African Kingdoms

Zulu Nation (Nguni Clan State) (KwaZulu-Natal / South Africa)
c.AD 1781 - Present Day

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The pre-history of Africa contains a far longer period of human habitation than any other area on Earth, thanks to it being the cradle of humankind's evolution. South Africa consists of a series of undulating plateaus which cover much of the region and extend northwards into Central Africa's Angola. The Kalahari desert forms a central depression in the Southern African plateau, while scrubland and grasslands cover much of the region's remainder.

Indigenous natives belong to one of two language families: Khoisan or Bantu. The former were first to be established, having inhabited the region for millennia. They were displaced in many areas around AD 1000 by Wasja-speaking Bantu tribes which were largely responsible for spreading the African Neolithic and which now dominate large areas of Central Africa and southwards of that.

Regional archaeological and historical enquiry has been extremely uneven, with Namibia being the least-intensively studied while South Africa is at the opposite end of that scale. Establishing a coherent historical framework of events is an often controversial process with little universal agreement.

The Zulu were descended from the Nguni, a group which established itself in the South Africa region in the seventeenth century. The Nguni were Bantu-speakers who had been migrating down the eastern coast of Africa over the course of many centuries, with some groups arriving perhaps as early as the ninth century.

Once in South Africa they formed into several clans of which the Zulu were a single example. They were originally a relatively unimportant tribe but, after Shaka was sponsored as the new Zulu king in 1816, he revolutionised Zulu warfare and established an empire. Zulu identity was subsequently shaped both by Shaka himself and by a series of powerful successors.

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(Information by Mick Baker and Peter Kessler, with additional information from the John De Cleene Archive, from the BBC documentary series, Lost Kingdoms of Africa, first broadcast on 5 January 2010, from Urban Africa; Histories in the Making (Africa's Urban Past), David M Anderson & Richard Rathbone (Eds), from Africana: The Encyclopaedia of the African and African American Experience, Anthony Appiah & Henry Louis Gates (Oxford University Press, 2005), from The New Atlas of African History, G S P Freeman-Grenville (Rex Collins, London, 1991), from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, 1979), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Britannica, and King Goodwill Zwelithini obituary (The Guardian), and Queen Mantfombi Dlamini dies (The Guardian), and Prince Misuzulu as heir (The Guardian), and History World, and Royal Divorce Shocks the Zulu Kingdom (Grayfords).)

early 17th C

Son of Luzumana of the Nguni.

The death of Malandala at some point in the early seventeenth century sees the Nguni (or at least this particular branch of them) divided between his two sons, Qwabe and Zulu. According to tradition the brothers fight, and such is the scale of death wreaked by Zulu and his warriors that they are exiled from Nguni lands.

The Lubombo or Lebombo mountains form a north-south spine which reaches the River Limpopo and the intersection between the borders of South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, while also providing today's eSwatini kingdom with its eastern border

This suggests that they are defeated, despite the high casualty rate inflicted on their opponents, and so Zulu leads his Zulu followers to the north (into modern Mozambique), where they prosper by trading with the Portuguese (and see feature link for more).

fl 1600s

Son. Eponymous Zulu founder.

fl c.1700

Son.

? - c.1727

Son.

c.1727 - 1745

Twin brother.

Mageba's first son is Ndaba, who also happens to be his chosen successor. His other son is Mpangazitha, who marries his cousin. This union results in the creation of the Ntombela clan.

Modern kwaZulu-Natal, the Zulu nation homeland, is a beautiful natural space, and one which is increasingly welcoming visitors from abroad

c.1745 - 1763

Son.

1763 - 1781

Son.

1781 - 1816

Son. Killed by Zwide of the Ndwandwe.

1790s - 1800s

The Zulu are just one of a patchwork of small chiefdoms in pre-colonial South Africa. Others include Ndwandwe and Mtetwa. Up until now, for around a century, they have lived in relative peace by leading an agricultural existence which has remained untroubled by excessive warfare.

Europeans have been trading with people in the region since the sixteenth century, and the Portuguese are the nearest to the Zulu, with their own trading port to the north called Delagoa Bay. Finding goods to trade with the Europeans is becoming harder as competition increases, and the Zulu are in danger of being entirely eclipsed.

For reasons unknown Senzangakhona sends his son, Shaka, away from the tribe. Shaka finds refuge with King Dingiswayo of the regionally-important Mtetwa confederacy of which the Zulu are part, where he learns the skills which he will require to become a statesman and a soldier.

Shaka kaSenzangakhona (to give him his full name) is universally recognised as the founder of what would become known as the 'Zulu nation', ruling from about 1817 until he was assassinated by his half-brothers in 1828

When his father dies, the influential Dingiswayo puts forward Shaka as Zulu king, and the young man seizes the chance to take command of his people and transform their lives.

1816 - 1828

Son. Zulu Nation-builder. Assassinated by his half-brothers.

1816 - 1828

In the space of twelve years Shaka turns the small Zulu chiefdom into an empire which surpasses anything his father or the neighbouring tribes had envisaged. He goes from settlement to settlement, persuading with his spear the northern Nguni chieftains to join the newfound empire.

This time of empire-building is called the Mfecane, or 'the crushing'. Those who refuse to cooperate can chose between death or exile, and the latter flee to the foothills of the Drakensburg Mountains (many of them Nguni, which also causes the Swazi to set up their own Nguni state in the same mountains).

In those mountains they find the hunter-gatherers who are known as the 'sand people' who record their arrival in rock paintings which survive to this day. The same conflicts result in the formation of the Basuto state while Ndwandwe is conquered, having already absorbed Mtetwa.

The Zulu under Shaka became the dominant force in the south-eastern corner of Africa, creating a tribal empire from a mixture of persuasion and intimidation, plus a certain amount of warfare

As the backbone of the new Zulu nation, Shaka builds on recent developments by other chiefs by introducing a system of conscription, and dividing his soldiers into regiments, or amabutu. These will revolutionise Zulu society by removing young warriors from their homes and their people to fully train them and bind them in loyalty to their paramount chief.

He also introduces new fighting methods and weapons (the short stabbing spear to replace the long throwing spear), and a battle formation which will become known as the 'Horns of the Buffalo'.

1824

While Shaka is in the process of increasing the population of the Zulu nation from an initial three hundred thousand to a quarter of a million during his reign, the rest of southern Africa is also changing.

A group of British traders lands in the swampy ground on the east coast of Africa, an area which subsequently grows into the city of Durban. The traders form a base and quickly make contact with Shaka. They start trading with the Zulu from wooden huts in Britain's first outpost in the region.

1828

Shaka is assassinated by his half-brothers, Dingane and Mpande, who seize the kingdom and rule in turn after him. Shaka's death marks a break with the past.

The initial small trickle of Boer settlers into the Transvaal soon turned into a flood which the native states were virtually powerless to prevent

Dingane constructs a new royal residence in the heart of the Zulu nation at Emakhosini Valley in 1829. The site is uMgungundlovu, which houses between five and seven thousand people living in a cluster of around fifteen hundred beehive-shaped houses.

1828 - 1840

Half-brother of Shaka. Overthrown and killed.

1836

Groups of Boer settlers, the descendants of Dutch and German farmers, set off from the Cape Colony to the east in search of new land. One group led by Piet Retief arrives in Zulu territory in early 1837 and, following some brief skirmishing with the Zulu, these 'Voortrekkers' are invited to uMgungundlovu to talk to the king.

They arrive brandishing their weapons and appearing very arrogant to the Zulu, and at a subsequent leave-taking, they are seized by the Zulu at the command of Dingane.

Taken to a hill just outside the royal compound, the seventy Boers are clubbed to death, one by one, with Piet Retief the last to die. The massacre confirms the European image of the Zulu as brutal barbarians.

Following the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte 1814, the Congress of Vienna took on board much of his vital restructuring of the German principalities, with the result that a map of the new Confederation of German States in 1815-1817 looked very different to maps of the previous century, but a good deal of outwards migration would follow (click or tap on map to view full sized)

1838

Nine months after the Boer massacre, their compatriots select a new leader in Andreas Pretorias. He organises a commando of four hundred and seventy Boers to take the fight to the Zulus. By December, the commando has advanced into Zulu territory.

They set up a camp which is encircled by their wagons, with the gaps between wagons protected by wooden fences behind which is packed straw to protect the defenders. The large space in the centre of the circle is where their families and livestock will be positioned, safe from a native attack which will wash around the heavily-protected wagons. This defensive position is known as a laager.

The attack takes place at dawn, but the defensive formation confuses the Zulu and the left horn attacks before the rest of the army is ready. It is thrown into the river with losses of around three thousand due to its inability to engage the Boer riflemen with its short spears.

The Battle of Blood River is a complete and shocking defeat for the Zulu while the Boers suffer three casualties, none of which are fatal. The Zulu are no longer all-powerful in the eyes of their neighbours and vassals.

The Battle of Blood River in 1838 was pivotal for the Boer settlement of Transvaal, with a vastly superior Zulu army (in terms of numbers) being decisively defeated by a small Boer force (armed with rifles, as shown here in the Plassenburg Museum in Kulmbach)

1839

The defeat at Blood River temporarily splits the kingdom in two. Pretorias and a force of four hundred Boers aid Mpande in a civil war against Dingane which results in the latter's overthrow and death. However, the kingdom is unstable and still in a state of shock, and three decades of instability follows.

1840 - 1872

Half-brother of Dingane. Usurper.

1866

A diamond is discovered by Erasmus Jacobs, over on the other side of the Basuto state, at Kimberley in Boer-controlled central-southern Africa. It is a discovery which will have profound implications for the Zulu, once they have been fully reunited by Cetshwayo.

1871 - 1872

Mpande has not specifically named a successor, relying on the Zulu tradition that the son of his 'great wife' will be selected after his passing. Having redesignated his great wife more than once, the succession is contested while Mpande is still alive between two of his sons, Cetshwayo and Mbulazi.

The contest is decided at the Battle of Ndondakusuka, close to the banks of the River Tugela. Although Cetshwayo is the victor and de facto ruler of the Zulu, Mpande remains king for over a year.

A British newspaper piece around 1900 depicted the 'savage potentate', probably Queen Lobatsibeni Gwamile Mdluli of Swaziland, being able to cross a stream without getting wet thanks to her loyal servants

1872 - 1879

Son. Briefly exiled after being defeated.

1873

Within two years of a much more spectacular diamond find (in 1871), thousands of Europeans have arrived to seek their fortunes. The fevered activity at the various mines needs a comprehensive labour force, and the mine owners turn to the natives.

Young men are bound to their work by contracts which prevent them leaving after a short season of work, but which also give them money in their pockets. Zulu men are included in this workforce.

1878

With people scrambling for diamonds, the British authorities of the Cape Colony are keen to regulate the industry by drawing all of the Boer territories and the remaining independent native territories under their control, including the Zulu.

A diamond was found near Hopetown, Northern Cape province, in 1866 and in 1869 a larger diamond was found, known as the 'Star of Africa', triggering the South African diamond rush, with prospectors arriving from around the world and diamond digging being started in several areas

A series of minor border infringements by the Zulu are blown up by the British into the threat of a Zulu invasion of Natal. In December 1878, the Zulu are issued with an ultimatum which they cannot possibly accept, as it means dismantling their army and accepting British administration. With the Zulu kingdom once again a powerful military force, Cetshwayo declares war against Britain.

1879

Three columns of about twelve thousand British infantry under Lord Chelmsford work their way into Zululand. They camp at Isandhlwana on 20 January. Chelmsford splits his forces, leading the bulk of them down into the valley, so that twenty thousand massed Zulu troops can annihilate the rest at the Battle of Isandhlwana.

Cetshwayo writes himself into the annals of history with his victory, inflicting upon British troops one of their worst colonial defeats (as depicted in the feature film, Zulu Dawn). Today, a series of white cairns mark the burial places of the twelve hundred British military and support staff dead.

The desperate but ultimately victorious British defence of the Rorke's Drift station saw the largest number of Victoria Cross medals ever awarded for one day of fighting

A secondary action at the small British garrison of Rorke's Drift, twelve kilometres away is not so successful. The rump of the main Zulu force at Isandhlwana, about four thousand strong, disobeys the king's order not to cross into the British-controlled Natal Colony so that they can attack the garrison of a hundred and fifty or so soldiers at the garrison fort.

They expect another easy victory, but the garrison holds them off, killing about five hundred of their number. The battle goes down in history as one of the greatest British military victories, offsetting the defeat of the day before (the essential details are depicted in the feature film Zulu).

1879 - 1883

Five months after the two battles the British return to Zululand with an army twenty-five thousand strong. A series of battles brings both sides to the town of Ulundi, just a few kilometres from Cetshwayo's royal compound.

An evolution of the anti-cavalry square formation is used by the British, with rifles and canon firing from all four sides of this new 'block' to devastate the Zulu army. With casualties of fifteen hundred warriors, they surrender.

Following two major battles between the Zulus and the British in 1878, a major British military force entered the region and defeated Cetshwayo's warriors through a series of battles

Cetshwayo is imprisoned and the Zulu kingdom is divided into thirteen 'kinglets', each ruled by a minor king who is an enemy of Cetshwayo, apart from one which is soon governed by Catshwayo himself after his restoration by Britain.

The Zulu spend the next few years fighting a devastating civil war which kills more of them than any conflict against the British. Cetshwayo is restored as overall ruler of the Zulu in 1883.

1879 - 1884

Son. Governor of one of the 'kinglets'.

1883 - 1884

Restored to a buffer reserve territory but defeated by a rival.

1883 - 1884

Although Cetshwayo has been restored as overall ruler of the Zulu by the British, one of the former 'kinglets' remains, under the governance of Usibepu, one of his sons. With Boer backing in the form of mounted mercenaries, that son attacks his father's kraal on 22 July 1883, wounding him.

Cetshwayo is able to escape and find refuge with the British, but he dies a few months later, possibly due to blood poisoning or, more simply, poison. Usibepu is defeated by Dinuzulu at the Battle of Ghost Mountain (or Tshaneni), with each side fielding their own mounted Boer mercenaries.

Following Cetshwayo's fall and restoration, the Boers were firmly part of the political landscape, backing their chosen Zulu candidate for the throne in 1883-1884

1884 - 1913

Son. Last officially-recognised king of the Zulu.

1884

Those Boers who had fought for Dinuzulu claim the land in Zulu territory which they had been promised, but expanding their claims to such an extent that half the kingdom would be lost to them. The British authorities step in and grant them land in northern Zululand.

On 5 August 1884 the Boers declare a republic, but this is absorbed into Transvaal in 1888. In 1885 the bamaNgwato on Transvaal's northern edge accept a British protectorate of Bechuanaland.

1887 - 1910

Zululand is formally annexed by Britain in 1887, although the formation of the 'Union of South Africa' in 1910 replaces this administration. The Zulu kings are removed from office and power, but they continue to exert a strong influence over their people, who remain the largest ethnic group within the new nation state of South Africa.

1890 - 1897

Dinuzulu is exiled to the island of St Helena for a period of seven years for leading a Zulu army against British forces during his brief period as a semi-independent sovereign king.

Despite being exiled to St Helena for seven years for leading troops in opposition to British interests, Dinuzulu reigned as Zulu king for almost thirty years

1890 - 1897?

Son of Mpande. Regent, possibly in 1890-1897.

1906 - 1908

A rebellion breaks out amongst the Zulu which comes to be labelled the Bambatha Rebellion. It is put down by the British, who accuse Dinuzulu of orchestrating it from behind the scenes. He is put on trial for treason and is found guilty, being sentenced to four years imprisonment from March 1908.

1908 - 1910?

Regent, possibly in 1908-1910.

1910

An old friend of Dinuzulu's is General Louis Botha. He becomes prime minister of the union of South Africa, and orders Dinuzulu's release. The Zulu king is taken to the Uitkyk farm in the Transvaal, where he resides for the remaining three years of his life, dying in 1913.

1913 - 1933

Son. Born on the island of St Helena in 1891.

1933 - 1968

Son.

1933 - 1945

Although Cyprian, a minor at the moment of his accession, is seen as the rightful successor to Maphumazana, he is involved in a succession dispute. His opponent is not known, but the dispute is resolved in his favour in 1944 or 1945, during which time his uncle, Arthur Mshiyeni, serves as his regent.

In 1947, now confirmed as the paramount leader of the Zulu, Chief Cyprian Bhekezulu greeted King George VI of Great Britain during the latter's royal tour of South Africa

1933 - 1945

Son of Dinuzulu. Regent during the succession dispute.

1968 - 2021

Son of Cyprian. Born 14 Jul 1948. Died 21 Mar 2021.

1968 - 1971

Regent during Goodwill's self-imposed exile on St Helena.

1994

The emergence of the union of South Africa into an era of majority rule is accompanied by a constitution which enshrines a wide range of equalities: not just racial equality but gender equality and the recognition of diverse sexual orientations. It is highly modern in its range, but all the same enshrines the position of traditional monarchs.

Thanks to it, Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu nation is created part of a modern South Africa, while still representing an old lineage and old practice. The inclusion allays deep-seated fears that the Zulu could be sidelined by the new regime. Instead the eleven separate enclaves of the province of Natal are reincorporated into South Africa.

The king's former chief minister (since 1976), Mangosuthu Buthelezi, with whom he had shared a somewhat strained relationship, now becomes minister of home affairs.

2018

Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa since 2009, comes under intense pressure even from his own ANC colleagues to resign the presidency, with scandals and their political pressures encircling him.

King Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu nation is on the left here, with the political leader and his former chief minister, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, at the 'King Shaka Day' celebration in 2019

His initial inclination to tough it out is dealt a blow by Zwelithini's private but powerful advice to depart quietly and with dignity. The meeting between Zuma and Zwelithini in the first week of February 2018 presages Zuma's resignation a few days later.

2021

King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu dies on 21 March 2021, being survived by six wives and twenty-eight children. Prince Lethukuthula Zulu, eldest son of third wife, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini, has already died though, in November 2020.

The name of the late king's successor is not immediately clear thanks to such a convoluted family grouping. The queen acts as regent during this brief period before her own death just a month later.

2021

Queen and wife. Died unexpectedly, aged 65, 30 Apr 2021.

2021

Just a month after assuming the position of regent during the succession process, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini dies unexpectedly. Some local reports suggest that she had been ill for some time, while accusations of poisoning and forgery also fly about. On 7 May her son, Prince Misuzulu Zulu, is formally announced as the designated successor to the throne, ascending as Misuzulu kaZwelithini.

At the age of sixty-five, Queen Mantfombi became interim leader (regent) of the Zulu nation in South Africa following the death of her husband, Goodwill Zwelithini, but just one month into her regency she was admitted into hospital after suffering an unspecified and eventually fatal illness

2021 - Present

Son and designated successor. Born 1974.

2025

The Zulu royal family faces an unprecedented uproar as Misuzulu kaZwelithini seeks to make the 'unorthodox' decision of divorcing his first wife, Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela. The decision sends shockwaves through the Zulu nation, where divorce is heavily frowned upon and polygamy still remains deeply rooted in tradition.

In the same year, the king proposes to South African citizen Sihle Mdluli, but in eSwatini instead of KwaZulu-Natal which causes further shock and outrage. The move may be designed to avoid direct abuse of the proposed bride, along with avoidance of potential witchcraft against her.