Dingane
Dingane ka Senzangakhona Zulu (–29 January 1840), commonly referred to as Dingane, Dingarn or Dingaan, was a Zulu prince who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828, after assassinating his half-brother Shaka Zulu. He set up his royal capital, uMgungundlovu, translated to "Place of the Elephant" or "elephant swallower". He also constructed one of numerous military encampments, or kraals, in the eMakhosini Valley just south of the White Umfolozi River, on the slope of Lion Hill (''Singonyama''). Rise to power Dingane came to power in 1828 after assassinating his half-brother Shaka with the help of another brother, Umhlangana, as well as Mbopa, Shaka's bodyguard. Following the death of Nandi, Shaka's behavior became increasingly erratic and many of his relatives accused Shaka of killing his mother. The true mastermind behind the murder of Shaka was his paternal aunt Mkabayi kaJama, who saw Dingane as the best of the choices for next King of the Zulu Nation. The assassin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ndlela KaSompisi
Ndlela kaSompisi (died February 1840) was a key general to Zulu Kings Shaka and Dingane. He rose to prominence as a highly effective warrior under Shaka. Dingane appointed him as his ''inDuna'', or chief advisor. He was also the principal commander of Dingane's armies. However, Ndlela's failure to defeat the Boers under Andries Pretorius and a rebellion against Dingane led to his execution. This made him a failure in the eyes of his people. Career According to E. A. Ritter, Ndlela was a " Ntuli cannibal recruit" to Shaka's army.E. A. Ritter, ''Shaka Zulu: The Rise of the Zulu Empire'': Longmans Green: London. 1955, pp.122 n., 143, 161, 180, 220, 291 His name means "road" or "path". During the Ndwandwe–Zulu War Ndela distinguished himself by his fighting ability, performing "incredible deeds of destruction" on Shaka's enemies. He was severely wounded in battle with the Ndwandwe. Despite his non-Zulu origins, he was rapidly promoted and was appointed chief of the Ntuli. When his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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UmGungundlovu
uMgungundlovu was the royal capital of the Zulu King Dingane (1828–1840) and one of several military complexes () which he maintained. He established his royal kraal in 1829 in the eMakhosini valley against Lion hill (''Singonyama''), just south of the White Umfolozi River. The name uMgungundlovu stems from the Zulu word or phrase , which means "the secret conclave of the elephant". Some sources also refer to uMgungundlovu as "the place of the elephant". The word (elephant) refers to the king of the Zulu people. Description Dingane established his royal kraal, or capital, at uMgungundlovu in 1829. He took power in 1828 after assassinating Shaka, his half-brother. This was one of the king's military complexes () and was located in the eMakhosini valley, just south of the White Umfolozi River on the slope of the Lion hill. It lay between two streams, the ''Umkhumbane'' to the south and ''Nzololo'' to the north. Encampment () The oval-shaped (military settlement) contain ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom ( ; ), sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to the Pongola River in the north. A bitter civil war in the mid-19th century erupted which culminated in the 1856 Battle of Ndondakusuka between the brothers Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi. In 1879, a British force invaded Zululand, beginning the Anglo-Zulu War. After an initial Zulu victory at the Battle of Isandlwana in January, the British regrouped and defeated the Zulus in July during the Battle of Ulundi, ending the war. The area was absorbed into the Colony of Natal and later became part of the Union of South Africa. The current Zulu king is Misuzulu Sinqobile, who serves as the monarch of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. States a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Piet Retief
Pieter Mauritz Retief (12 November 1780 – 6 February 1838) was a '' Voortrekker'' leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he later assumed command of punitive expeditions during the sixth Xhosa War. He became a spokesperson for the frontier farmers who voiced their discontent, and wrote the Voortrekkers' declaration at their departure from the colony. He was a leading figure during their Great Trek, and at one stage their elected governor. He proposed Natal as the final destination of their migration and selected a location for its future capital, later named Pietermaritzburg in his honour. The massacre of Retief and his delegation by the Zulu King Dingane and the extermination of several Voortrekker laagercamps in the area of the present town of Weenen led to the Battle of Blood River on the Ncome River. The short-lived Boer republic Natalia suffered from ineffective government and was eventually annexed to the British Cape Colony. Early lif ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mpande
Mpande kaSenzangakhona (c. 1798–18 October 1872) was monarch of the Zulu Kingdom from 1840 to 1872. He was a half-brother of Sigujana kaSenzangakhona, Sigujana, Shaka and Dingane, who preceded him as list of Zulu kings, Zulu kings. He came to power after he had overthrown Dingane in 1840. His reign was relatively lengthy at 32 years, but for the latter part of his reign, he was king in name only. His son Cetshwayo became ''de facto'' ruler in 1856. Mpande himself claimed that he preferred a quiet life and that he had been forced to become king. Biography Early career Mpande was born in Babanango, Zulu Kingdom, Zululand, the son of Senzangakhona kaJama (1762–1816) and his ninth wife Songiya kaNgotsha Hlabisa. He was considered a weak man in comparison to his contemporaries. While other half-brothers were eliminated when his brother Dingane assassinated Shaka to become king in 1828, he was allowed to live. Mpande apparently showed no interest in Zulu power politics. Mpande ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona (–24 September 1828), also known as Shaka (the) Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that reorganized the military into a formidable force. King Shaka was born in the lunar month of ''uNtulikazi'' (July) in 1787, in Mthonjaneni, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The son of the Zulu King Senzankakhona kaJama, he was spurned as an illegitimate son. Shaka spent part of his childhood in his mother's settlements, where he was initiated into an '' ibutho lempi'' (fighting unit/regiment), serving as a warrior under Inkosi Dingiswayo. King Shaka refined the ''ibutho'' military system with the Mthethwa Paramountcy's support over the next several years. He forged alliances with his smaller neighbours to counter Ndwandwe raids from the north. The initial Zulu maneuvers were primarily defensive, as King Shaka preferred to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Francis Owen (missionary)
Francis Owen was the first English missionary to the Zulu kingdom, then ruled by King Dingane. He and his household were the only white witnesses to the massacre of Piet Retief and his approximate 80 followers in February 1838 in the Zulu capital of Umgungundlovu. He is also the only European to leave a detailed account of life in the Zulu court and travelling through Natal at that time. Background 300px, The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK), Dutch Reformed mission station on Hlomo amabutho, the site of Owen's camp at Umgungundlovu. The concrete cross is a bell tower, all that remains of a 1969 church building that was torched during political unrest in the 1980s. Owen was born in Chelsea, London, Chelsea, London, in 1802. In 1836 was a vicar in Normanton, West Yorkshire when he attended a lecture given by a retired naval captain, Allen Francis Gardiner, who was seeking a missionary to convert the Zulu people to Christianity. Owen agreed to help and travelled to Sout ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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King Of The Zulu Nation
The King of the Zulu Nation (IsiZulu: ''Isilo Samabandla Onke'' or ''Ingonyama yamaZulu'') or simply the Zulu King, is the paramount Monarchy#Non-sovereign monarchies, subnational Tribal chief, traditional leader of the Zulu people, amaZulu ethnolinguistic group, the Monarch of the KwaZulu-Natal Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa (i.e., the ceremonial figurehead of the Government of KwaZulu-Natal) and the Lord of the Usuthu. The Zulu Kings trace their lineage to Mnguni. Having been a minor but independent polity, they fell under the suzerainty of the Mthethwa Paramountcy, Mthethwa when Shaka Zulu ascended to the throne with the support of his suzerain, King Dingiswayo. During the Mfecane, the Zulu Kingdom expanded significantly until the cession of territory by King Dingane to the Natalia Republic following the Battle of Blood River. Zulu territory was annexed into the Natal Colony and the South African Republic following the Anglo-Zulu War during the reign of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mkabayi KaJama
Princess Mkabayi kaJama (c. 1750–1843) was a Zulu princess, the head of the Qulusi military kraal, and a regent of the Zulu Kingdom. She persuaded her father, the Zulu King Jama kaNdaba, to remarry, and acted as a regent during the reign of her half-brother, Senzangakhona. She was a kingmaker for three succeeding reigns, leading coups and arranging assassinations. She is credited for bringing stability in the Zulu nation and ensuring the continuation of the Zulu line and monarchy. Early years According to oral history Mkabayi was born a twin, and Zulu custom required that one of the two girls be killed at birth to avoid bad luck and the wrath of the ancestors but Zulu chief Jama acted contrary to tradition and spared both Mkabayi and her sister, Mmame. For this reason, and being of stronger character than her sister, Mkabayi grew up being resented by the Zulu people and was blamed for much of the chiefdom's misfortune. In 1762, recognising that her father the chief was gr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |