(Forces of the independent Zulu kingdom inflicted a crushi...)
Forces of the independent Zulu kingdom inflicted a crushing defeat on British imperial forces at Isandlwana in January 1879. The Zulu Army was not, however, a professional force, unlike its British counterpart, but was the mobilized manpower of the Zulu state. Ian Knight details how the Zulu army functioned and ties its role firmly to the broader context of Zulu society and culture. The Zulu army had its roots in the early groups of young men who took part in combats between tribes, but such warfare was limited to disputes over cattle ownership, grazing rights, or avenging insults. In the early nineteenth century the Zulu nation began a period of rapid expansion, and King Shaka began to reform his forces into regular military units. Ian Knight charts the development and training of the men that formed the impi which later operated so successfully under King Cetshwayo. He analyzes the Zulus fighting methods, weapons and philosophy, all of which led to the disciplined force that faced the British army in 1879.
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Cetshwayo was born approximately in 1826 in the vicinity of the town of Eshowe, which is located in the modern province of South Africa KwaZulu-Natal. His father, Mpande, was the brother of the founder of the Zulu power, Chucky and his successor Dingane (Dingaan), who ruled since 1828. The childhood of Ketchvajo was at the time of the greatest power of Zulu.
When his father, Mpande, displaced Dingane in 1840, Cetshwayo was brought into the line of immediate royal succession. But his prospects remained uncertain, for although the eldest son of Mpande's first wife, he was closely matched in age by a half brother, Mbulazi, the eldest son of Mpande's more favored second wife. Mpande evaded choosing between the youths, but factions formed, and in 1856 they resorted to arms. Cetshwayo's Usutu faction won an overwhelming victory that was as much a triumph over Mpande as it was over Mbulazi. Thereafter, Cetshwayo was an independent power in the land although Mpande lived on until 1872 without being deposed. The besetting problems of Cetshwayo's reign arose in connection with his white neighbors. Faced by a border dispute with the Transvaal, he cultivated good relations with the British colony of Natal. In 1878 he agreed to an inquiry into the dispute by a commission of Natal officials. Though the inquiry favored Cetshwayo's claims, the British high commissioner seems to have feared that an award against the Transvaal might antagonize white opinion and so jeopardize the cause of a southern African federation, which he had been appointed to promote. He therefore withheld a decision until he had furthered preparations for war and then accompanied the boundary award with an ultimatum that Cetshwayo could not possibly accept. Hostilities began in January 1879. Cetshwayo had no hope of success against an enemy that was better armed and could campaign without regard for plowing and harvesting seasons. In August he was defeated and exiled and Zululand was divided into 13 petty kingdoms under appointed rulers. In 1882, when it was clear that this settlement was unworkable, Cetshwayo went to London for discussions, and in 1883 he was restored to the central portion of Zululand. By then deep divisions had opened within Zulu society. In the north he faced a dangerous rival, his cousin Zibebu, and Cetshwayo's own Usutu supporters seem to have been unwilling to accept the truncated kingdom assigned him. Within months there was bitter fighting that ended when Cetshwayo fled to the British reserve in the south of the Zulu country. There Cetshwayo died in February 1884. The officially assigned cause was heart disease, but it is possible that he was poisoned. He was a spent force by the end, and his death cleared the way for new leadership.
(Forces of the independent Zulu kingdom inflicted a crushi...)
Cetshwayo was a man of intelligence and considerable force of character who he infused a new vigor into the administration of the Zulu state and its military organization.
