Anglo-Zulu War (1879): Cetshwayo's Kingdom Against Britain

The Anglo-Zulu War was fought between the British Empire and the Zulu kingdom in southern Africa from January to July 1879. Britain invaded to bring the independent kingdom of King Cetshwayo under its control and suffered one of its worst colonial defeats at Isandlwana, before winning the war at Ulundi. The conflict destroyed the Zulu kingdom as an independent state and left an enduring mark on the history of South Africa and the British Empire.

Background: the Zulu kingdom and British ambitions

The Zulu kingdom had been built in the early nineteenth century by Shaka, whose military reforms are described in Shaka and the rise of the Zulu kingdom. His successors Dingane and Mpande kept it independent, bordered by the British colony of Natal to the south and the Boer republic of the Transvaal to the north-west. Its strength rested on the amabutho, age-based regiments of young men who served the king in war and peace.

Cetshwayo kaMpande, who had fought his way to dominance in a succession war in 1856, became king on his father’s death in 1872. He was crowned in 1873 in a ceremony attended by Theophilus Shepstone, Natal’s Secretary for Native Affairs, and sought to keep good relations with the British.

British policy changed in the late 1870s. The Colonial Secretary, Lord Carnarvon, hoped to unite the British colonies, Boer republics and African kingdoms of southern Africa into a confederation, as Canada had been united in 1867. Britain annexed the Transvaal in April 1877, inheriting its long-running land dispute with the Zulu. In the same year Sir Henry Bartle Frere arrived as High Commissioner, convinced that an independent, militarised Zulu kingdom was a threat to the plan.

The ultimatum

A boundary commission reported in 1878 largely in favour of the Zulu claims in the disputed territory, but Frere delayed publishing its findings. He seized instead on border incidents. In July 1878 sons of the Zulu chief Sihayo crossed into Natal, seized two of Sihayo’s wives who had fled there and put them to death in Zululand. Other minor incidents involved surveyors and missionaries.

On 11 December 1878 Frere’s representatives read an ultimatum to Zulu envoys at the Lower Thukela (Tugela) Drift. Alongside the award on the boundary, it demanded the surrender of Sihayo’s sons, fines of cattle and, most importantly, the disbanding of the amabutho system, the acceptance of a British resident and freedom for missionaries. These terms would have ended the kingdom’s independence. Frere acted largely on his own initiative; the British government in London had not wanted a war.

The invasion and Isandlwana

When the ultimatum expired on 11 January 1879, British forces under Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford crossed into Zululand. Three main columns invaded: a coastal column under Colonel Charles Pearson, a centre column accompanied by Chelmsford himself, and a northern column under Colonel Evelyn Wood, with further forces held in reserve under Colonel Anthony Durnford and others. In all Chelmsford had around 16,000 to 17,000 men, of whom roughly half were African troops raised in Natal. The Zulu army was estimated at some 35,000 to 40,000 men.

On 22 January 1879 a Zulu army of about 20,000 men under Ntshingwayo kaMahole attacked the centre column’s camp at Isandlwana while Chelmsford was away with part of his force. The camp was overrun and more than 1,300 men on the British side were killed, a defeat described in detail in the article on the Battle of Isandlwana.

That afternoon and night a Zulu reserve force crossed into Natal and attacked the small British post at the mission station of Rorke’s Drift. About 150 defenders held out against 3,000 to 4,000 attackers, and eleven Victoria Crosses were later awarded; see Battle of Rorke’s Drift. On the same day Pearson’s column beat off a Zulu attack at Nyezane, then occupied the mission at Eshowe, where it was besieged for more than two months.

The war turns

The disaster at Isandlwana stopped the invasion. Chelmsford asked for reinforcements, and the British public, stunned by the news that reached London in February, accepted the need to send them. Cetshwayo had told his commanders not to cross into Natal and hoped that a defensive victory would lead to negotiations, but Britain was now determined to restore its prestige.

In the north, Wood’s column suffered a defeat at Hlobane mountain on 28 March, but the next day, 29 March, it inflicted a crushing defeat on the main Zulu army attacking its fortified camp at Kambula. On 2 April Chelmsford’s relief column defeated another Zulu force at Gingindlovu and relieved Eshowe the following day. Many historians see Kambula as the real turning point: the Zulu army had lost heavily and its morale was badly shaken.

Throughout these months Cetshwayo sent messengers to the British asking for peace, but the British commanders treated the approaches with suspicion and demanded terms close to those of the original ultimatum. Smaller actions continued along the border, including a Zulu attack on a British convoy camp at the Ntombe River on 12 March, in which more than 60 soldiers of the 80th Regiment were killed. The war also took a heavy toll on Zulu homesteads, as British columns burned settlements and seized cattle, the main form of Zulu wealth.

On 1 June 1879 the war drew European attention for another reason. Louis-Napoléon, the Prince Imperial and heir to the exiled Bonaparte dynasty of France, who had joined the British forces as an observer, was killed when his small patrol was ambushed.

Ulundi and the end of the kingdom

Chelmsford launched a second, slower and more careful invasion. Learning that Sir Garnet Wolseley had been sent to replace him, he pressed on towards the royal capital at oNdini (Ulundi). On 4 July 1879 his force of about 5,300 men, formed in a large hollow square with artillery and Gatling guns, faced an army of perhaps 15,000 to 20,000 Zulu. The Zulu attacks could not reach the square through the fire, and the battle was over in well under an hour. The British lost around a dozen killed; Zulu losses were estimated at 1,000 to 1,500. The royal homestead was then burned. Soon afterwards Chelmsford handed over command to Wolseley and returned to Britain, where he was received by Queen Victoria but remained a target of criticism for the defeat at Isandlwana.

Cetshwayo fled but was captured in the Ngome forest on 28 August 1879 and sent into exile near Cape Town. Wolseley divided Zululand among thirteen appointed chiefs, including the Scottish-born trader John Dunn and the Zulu commander Zibhebhu kaMaphitha. The settlement soon caused rivalry and violence.

Key people

• Cetshwayo kaMpande (c. 1826–1884): King of the Zulu from 1872, who tried to avoid war and later pleaded for his kingdom in London.
• Sir Henry Bartle Frere (1815–1884): High Commissioner whose ultimatum started the war.
• Lord Chelmsford (1827–1905): British commander, blamed by many for Isandlwana but victor at Ulundi.
• Ntshingwayo kaMahole (c. 1809–1883): Senior Zulu commander at Isandlwana and Kambula.
• Sir Garnet Wolseley (1833–1913): Sent to take over command and arrange the peace settlement.

Consequences

Frere was censured by the British government and recalled in 1880. The war cost Britain over £5 million and contributed to the unpopularity of Disraeli’s government. It also changed the balance of power in the region: with the Zulu threat removed, the Transvaal Boers had less reason to accept British rule, and they rose in the First Boer War of 1880 to 1881.

For the Zulu the consequences were devastating. Cetshwayo travelled to London in 1882, where he met Queen Victoria and drew considerable public sympathy. He was partly restored in 1883, but his supporters were defeated by Zibhebhu in a civil war, and he died at Eshowe on 8 February 1884. Britain annexed Zululand in 1887 and incorporated it into Natal in 1897. The struggle against colonial land and tax policies continued, notably in the Bambatha Rebellion of 1906.

Myths and facts

• Myth: The Zulu fought only with spears. Fact: Their main weapons were stabbing and throwing spears, but many Zulu carried firearms, mostly old muskets, and some used rifles captured at Isandlwana.
• Myth: Isandlwana decided the war. Fact: It was a shocking defeat, but British victories at Kambula, Gingindlovu and Ulundi decided the outcome.
• Myth: The war was ordered from London. Fact: The British cabinet did not want a war in 1879; Frere’s ultimatum largely forced it.

Timeline

• 1872: Cetshwayo becomes king of the Zulu.
• 1877, 12 April: Britain annexes the Transvaal.
• 1878, 11 December: The British ultimatum is read to Zulu envoys.
• 1879, 11 January: British forces invade Zululand.
• 1879, 22 January: Battles of Isandlwana, Rorke’s Drift and Nyezane.
• 1879, 29 March: British victory at Kambula.
• 1879, 3 April: Eshowe is relieved after the battle of Gingindlovu.
• 1879, 1 June: The Prince Imperial is killed.
• 1879, 4 July: Battle of Ulundi.
• 1879, 28 August: Cetshwayo is captured.

Why it matters

The Anglo-Zulu War was a war of choice that destroyed one of the strongest independent African states of the nineteenth century. Isandlwana showed that a European army could be beaten by African forces using effective tactics, while Ulundi showed the weight of industrial firepower. The war remains central to Zulu identity, to South African history and to the wider story of the colonial conquest of Africa.