The Zulu people (its name comes from the expression "ama Zulu" the people of the sky) were united by King Chaka, who made his clan of 1,500 people a formidable nation through conquest and assimilation. Zulu unification is partly responsible for the mfecane, the chaotic wave of emigration of clans beyond the Tugela and Pongola rivers, the new limits of KwaZulu.
Recognized for their formidable army (the impi), the Zulus clashed with Boer settlers and the British army in the 19th century (note the Zulu victory at the Battle of Isandhlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879). Most Zulus today are farmers, but urbanization attracted large numbers during the 20th century. Urban Zulus are mainly found in the Witwatersrand, a mining area in the province of Gauteng including Johannesburg; and Durban (whose Zulu name is eThekwini), an important port in KwaZulu-Natal. Basket weaving, beading, and Zulu singing are famous.
Politically, the Zulus are currently deeply divided between supporters of the African National Congress (ANC) and those of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Violent riots broke out between these parties awaiting the first post-apartheid election. The IFP won in KwaZulu-Natal, but its vote is down slightly in recent elections. For some years the IFP has joined a coalition of unity with the ANC.
Origins
The Zulus were originally a minor clan, founded in 1709 by kaNtombhela Zulu, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal. They belonged to the Nguni group which occupied the region. The Nguni migrated from the east coast of Africa and settled in South Africa around 800 AD.
The Kingdom
The creation of the Zulu kingdom by Chaka
Chaka (or Shaka) was the illegitimate son of Senzangakona, then leader of the Zulus. He was born in 1787. His mother, Nandi, was banished by Senzangakona and found refuge in another tribe:the Mthethwas. Chaka served under Dingiswayo, chief of the Mthethwa, as a warrior. He reformed the art of war in the region and became a formidable strategist.
When Senzangakona died, Dinswayo helped Chaka take over as leader of the Zulu tribe. Upon the death of the king of the Mthethwas, Chaka took over and incorporated the kingdom into his own.
The Bloody Rise of Dingane
Chaka was killed in 1828 by his two half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana. After the assassination, Dingane killed Mhlangana and seized the throne. One of his first steps was to execute the entire royal family. The only exception was another half-brother, Mpande whom he considered too weak to be a threat. For several years, he sentenced most of Chaka's former supporters to death in an effort to ensure his supremacy.
Clash with the Voortrekkers and the rise of Mpande
In October 1837, the leader of the Voortrekkers, Piet Retief visited Dingane in his royal kraal to negotiate land for the Voortrekkers. In November, approximately 1,000 voortrekker wagons descended the Drakensberg Mountains in what is now KwaZulu-Natal.
Dingane demanded that Retief and his men return the cattle stolen by the voortrekkers to a local chief. Retief complied on February 3, 1838. The following day, a treaty was signed in which Dingane ceded the lands south of the Tugela River to the Mzimyubu River to the voortrekkers. On February 6, during a celebration among the Zulus, Retief was invited to dance and leave his weapons behind. In the middle of the dance, Dingane exclaimed:“Bambani aba thakathi! (“Kill those wizards”). Retief and his men were overwhelmed, they were led close to the kwaMatiwane hill and executed. Dingane's army attacked and massacred a group of 500 Voortrekker women and children who were camped nearby. The site of the massacre is called Weenen (from Dutch:to cry)
The rest of the voortrekkers chose a new leader, Andries Pretorius and Dingane suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Blood River on December 16, 1838, when he attacked a party of 470 voortrekker settlers led by Pretorius.
After this defeat, Dingane burned his royal kraal and fled north. Mpande, Dingane's spared half-brother, defected and allied himself with Pretorius. Together they went to war against Dingane. The Zulu king was assassinated near the current border of Swaziland. Mpande then assumed the leadership of the Zulu nation.
Rise of Cetshwayo
After the campaign against Dinagne, the Voortrekkers formed the Boer republic of Natalia, south of Thukela and west of the British colony of Port Natal (now Durban). Mpande and Pretorius maintained friendly relations. However in 1842, war broke out between the British and the Boers, which resulted in the annexation of Natalia by the British. Mpande pledged allegiance to the English and kept good relations with them.
In 1843, Mpande ordered the hunt for Zulus accused of dissent. This resulted in a very large number of deaths and the flight of thousands of refugees to neighboring countries (including the colony of Natal). Most of the refugees fled with the cattle. Mpande raided the surrounding lands, resulting in the annexation of Swaziland in 1852. However, the British demanded that he withdraw, which he immediately did.
At that time, a succession war was raging between Mpande's two sons, Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi. It ended in 1856 with the battle that left Mbuyazi for dead. From then on, Cetshwayo began to usurp the authority of his father. In 1872 Mpande died of old age and Cetshwayo took the throne.
Fall of the Kingdom
On December 11, 1878, the British issued an ultimatum to the 14 chiefs representing Cetshwayo. The terms of the ultimatum were unacceptable from the Zulu king's point of view. British forces crossed the Thukela River in late December 1878. On January 22, 1879, the Zulus defeated the British at the Battle of Isandhlwana but were in turn severely defeated the following day at Rorke's Drift. The war ended with the Zulu defeat on July 4, 1878.
Division and the death of Cetshwayo
Cetshwayo was captured a month after his defeat and exiled to Cape Town. The British bequeathed the powers to thirteen sub-kings, each having his own kingdom. Quickly, conflicts appeared between these kingdoms. In 1882, Cetshwayo was allowed to visit England, he had audience with Queen Victoria and other important people, before being allowed to return to Zululand, to be reinvested there.
In 1883, Cetshwayo was made king of a buffer territory, much smaller than the original kingdom. At the end of 1883, Cetshwayo was attacked at Ulundi by Zibhebhu, one of the 13 under-kings, supported by Boer mercenaries. Cetshwayo was injured and fled. He died in February 1884, probably poisoned. His son Dinuzulu, then aged 15, was inducted.
Dinuzulu and the Boer mercenaries
To counterattack Zibhebhu, Dinuzulu recruited Boer mercenaries, promising them land in exchange for their help. These mercenaries called themselves the Dinuzulu Volunteers, and were commanded by Louis Botha. The Dinuzulu volunteers defeated Zibhebhu in 1884 and rightfully demanded their due. They received about half of Zululand and formed an independent republic. This alarmed the British who annexed Zululand in 1887. Dinuzulu was involved in various conflicts with its rivals. In 1906, Dinuzulu was accused by the English of being behind the Bambatha revolt. He was arrested and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment on Île Sainte-Hélène. When the Union of South Africa was formed, Louis Botha became its prime minister, and he arranged for his old ally to live in exile on a farm in the Transvaal, where Dinuzulu died in 1913.
The exile of Solomon and his descendants
His son, Solomon was never recognized as a Zulu king by the South African authorities, but only as a local chief. However, he was increasingly regarded as king by the chiefs, the Zulu people and political intellectuals like John Langalibalele Dube. In 1923, Solomon established the Inkatha YaKwaZulu organization to promote his royal aspirations, which fell into oblivion before being revived in the 1970s by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. In December 1951, Solomon's son, Cyprian Bhekuzulu was officially recognized as the Supreme King of the Zulus, but real power over the Zulu people was held by white South African officials who worked with local chiefs who could be deposed. they refused to cooperate.
The Apartheid Years
The Bantustan of KwaZulu
Under Apartheid, the bantustan of KwaZulu (Kwa meaning land of) was created in 1970 under the name of Zululand (it took its current name in 1977). It was expected that all Zulus would become citizens of KwaZulu, thereby losing their South African citizenship. The fatherland thus created was composed of a multitude of scattered lands. Hundreds of thousands of Zulus living outside KwaZulu were dispossessed and forcibly moved to poorer lands. In 1993, around 5.2 million Zulus lived in KwaZulu and around 2 million in the rest of South Africa. [ref. necessary] The Chief Minister of KwaZulu was, from its creation in 1970 until 1994, Mangosuthu Buthelezi. In 1994, the province of Natal was attached to KwaZulu, the whole now forming KwaZulu-Natal.
Inkatha Freedom Party
In 1975 Buthelezi recreated the Inkatha YaKwaZulu, predecessor of the Inkatha Freedom Party (or IFP). This organization was nominally a protest movement against apartheid, but more conservative than the ANC. For example, Inkatha was opposed to armed struggle and sanctions against South Africa. Inkatha was originally on good terms with the ANC, but the two organizations went into opposition in 1979 following the Soweto Riots.
Because of its positions increasingly in favor of the apartheid government, Inkatha was the only major organization recognized as representing the opinions of black South Africans by the apartheid government:the ANC and other movements were banned. Unlike the leaders of Transkei, Ciskei, Bophuthatswana and Venda, Buthelezi never accepted the pseudo-independence offered during the policy of Separate Development, despite strong pressure from the white government.[ref . required]
Political violence
From 1985, members of opposition movements engaged in bloody struggles. Political violence first arose between members of the Inkatha and the ANC, resulting in atrocities committed on both sides. It is assumed that they were fed by the apartheid government through more or less direct aid to Inkatha. [ref. necessary] The violence continued throughout the 1980s and escalated in the 1990s during the first national elections in 1994.