Mpande then took over rulership of the Zulu nation.įollowing the campaign against Dingane, in 1839 the Voortrekkers, under Pretorius, formed the Boer republic of Natalia, south of the Thukela, and west of the British settlement of Port Natal (now Durban). Dingane was assassinated near the modern Swaziland border. Mpande, the half-brother who had been spared from Dingane's purges, defected with 17,000 followers, and, together with Pretorius and the Voortrekkers, went to war with Dingane. The remaining Voortrekkers elected a new leader, Andries Pretorius, and Dingane suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838, when he attacked a group of 470 Voortrekker settlers led by Pretorius.įollowing his defeat, Dingane burned his royal household and fled north. The site of this massacre is today called Weenen, (Dutch for "to weep"). Dingane's army then attacked and massacred a group of 500 Voortrekker men, women and children camped nearby. It is believed that they were killed for withholding some of the cattle they recovered. Retief and his men were overpowered, taken to the nearby hill kwaMatiwane, and executed. At the peak of the dance, Dingane leapt to his feet and yelled "Bambani aba thakathi!"( isiZulu for "Kill the wizards"). On 6 February, at the end of the celebrations, Retief's party were invited to a dance, and asked to leave their weapons behind. 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. This Retief and his men did, returning on 3 February 1838.
#Define wimoweh free#
In November, about 1000 Voortrekker wagons began descending the Drakensberg mountains from the Orange Free State into what is now KwaZulu-Natal.ĭingane asked that Retief and his party retrieve some cattle stolen from him by a local chief. In October 1837, the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief visited Dingane at his royal kraal, to negotiate a land deal for the voortrekkers. One exception to these purges was Mpande, another half-brother, who was considered too weak to be a threat at the time.Ĭlashes with the Voortrekkers and the ascendancy of Mpande In the years that followed, he also executed many past supporters of Shaka in order to secure his position.
One of his first royal acts was to execute several more of his royal kin. Following this assassination, Dingane murdered Mhlangana, and took over the throne. Shaka was succeeded by Dingane, his half brother, who conspired with Mhlangana, another half-brother, to murder him. When Senzangakona died, Dingiswayo helped Shaka claim his place as chief of the Zulu Kingdom. Shaka fought as a warrior under Dingiswayo, chief of the Mthethwa. He and his mother, Nandi, were exiled by Senzangakona, and found refuge in the Mthethwa. Shaka Zulu was the illegitimate son of Senzangakona, chief of the Zulus. Nguni tribes had migrated down Africa's east coast over thousands of years, probably arriving in what is now South Africa in about the year 800 AD At that time, the area was occupied by many small Nguni tribes and clans (also called isizwe=nation, people or "isibongo"=clan). In the Zulu language, Zulu means heaven, or sky.
The Zulu were originally a minor clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal, founded ca. Today, they are the most numerous ethnic group in the country, and have equal rights along with all other South Africans. Under apartheid, Zulu people were classed as second-class citizens and severely discriminated against. The Zulu Kingdom played a major role in South African History during the 19th and 20th centuries. Their language, isiZulu, is a Bantu language more specifically, part of the Nguni subgroup. Small numbers also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique. The Zulu ( South African English and isiZulu: amaZulu) are an African ethnic group of about 11 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Nguni Basotho Xhosa Swazi Matabele Khoisan Zulu, many also speak English or Afrikaans or Portuguese or other African tribal languages such as Xhosa. Zulu Warriors, late 19th century (with some Europeans in the background)įree State Province: 0.14 million (2001 est.