Who Was When

You are looking at

Zulu Kingdom

AfricaHeartland today: South Africa

Began later than anything else in Who Was When (its dates are disputed).

Compare with…

Meanwhile…

A Nguni kingdom in what is now KwaZulu-Natal, built by Shaka from about 1816 around a disciplined regimental army. It defeated a British column at Isandlwana in 1879, lost the war that year, and was absorbed into Natal in 1897.

Also alive at the same time

Key events

  1. Shaka, backed by the Mthethwa chief Dingiswayo, takes the Zulu chiefdom and begins absorbing its neighbours
  2. Shaka's regiments defeat the Ndwandwe of Zwide, the main rival power, and the Ndwandwe state breaks upDisputed

    Accounts differ on where and when. South African History Online gives Gqokli Hill first, then a decisive battle at the Mhlathuze in April 1818, and a final rout of the Ndwandwe in 1826; Wikipedia names Gqokli Hill, a battle at the Mhlatuze and a later clash near the Pongola river around 1825.

  3. – Zulu wars set off the Mfecane, a series of wars and forced migrations across southern and central AfricaDisputed

    Dates and causes are debated: Britannica gives about 1821 to about 1840, South African History Online about 1815 to 1840. Older accounts put deaths at one to two million, which South African History Online says historians now consider exaggerated. Julian Cobbing argues that slave raiding from Delagoa Bay and the Cape frontier drove much of the violence, a claim other historians contest.

  4. Shaka is stabbed to death by his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana and his bodyguard Mbopha; Dingane takes the throneDisputed

    The year, 1828, is not in doubt. The day is: South African History Online gives 22 September and Wikipedia gives 24 September.

  5. Britain gives King Cetshwayo an ultimatum on 11 December to disarm within 30 days, and invades Zululand in January 1879Disputed

    Historians date the start of the war to 10, 11, 12 or 22 January 1879, depending on whether they count the ultimatum's expiry, the first attack or the battle of Isandlwana.

  6. On 22 January the Zulu army attacks and destroys the central British column at IsandlwanaDisputed

    British losses are counted differently. South African History Online gives about 1,250 British and colonial troops, about a third of Chelmsford's men; Britannica gives 800 British soldiers killed and says a third of his force had been left behind unlaagered.

  7. On 4 July British forces defeat the Zulu army at Ulundi; they capture Cetshwayo in August and divide Zululand
  8. Zululand, annexed by Britain in 1887 as the British Colony of Zululand, is incorporated into Natal