Literature on the History of Southern Africa |
History of Zululand : Narrative . References : Online Secondary Sources . Online Primary Sources . Bibliographic and Print Sources |
NARRATIVE 1818-1838 . 1838-1887 . 1887-1910 . For the country's later history, see History of Natal, History of South Africa |
Zulu Kingdom 1818-1838 Early in the 19th century, the Zulu, a Bantu people living in what is today the Natal Province of South Africa, established a powerful army, consisting of units (Impis) of highly disciplined foot soldiers armed with shields and Assegais, short-shafted spears with large iron blades. Under King Shaka (1817-1828) the Zulus spread panic among their enemies and potential victims, causing a wave of migration. The Zulus systematically subjected tribes living in their vicinity, forcing them to pay tribute (cattle). In 1824, Shaka 'ceded' the coastal stretch of Natal to the British, who established Port Natal. If fact, the British were tolerated by the Zulu. In 1821, Mzilikazi broke with Shaka and lead his followers, known as the Matabele, into the interior. Defeated by the Boers, he established the Matabele Kingdom in what is Zimbabwe today. Shaka's successor Dingane (1828-1840) had Boer leader Piet Retief and 60 of his followers massacred in 1837. In the subsequent war, the Zulu were defeated by a much smaller Boer force in the Battle of Blood River (1838); the Boers established the Republic of Natalia. The Zulu withdrew to the area north of the Tugela River, an area known as Zululand, where they continued to rule. Zululand 1838-1887 The Zulu Kingdom was established in 1818. Based on a new strategy of highly disciplined, fast-moving infantry units armed with Assegai and shield, the Zulu created such fear among their neighbours that many tribes moved away from the area (Mfekane). By the time of the arrival of the Boers (Great Trek, 1835), much of the Veld was thinly populated, and the Boer Republics were established on the margins of Zulu territory. With the establishment of the British colony of Natal (1843), Zulu territory was limited to Zululand - the territory east of Buffalo River. An 1879 British invasion, despite the Zulu victory at the Battle of Isandlhwana, resulted in a British victory. Zululand was divided into 13 petty kingdoms. Part of Natal 1887-1910 In 1887, Zululand was annexed into Natal. In 1906, the Zulus rebelled against British rule (Bambatha Rebellion). As part of Natal, Zululand in 1910 became part of the Union of South Africa. Following the death of King Dinuzulu (1913), Britain did not recognize his successor. |
Country Profiles | Current |
Article : Zulu Kingdom 1816-1897, from Wikipedia |
Historical |
J.A. Farrer, Zululand and the Zulus : their history, beliefs, customs, military system, home life, legends, etc., etc., and missions to them 1879, IA H.E. Colenso, The present position among the Zulus, 1893, with some suggestions for the future 1893, IA H.R. Haggard, Cetywayo and his white neighbours ; or, remarks on recent events in Zululand, Natal, and the Transvaal 1896, IA |
Links | on History |
Organizations |
Anglo-Zulu War Historical Society |
Historical Dictionaries |
P.E. Raper, Dictionary of Southern African Placenames n.d. |
Timelines |
Accounts of History | Modern |
South Africa : KwaZulu-Natal, Zulu History - History of the Zulu Nation |
Historical |
J.A. Farrer, Zululand and the Zulus : their history, beliefs, customs, military system, home life, legends, etc., etc., and missions to them 1879, IA |
Specific Periods |
F.E. Colenso, The ruin of Zululand : an account of British doings in Zululand since the invasion of 1879 ... Being a sequel to The history of the Zulu war
vol.1 1884,
vol.2 1884, IA Henry Rider Haggard, Cetywayo and his White Neighbours (1882), posted online by Gutenberg Library Online Natal Tourism, Recent History of the Zulu People W.R. Perry, An Archaeological Test of the Settler Model Account of the Mfecane/Difaqane, Africa Update 1999 M. Deflem, Warfare, Political Leadership, and State Formation: The Case of the Zulu Kingdom, 1808-1879 Ethnology 38(4):371-391 (1999) |
Historiography |
J. Cobbing, The Mfecane as Alibi: Thoughts on Dithakong and Mbolompo, Journal of African History, 29 (1988), pp.487-519 J. Cobbing, The Case against the Mfecane, African Studies Seminar Paper, Univ. of Witewatersrand 1984 The Mfecane Debate, Anglo-Zulu War Historical Society M.A. Richner, The Historiographical Development of the Concept "mfecane" and the Writing of Early Southern African History, from the 1820s to 1920s, thesis Rhodes Univ. 2005 |
Politics |
N.J. Makume, A historical survey of the development of political awareness among the Zulus 1989 G. van Niekerk, Manipulation of Traditional Leadership and Traditional Legal Institutions: Zululand during the 1880s B.M. Nicholls, Zululand 1887-1889: The Court of the Special Commissioners for Zululand and the Rule of Law., Journal of Natal and Zulu History vol.XV, 1994/1995 |
Military |
Article : Anglo-Zulu War 1879, from Wikipedia Article : Bambatha Rebellion 1906, from Wikipedia Zulu Wars, from FOTW, on flags and Zulu insignia, no illustrations The Zulu War : Isandhlwana & Rorke's Drift, from Map Forum A. de V. Minnaar, Zululand and the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, South African Military History Society, Military History Journal 8.1 1989 C.E. Colenso, E. Dumford, History of the Zulu war and its origin 1880, IA M. White, Death Tolls for the Multicides of the Twentieth Century, Mfekane (1818-1840) and the Reign of Shaka (1816-1828), Zulu Civil War, 1856, Anglo-Zulu War 1879, Zulu Revolt, 1905 Heritage History, Zulu Wars 1838-1879 J. Wassermann, The Anglo-Boer War in the Borderlands of the Transvaal and Zululand, 1899-1902, Militaria 39 D.H. Makobe, The Destruction of the Zulu Kingdom : The Civil War in Zululand 1879-1884, Scientia Militaria 26/1 1996 Article : Mfecane, Wikipedia W.G. Mills, The Zulu Kingdom and the Mfecane |
Economy & Finances |
Zululand Chamber of Business Foundation, History |
Social History |
M. Ngubane, Sources of Succession Disputes in Respect pf
Ubukhosi / Chieftainship with Regard to the Cele and Amangwane Chiefdoms, Kwazulu-Natal., thesis Univ. of Zululand, 2005 |
Ethnography |
Peter Baxter, History of the AmaNdebele;
especially chapter 3 : Ndebele Exodus from Zululand |
Religion |
Diocese of Zululand : Our History Article : Anglican Diocese of Zululand, from Wikipedia B.K. Zulu, From the Lüneburger Heide to Northern Zululand. A History of the Encounter between the Settlers, the Hermannsburg Missionaries, the Amakhosi and their People, with Special Reference to Four Mission Stations in Northern Zululand (1860-1913), thesis Univ. of Natal 2002 Franco Frescura, List of Mission Stations in Southern Africa |
History of Regions |
Local History |
History of Empangeni, Zululand, from empangeni.org |
Institutions |
History of the University of Zululand |
Biographies |
South African History Online : Biographies W.H. Wills et al., The Anglo-African who's who and biographical sketch-book 1905, IA J. Laband, Longcast in Zululand. The paradoxical life of a frontiersman, 1850-1900, from Journal of Natal and Zulu History 1994/95; on William Longcast Baden-Powell in Zululand, from Pinetreeweb C. Ballard, John Dunn of Zululand A.W. Lee, Charles Johnson of Zululand, The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1930, Project Canterbury Articles : Shaka, Dingane kaSenzangakhona, Mpande kaSenzangakhona, Cetshwayo kaMpande, Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo, from Wikipedia South African History Online, King Dinizulu |
Environmental History |
Others |
Historical Data | Lists of Statesmen |
List of Zulu Kings, Wikipedia |
Statistical Data | Population Figures |
Documents | Historical Newspapers |
Online Yearbooks - Zululand Entries |
Statesman's Year-Book, Zululand
1890, pp.189-190, IA,
1891, pp.190-192, IA,
1892, pp.201-202, IA,
1894, pp.202-203, IA,
1895, pp.202-203, IA,
1896, pp.202-203, IA,
1898, (Zululand : see Natal), IA |
Films on History/Society |
Image Databanks |
Systematic Collections General |
Systematic Collections Specialist |
Accidental Collections |
Universal Collections Items on Zululand |
Archival Deposits |
Search National Archives, UK for Zululand University of Johannesburg, South African Law Reports listed according to Shelf (Subject) Code in the Law Library, scroll down for Natal |
Laws |
Treaties | General Treaty Collections |
Bilateral Treaty Collections |
Historiography |
Document Surveys |
Document Collections |
Individual Documents |
The trial of Dinuzulu on charges of high treason at Greytown, Natal, 1908-09,
1969, IA |
Historical Maps | collections |
Zululand, Modern |
Southern Africa 1894, J. de Salas Vara del Rey |
Zululand, contemporary |
1879 Zululand Map, britishempire.co.uk 1885 South Africa Map featuring a divided Zululand; britishempire.co.uk R. de Lannoy de Bissy, Carte de l'Afrique a l'echelle de 1:2 000 000 55. Pretoria 1882, 55. Pretoria 1896, 55. Pretoria 1899, 60. Pietermaritzburg 1881, 60. Pietermaritzburg 1883, 60. Pietermaritzburg 1897, Gallica Zululand 1906, Probert Encyclopedia |
Historical Encyclopedia Entries |
General |
Wikisource : 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica/Zululand |
Religious |
Article Zululand, from Catholic Encyclopedia |
Economic |
Geographical |
W.H.P. Greswell, Geography of Africa south of the Zambesi 1892, IA;
Native States and Protectorates pp.285-307; Zululand pp.296-297 G.T. Warner, A Geography of British South Africa< 1904, IA; The Zulus pp.42-47 |
Ethnographical |
E. Reclus, A.H. Keane, The Earth and its Inhabitants Africa vol.4 : South and East Africa, 1890, IA : Natal and Zululand pp.178-196 E. Reclus, A.H. Keane, Africa and its Inhabitants vol.4 1899, IA; Natal and Zululand pp.178-196 |
Historical |
W. Douglas MacKenzie, South Africa, its History, its Heroes and Wars 1900, IA;
Zululand pp.70-91 |
Travelogues |
B. Mitford, Through the Zulu country; its battlefields and its people
1883, IA J.F. Ingram, The land of gold, diamonds and ivory; being a comprehensive handbook and guide to the colonies, states and republics of South and East Africa 1889, IA, The Komatie and other Fields pp.142-145, The Zulus and Zululand pp.145-151, Customs and Legends of Zululand pp.151-155 |
Resident Memoirs |
C. Vijn, Cetshwayo's Dutchman; being the private journal of a white trader in Zululand during the British invasion 1880, IA |
Institutions | Archives |
National Archives and Records Service of South Africa, Offices which form part of the
National Archives and Records Service of South Africa, scroll down for KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Archives National Archives of South Africa, Directory Entries of Archival Repositories 1999 page 8 : Ulundi Archives Repository |
Musea | South Africa Guide : Zululand Historical Museum |
Monuments |
Libraries |
Official Symbols | Flags, Coats of Arms |
Stamps |
Article : Postage stamps and postal history of Zululand
, from Wikipedia |
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND PRINT SOURCES Bibliographies . Online Libraries . Thesis Servers . Online Journals . General Accounts . Specific Topics . Historical Dictionaries . Statistical Data . Yearbooks |
Bibliographies | general |
Search ISBN Database RHS Bibliography UK National Archive Online Library |
specialist bibliographies |
serial publications |
general bibliographies Zululand entries |
Zululand |
Aluka, African Online Digital Library (AODL),
African Digital Library (ADL) |
Thesis Server |
IR Space, Search South African & African research repositories Registry of Open Access Repositories : South Africa Open Access Theses and Dissertations |
Online Journals | full text online |
Directory of Open Access Journals Journal of Natal and Zulu History 1981-2010 Historical Association of South Africa, Historia |
General Accounts |
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Macropaedia, Vol.28, pp.902-907 Article Southern Africa : Namibia. KMLA Lib.Sign. R 032 B862h v.28 Robert Ross, A Concise History of South Africa, Cambridge Concise Histories, 1999, 219 pp. |
Specific Topics |
Historical Dictionaries |
Statistical Data |
IHS : B.R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics. Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750-2000, London : Palgrave 2003 [G] |
Yearbook Entries |
Article : Zululand, in : Statesman's Year Book 1895 p.202 [G] Article : Zululand, in : Americana Annual 1927 p.909, 1928 p.842, 1930 p.834, 1931 p.839 [G] Article : Zululand, in : International Year Book 1898 p.932, 1899 p.887, 1900 p.963 [G] |