The rule of Dingane and the white settlers

Abstract

The Zulu was a relatively insignificant Nguni clan at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Under Shaka’s rule, during the first decades of the century, however, this puny clan became one of the most powerful native empires in Southern Africa. The youth but ambitious empire shortly confronted not only with other clans, but also with the newcomer European settlers. The aim of this article is to present the important internal and external changes that occured after Shaka’s death, during the rule of Dingane. The study primarily deals with the external events in a chronological order. Consequently, the main topics of the article are the Zulu expeditions against Mzilikazi, the conditions of the British settlers in Port Natal and the appearance of the Boer settlers at the end of the 1830s. Chronologically the article is closed with the death of Dingane, but this event is connected to the first great military defeat from the Boers. In this sense it indicates the end of the upswing period of the new empire. For background research the author used not only written sources, but also the sources of the oral tradition based on Zulu praise poetry (izibongo), and with this method he intended to reduce the one-sidedness of the viewpoint.