe, around 1818, Shaka assumed leadership of the entire Mthethwa alliance. Shaka initiated many military, social, cultural and political reforms, the alliance under his leadership survived Zwides first assault at the Battle of Gqokli Hill. The death toll has never been determined, but the whole region became nearly depopulated. Normal estimates for the death toll during this period range from 1 million to 2 million people, by 1825, Shaka had conquered a huge empire covering an area of around 11,500 square miles. Shaka was succeeded by Dingane, his brother, who conspired with Mhlangana, another half-brother, and Mbopa. Following this assassination, Dingane murdered Mhlangana, and took over the throne, one of his first royal acts was to execute all of his royal kin. In the years 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, before encountering the British, the Zulus were first confronted with the Boers. In an attempt to form their own state as a protection against the British, while travelling they first collided with the Ndebele kingdom, and then with Dinganes Zulu kingdom. In October 1837, the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief visited Dingane at his kraal to negotiate 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 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, a treaty was signed, wherein Dingane ceded all the land south of the Tugela River to the Mzimvubu River to the Voortrekkers. On 6 February, at the end of the celebrations, Retiefs party were invited to a dance, at the peak of the dance, Dingane leapt to his feet and yelled Bambani abathakathi. Retief and his men were overpowered, taken to the nearby hill kwaMatiwane, some believe 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
Zulu Kingdom
–
King
Shaka Drawing (ca.1824)
Zulu Kingdom
–
Location of the Zulu Kingdom, ca. 1890 (red) (borders in flux)
Zulu Kingdom
–
Military innovations such as the
assegai, the age-grade regimental system and
encirclement tactics helped make the Zulu one of the most powerful nations in southern and south-eastern Africa.
Zulu Kingdom
–
King
Cetshwayo Photograph (ca.1875)
10.
KwaZulu-Natal
–
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, enjoying a long shoreline beside the Indian Ocean and its capital is Pietermaritzburg and its largest city is Durban. It is the 2nd most populous province in South Africa, with fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, at around 92,100 km2 in area, KwaZulu-Natal is roughly the size of Portugal. It has three different geographic areas, the areas largest river, the Tugela, flows west to east across the center of the province. The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines, steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest, the midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland, the province contains rich areas of biodiversity of a range of flora and fauna. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are wetlands of international importance for migratory species, and are designated as Ramsar sites. South Africa signed the 1971 Ramsar Convention to try to conserve and protect important wetlands because of their importance to habitats, the former Eastern Cape enclave of the town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made changes to the southern border of the province. The northwesterly line of latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at Hibberdene to northeast Lesotho. KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography, generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C in the summer, but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, one of these, eThekwini, is a metropolitan municipality and the other ten are district municipalities. The local seat of district municipality is given in parentheses. In 2012, the Ingonyama Trust owns 32% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal and this amounts to about three million hectares, occupied by over 4 million people. The Zulu king is the chairman of the Trust, the coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs
KwaZulu-Natal
–
A view of the
Mngeni River valley near
Howick Falls.
KwaZulu-Natal
–
Flag
KwaZulu-Natal
–
Upland savannah near Pietermaritzburg.
KwaZulu-Natal
–
A beach on the North Coast.
11.
Piet Retief
–
Pieter Mauritz Retief was a Voortrekker leader. Settling in 1814 in the region of the Cape Colony. He became a spokesperson for the farmers who voiced their discontent. He was a leading figure during their Great Trek, and at one stage their elected governor and he proposed Natal as the final destination of their migration and selected a location for its future capital, later named Pietermaritzburg in his honour. The massacre of Retief and his delegation by the Zulu King Dingane, the short-lived Boer republic Natalia suffered from ineffective government and succumbed to British annexation. Retief was born to Jacobus and Debora Retief in the Wagenmakersvallei, Cape Colony, today the town of Wellington, South Africa. His family were Boers of French Huguenot ancestry, his great-grandfather was the 1689 Huguenot refugee François Retif, from Mer, Loir-et-Cher near Blois, Retief grew up on the ancestral vineyard Welvanpas, where he worked until the age of 27. After moving to the vicinity of Grahamstown, Retief, like other Boers, acquired wealth through livestock and these prompted the 6th Cape Frontier War. Such losses impelled many frontier farmers to become Voortrekkers and to migrate to new lands in the north, Retief wrote their manifesto, dated 22 January 1837, setting out their long-held grievances against the British government. Retiefs manifesto was published in the Grahamstown Journal on 2 February and De Zuid-Afrikaan on 17 February, Retiefs household departed in two wagons from his farm in the Winterberg District in early February 1837 and joined a party of 30 other wagons. The pioneers crossed the Orange River into independent territory, when several parties on the Great Trek converged at the Vet River, Retief was elected Governor of the United Laagers and head of The Free Province of New Holland in South East Africa. This coalition was very short-lived, and Retief became the leader of the group moving east. On 5 October 1837 Retief established a camp of 54 wagons at Kerkenberg near the Drakensberg ridge and this was Bantjess second visit to Port Natal, his first having been there in 1834 on the Kommissitrek reconnaissance mission. Retief returned to the laarger with a message to the camp on 2 November 1837, due to his favourable impression of the region, Retief started negotiations for land with the Zulu king Dingane kaSenzangakhona in November 1837. After Retief led his band over the Drakensberg Mountains, he convinced Voortrekker leaders Gerrit Maritz, on Retiefs second visit to Dingane, the Zulu agreed to Boer settlement in Natal, provided that the Boer delegation recover cattle stolen by the rival Tlokwa nation. This the Boers did, their reputation and rifles cowing the people into handing over some 700 head of cattle. At Retiefs request, J. G. Bantjes drew up the famous Piet Retief / Dingaan Treaty outlining the areas of Natal to be secured for the Boers to settle and start their new farms and this was done and to be ratified at the Zulu Kings kraal. Despite warnings, Retief left the Tugela region on 25 January 1838, the deed of cession of the Tugela-Umzimvubu region, although dated 4 February 1838, was signed by Dingane on 6 February 1838, with the two sides recording three witnesses each
Piet Retief
–
Statue at the
Voortrekker Monument
Piet Retief
–
Piet Retief statue in Pietermaritzburg
Piet Retief
–
Corner guard statue of Retief at the
Voortrekker Monument
Piet Retief
–
A copy of the treaty between Retief and Dingane
12.
Dingane
–
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
Dingane
–
Dingane orders the killing of Piet Retief's party of Voortrekkers (portraying their deaths in the kraal; in fact they were killed on the execution hill)
Dingane
–
Dingane in ordinary and dancing dress
13.
Bushman River
–
The Bushmans River is an east to north-easterly flowing tributary of the Tugela River, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg Mountain range, with its catchment in the Giants Castle Game Reserve. It feeds the Wagendrift Dam and then flows past the town of Estcourt to join the Tugela River near the town of Weenen and its tributaries include the Little Bushmans River which joins the Bushmans River at Estcourt, Rensburgspruit, Mtontwanes River and the Mugwenya River. The Wagendrift Dam near Estcourt is its major reservoir, several densely populated rural villages, many inhabited by the amaHlubi, are found in the rivers upper catchment area. The river is flanked by the Bloukrans River to the north, List of rivers of South Africa List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa List of South African Dams Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Bushman River
–
Bushman's River at
Wagendrift Dam
14.
Zulu language
–
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people, with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa. It became one of South Africas 11 official languages in 1994, according to Ethnologue, it is the second most widely spoken of the Bantu languages, after Shona. Like many other Bantu languages, it is written with the Latin alphabet, even in English, the language is often referred to by using its native form, isiZulu. Zulu migrant populations have taken it to adjacent regions, especially Zimbabwe, Xhosa, the predominant language in the Eastern Cape, is often considered mutually intelligible with Zulu. Maho lists four dialects, central KwaZulu-Natal Zulu, northern Transvaal Zulu, eastern coastal Qwabe, the Zulu, like Xhosa and other Nguni people, have lived in South Africa for a long time. The Zulu language possesses several click sounds typical of Southern African languages, the Nguni people have coexisted with other Southern tribes like the San and Khoi. Zulu, like most indigenous Southern African languages, was not a written language until the arrival of missionaries from Europe, the first grammar book of the Zulu language was published in Norway in 1850 by the Norwegian missionary Hans Schreuder. The first written document in Zulu was a Bible translation that appeared in 1883, in 1901, John Dube, a Zulu from Natal, created the Ohlange Institute, the first native educational institution in South Africa. He was also the author of Insila kaShaka, the first novel written in Zulu, another pioneering Zulu writer was Reginald Dhlomo, author of several historical novels of the 19th-century leaders of the Zulu nation, U-Dingane, U-Shaka, U-Mpande, U-Cetshwayo and U-Dinizulu. Other notable contributors to Zulu literature include Benedict Wallet Vilakazi and, more recently, the written form of Zulu was controlled by the Zulu Language Board of KwaZulu-Natal. This board has now disbanded and superseded by the Pan South African Language Board which promotes the use of all eleven official languages of South Africa. English, Dutch and later Afrikaans had been the official languages used by all South African governments before 1994. However, in the Kwazulu bantustan the Zulu language was widely used, all education in the country at the high-school level was in English or Afrikaans. Since the demise of apartheid in 1994, Zulu has been enjoying a marked revival, zulu-language television was introduced by the SABC in the early 1980s and it broadcasts news and many shows in Zulu. Zulu radio is very popular and newspapers such as isoLezwe, Ilanga and UmAfrika in the Zulu language are available, mainly available in Kwazulu-Natal province, in January 2005 the first full-length feature film in Zulu, Yesterday, was nominated for an Oscar. South African matriculation requirements no longer specify which South African language needs to be taken as a second language, and some people have made the switch to learning Zulu. However people taking Zulu at high-school level overwhelmingly take it as a first language, according to statistics, in the 1994 film The Lion King, in the Circle of Life song, the phrases Ingonyama nengw enamabala, Nans ingonyama bakithi Baba and Siyonqoba were used
Zulu language
–
Trilingual sign in English,
Afrikaans, and Zulu in Apartheid era
South Africa.
Zulu language
–
0–20%
15.
KwaZulu-Natal Province
–
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, enjoying a long shoreline beside the Indian Ocean and its capital is Pietermaritzburg and its largest city is Durban. It is the 2nd most populous province in South Africa, with fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, at around 92,100 km2 in area, KwaZulu-Natal is roughly the size of Portugal. It has three different geographic areas, the areas largest river, the Tugela, flows west to east across the center of the province. The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines, steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest, the midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland, the province contains rich areas of biodiversity of a range of flora and fauna. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are wetlands of international importance for migratory species, and are designated as Ramsar sites. South Africa signed the 1971 Ramsar Convention to try to conserve and protect important wetlands because of their importance to habitats, the former Eastern Cape enclave of the town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made changes to the southern border of the province. The northwesterly line of latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at Hibberdene to northeast Lesotho. KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography, generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C in the summer, but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, one of these, eThekwini, is a metropolitan municipality and the other ten are district municipalities. The local seat of district municipality is given in parentheses. In 2012, the Ingonyama Trust owns 32% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal and this amounts to about three million hectares, occupied by over 4 million people. The Zulu king is the chairman of the Trust, the coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs
KwaZulu-Natal Province
–
A view of the
Mngeni River valley near
Howick Falls.
KwaZulu-Natal Province
–
Flag
KwaZulu-Natal Province
–
Upland savannah near Pietermaritzburg.
KwaZulu-Natal Province
–
A beach on the North Coast.
16.
Khoikhoi
–
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, spelled Khoekhoe in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography, are a group of Khoisan people native to southwestern Africa. Unlike the neighbouring hunter-gatherer San people, the Khoikhoi traditionally practised nomadic pastoral agriculture, when European immigrants colonised the area after 1652, the Khoikhoi maintained large herds of Nguni cattle in the Cape region. The Dutch settlers labelled them Hottentots, in imitation of the sound of the sounds that are characteristic of the Khoekhoe language. The Khoikhoi, originally part of a culture and language group to be found across Southern Africa. Southward migration of the group was steady, eventually reaching the Cape approximately 2,000 years ago. Khoikhoi subgroups include the Namaqua to the west, the Korana of mid-South Africa, advancing Bantu in the 3rd century AD encroached on the Khoikhoi territory, forcing movement into more arid areas. There was some intermarriage between migratory Khoi bands living around what is today Cape Town and the San, however the two groups remained culturally distinct as the Khoikhoi continued to graze livestock and the San to subsist on hunting-gathering. The Khoi first encountered Portuguese explorers and merchants around AD1500, the ongoing encounters were often violent. Local population dropped when the Khoi were exposed to smallpox by Europeans, warfare against Europeans flared when the Dutch East India Company enclosed traditional grazing land for farms. Over the following century, the Khoi were steadily driven off their land, Khoikhoi social organisation was profoundly damaged and, in the end, destroyed by colonial expansion and land seizure from the late 17th century onwards. As social structures broke down, some Khoikhoi people settled on farms and became bondsmen or farm workers, others were incorporated into existing clan, like many Khoikhoi and mixed-race people, the Griqua left the Cape Colony and migrated into the interior. Responding to the influence of missionaries, they formed the states of Griqualand West, by the early 1800s, the remaining Khoi of the Cape Colony suffered from restricted civil rights and discriminatory laws on land ownership. The more cynical motive was probably to create a buffer-zone on the Capes frontier, the settlements thrived and expanded, and Kat River quickly became a large and successful region of the Cape that subsisted more or less autonomously. The people were predominantly Afrikaans-speaking Gonaqua Khoi, but the settlement also began to attract other Khoi, Xhosa, the Khoi were known at the time for being very good marksmen, and were often invaluable allies of the Cape Colony in its frontier wars with the neighbouring Xhosa. In the Seventh Frontier War against the Gcaleka Xhosa, the Khoi gunmen from Kat River distinguished themselves under their leader Andries Botha in the assault on the Amatola fastnesses. However harsh laws were implemented in the Eastern Cape, to encourage the Khoi to leave their lands in the Kat River region. The growing resentment exploded in 1850, when the Xhosa rose against the Cape Government, large numbers of Khoi for the first time joined the Xhosa rebels. However, this principle was eroded in the late 1880s by a literacy test
Khoikhoi
–
Khoikhoi dismantling their huts, preparing to move to new pastures.
Aquatint by
Samuel Daniell (1805).
Khoikhoi
–
A Khoikhoi man
Khoikhoi
–
Adam Kok, leader of the Griqua nation
Khoikhoi
–
Khoi marksmen played a key role in the
Cape Frontier Wars
17.
Basuto
–
The Basotho are a Bantu ethnic group whose ancestors have lived in southern Africa since around the fifth century. Most Basotho today live in South Africa, as the area of the Orange Free State was originally part of Moshoeshoes nation, pastoralist Bantu-speaking peoples settled in the territory of modern South Africa by about 500 CE, displacing the aboriginal inhabitants of Southern Africa. The separation from the Tswana is assumed to have taken place by the 14th century, the first historical references to the Basotho date to the 19th century. By that time, a series of Basotho kingdoms covered the portion of the plateau. In 1823, those pressures caused one group of Basotho, the Kololo, to north, past the Okavango Swamp and across the Zambezi into Barotseland. In 1845, the Kololo conquered Barotseland, at about the same time, the Boers began to encroach upon Basotho territory. At the time of these developments, Moshoeshoe I gained control of the Basotho kingdoms of the southern Highveld, universally praised as a skilled diplomat and strategist, he was able to wield the disparate refugee groups escaping the Difaqane into a cohesive nation. His capital was moved to Thaba Bosiu To deal with the encroaching voortrekker groups. Missionaries sent by the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society provided the King with foreign affairs counsel, aside from acting as state ministers, missionaries played a vital role in delineating Sesotho orthography and printing Sesotho language materials between 1837 and 1855. The first Sesotho translation of the Bible appeared in 1878, local chieftains retained power over internal affairs while Britain was responsible for foreign affairs and the defence of the protectorate. In 1869, the British sponsored a process by which the borders of Basutoland were finally demarcated, britains protection ensured that repeated attempts by the Orange Free State, and later, the Republic of South Africa, to absorb part or all of Basutoland, were unsuccessful. In 1966, Basutoland gained its independence from Britain, becoming the Kingdom of Lesotho, internal migration explains why Sesotho is widely spoken throughout the sub-continent. To enter the economy, Basotho men often migrated to large cities in South Africa to find employment in the mining industry. Migrant workers from the Free State and Lesotho thus helped to spread Sesotho to the areas of South Africa. While men tended to find employment within the sector, women gravitated towards employment as agricultural or domestic workers. In terms of religion, the role that Christian missionaries played in helping Moshoeshoe I secure his kingdom helped to ensure widespread conversion among Basotho people to Christianity. Today, the bulk of Sesotho speakers practice a form of Christianity that blends elements of traditional Christian dogma with local, officially, the majority of Lesothos population is Catholic. Basothos heartland is the Free State province in South Africa and neighboring Lesotho, both of these largely rural areas are characterized by widespread poverty and underdevelopment
Basuto
–
King
Moshoeshoe I, founder of the Basotho nation, with his Ministers.
18.
Biggar family
–
The Biggar family, Alexander Harvey Biggar and his two sons Robert and George, were pioneer traders at Port Natal, in what was to become the Colony of Natal. Subsequent to the massacre of Retiefs delegation, they involved in the exchange of attacks between Zulus and settlers. Although contributing to the overthrow of Dingane, all three lost their lives in the conflicts of 1838, Alexanders grandson John Dunn became a well-known Natal pioneer in his own right. Alexander was born in Kinsale, Ireland in 1781, to parents Harold Robert Biggar and Ann, on 3 March 1799, he married Mary Straton in Brechin, Scotland. Alexander first worked as Paymaster for the 85th regiment, before fighting in the Napoleonic Wars of 1803-1815, and his highest rank was Captain, but he was found guilty of embezzling £1,300 from War Office Funds and was discharged from service after repaying the money. He emigrated to the Cape Colony along with other 1820 Settlers, despite their signed Article of Agreement, by July 1820 all except George Pollard had deserted him or applied for release from their contracts. His family, which now included nine daughters and a son, Robert, departed from Portsmouth on HMS Weymouth on 20 January 1820 and his younger son George was born during the voyage. The family was allotted the Woodlands farm, near Bathurst on 6 September 1826, ten years later, in May 1836, Alexander moved to the frontier trading centre of Port Natal, in the later Colony of Natal, initially with his younger son George. Once there, he founded the Port Natal Volunteers in 1837, Alexander had 13 children in total. This included a son by a Zulu woman, as was the practice among Englishmen in the settler community. In February 1838 Alexanders youngest son of 18 years, George, was 120 miles inland at the Blaauwekrans camp of the Voortrekkers, when news reached Port Natal that the Zulus had exterminated Piet Retiefs delegation, Alexander sent Dick King to warn George and others at the Voortrekker camps. Dick King departed immediately on foot, accompanied by some natives, despite covering the distance in four days by walking day and night, they arrived just after the Rensburg voortrekker camp was attacked. They reached the vicinity of the camp, near present day Estcourt. Though cut off from Gerrit Maritzs laager, Dick King participated in its defence, but was unable to prevent the death of George, the traders at Port Natal were determined to make a diversion in the victims favor. Two Britons from Port Natal, George Biggar and Thomas Halstead, were among those killed at Blaauwekrans. Some 20 to 30 European men, including Dick King, were placed under Roberts command on 13 April 1838, with a following of 1,500 Zulus who deserted from Dingane, they crossed the Tugela river near its mouth and proceeded to uMgungundlovu. Four days later they were able to take 7,000 head of cattle from a group of Zulus who fled, the party returned with these cattle to the bay, and discovered that a spy of Dingane had been found and killed there in their absence. Once again they set off to Dinganes kraal and reached Ndondakusuka village north of the Tugela on 17 April 1838 and this kraal, built on high-lying ground, belonged to a captain of Dingane, named Zulu
Biggar family
–
A sign commemorating the Biggar expeditions, at the Old Fort, Durban
19.
Assegai
–
An assegai or assagai is a pole weapon used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin made of wood and pointed with iron or fire-hardened tip. The use of types of the assegai was widespread all over Africa. The Zulu and other Nguni tribes of South Africa were renowned for their use of the assegai, shaka of the Zulu invented a shorter-style spear with a two-foot shaft and which had a larger, broader blade one foot long. This weapon is known as the iklwa or ixwa, after the sound that was heard as it was withdrawn from the victims wound. It was used as a weapon during mêlée attacks. The traditional spear was not discarded but was used for a range attack on enemy formations before closing in for close quarters battle with the iklwa. This tactical combination originated during Shakas military reforms and it is also the name of a southern African tree whose wood was suitable for making spears or lances, most notably by the Bantu peoples of southern Africa
Assegai
–
An
Askari guard at an
Allied air training school at
Waterkloof,
Pretoria,
South Africa, January 1943
Assegai
–
Zulu man with the shorter assegai
20.
Andries Pretorius
–
The large city of Pretoria, executive capital of South Africa, is named after him. Andries Pretorius had five children, the oldest, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, Pretorius descended from the line of the earliest Dutch settlers in the Cape Colony. He belonged to the generation of the progenitor, Johannes Pretorius son of Reverend Wessel Schulte of the Netherlands. Schulte in his time as a student at the University of Leiden changed his name to the Latin form. Although the details of Andries Pretoriuss early life are scant, he grew up on his fathers farm named Driekoppen. In September 1836, after the up company of Gerrit Maritz left Graaff-Reinet to go northwards and he left his home in October 1837 on a scouting expedition to visit the Trekkers. Eventually Pretorius would leave the Cape Colony permanently, at the command of the Zulu king Dingane, Piet Retief was murdered in February 1838 along with his men. They were invited under false pretenses, during a visit, along with 70 men with boys among them. Pretorius arrived at the desperate Trekkers main camp on 22 November 1838, Pretorius diligence and thorough action immediately instilled confidence and he was appointed chief commander of the punitive commando against Dingane. The Voortrekkers fought with muzzle-loading rifles and made use of two small cannons, the Zulus sustained losses of an estimated 3,000 warriors in what became known as the Battle of Blood River. Three men were injured, including Andries Pretorius who was injured on his hand by an Assegai, the Boers believe that God granted them victory and thus promised that they and their descendants would commemorate the day of the battle as a day of rest. Boers memorialized it as Dinganes Day until 1910 and it was renamed Day of the Vow, later Day of the Covenant, and made a public holiday by the first South African government. After the fall of apartheid in 1994, the new government kept the day as a holiday as an act of conciliation to Boers. In January 1840, Pretorius with a commando of 400 burghers, Mpande and Pretorius defeated Dinganes army at the Battle of Maqongqo, which forced Dingane and those loyal to him into exile, after which Dingane was soon murdered. Immediately thereafter, Pretorious announced that Boer territory in Natal had been greatly enlarged due to the terms agreed with Mpande for Boer assistance and he was also the leader of the Natal Boers in their opposition to the British. In 1842, Pretorius besieged the small British garrison at Durban, afterward, he exerted his influence with the Boers to reach a peaceful solution with the British, who annexed Natalia. Remaining in Natal as a British subject, in 1847 Pretorius was chosen by the Boer farmers to present their grievances to the governor of Cape Colony and they were concerned about the continuous migration of natives who were assigned locations to the detriment of Boer land claims. Pretorius went to Grahamstown to seek an audience with the governor, Sir Henry Pottinger, Pretorius returned to Natal determined to abandon his farm and move beyond the British dominions
Andries Pretorius
–
Andries Pretorius
Andries Pretorius
–
Statue of Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 1798 – 23 July 1853) in Pretoria
21.
Battle of Blood River
–
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
Battle of Blood River
–
Entrance to the Battle of Blood River Monument in
Kwazulu-Natal
Battle of Blood River
–
Grietjie, one of the two cannons used during the battle.
Battle of Blood River
–
Laager at the Blood River Memorial
Battle of Blood River
–
A stone representation at the
Voortrekker Monument of the Laager formed at the Battle of Blood River
22.
Dutch language
–
It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after English and German. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English and is said to be roughly in between them, Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic and incorporates more Romance loans than German but far fewer than English. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the official name for Dutch is Nederlands, and its dialects have their own names, e. g. Hollands, West-Vlaams. The use of the word Vlaams to describe Standard Dutch for the variations prevalent in Flanders and used there, however, is common in the Netherlands, the Dutch language has been known under a variety of names. It derived from the Old Germanic word theudisk, one of the first names used for the non-Romance languages of Western Europe. It literarily means the language of the people, that is. The term was used as opposed to Latin, the language of writing. In the first text in which it is found, dating from 784, later, theudisca appeared also in the Oaths of Strasbourg to refer to the Germanic portion of the oath. This led inevitably to confusion since similar terms referred to different languages, owing to Dutch commercial and colonial rivalry in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English term came to refer exclusively to the Dutch. A notable exception is Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a West Central German variety called Deitsch by its speakers, Jersey Dutch, on the other hand, as spoken until the 1950s in New Jersey, is a Dutch-based creole. In Dutch itself, Diets went out of common use - although Platdiets is still used for the transitional Limburgish-Ripuarian Low Dietsch dialects in northeast Belgium, Nederlands, the official Dutch word for Dutch, did not become firmly established until the 19th century. This designation had been in use as far back as the end of the 15th century, one of them was it reflected a distinction with Hoogduits, High Dutch, meaning the language spoken in Germany. The Hoog was later dropped, and thus, Duits narrowed down in meaning to refer to the German language. g, in English, too, Netherlandic is regarded as a more accurate term for the Dutch language, but is hardly ever used. Old Dutch branched off more or less around the same time Old English, Old High German, Old Frisian and Old Saxon did. During that period, it forced Old Frisian back from the western coast to the north of the Low Countries, on the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in nowadays France and Germany. The division in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, one of the few moments linguists can detect somewhat of a revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in the pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age, the Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups, East, West, and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period, Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots, Frisian, Low German and High German
Dutch language
–
The Utrecht baptismal vow Forsachistu diobolae...
Dutch language
–
Distribution of the Dutch language and its dialects in
Western Europe
Dutch language
–
Second edition of this column decorated with a title of
Charles V 's portrait, with archaic Dutch inscriptions
Dutch language
–
Dutch language street sign in the Netherlands
23.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
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A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
24.
Battle of Maqongqo
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The Battle of Maqongqo was fought on 29 January 1840 during a civil war between Zulu factions. The Zulu king Dingane was challenged for the throne by his brother Mpande, Mpande and his supporters were victorious. Shortly thereafter Dingane was murdered and Mpande became king of the Zulus, the Boer settlers under Pretorius had inflicted a crushing defeat on Dingane in 1838 at the Battle of Blood River, allowing them to carve out territory and create the Natalia Republic. As a result, the authority had been severely weakened. His attempt to reassert his leadership by expanding his territory to the north led to defeat at the hands of the Swazi in 1839. Fearing that Dingane intended to kill him, to rid himself of a rival for the throne. Mpande made a deal with Boers that he would grant them substantial land, on 14 January 1840, Mpandes general Nongalaza KaNondela crossed into Zululand with a force of around 5,000 impi, advancing along the coast towards Dinganes encampment. Mpande and the Boers under Pretorius advanced separately across the Ncome River, the Boers had a force of 308 armed men and another 500 servants in 50 wagons. Dingane attempted to negotiate, but Mpande and Nongalaza refused to listen, Dinganes envoy Dambusa was summarily executed when he arrived at the Boer camp. Dingane then withdrew into the Maguda mountain region, Dinganes general, Ndlela kaSompisi took up a position on a group of hillocks known as the Maqongqo hills. Nongazalas army soon caught up with them, but Pretorius force was still a hundred miles away, rather than wait for the Boers, Nongalaza decided to attack immediately. Both armies were around 5,000 strong, both adopted the traditional Zulu Chest and Horns formation. The battle was contested for a while, but Dinganes demoralised men began to desert to the enemy. It is said that Nongalaza deceived Dinganes men by creating the impression that the Boers had arrived and were about to take to the field, when it looked as though his army might desert en masse, Ndlela ordered the withdrawal of his remaining forces. Wounded survivors were massacred by the triumphant Nongalaza, as were the wives of Dingane, Dingane was furious, and had Ndlela strangled to death on the spot. However, this did not stop most of Dinganes remaining men dispersing back to their homes, the Boers arrived on 6 February, having taken the opportunity to grab as much cattle in booty as they could. They proclaimed Mpande king, and returned to Natalia with 36,000 head of cattle, Dingane escaped with a few followers into Swaziland, but was murdered shortly afterwards by a patrol of Swazis and Nyawos. On 14 February 1840 Pretorius issued a proclamation stating that a stretch of land extending from St. Lucia Bay was now the border between the Zulu kingdom and the Republic of Natalia
Battle of Maqongqo
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A Zulu warrior contemporary with the battle
