Some argue that these men were responsible for the downfall of the African cultures in the area.  Others claim that they were merely highly individualistic fortune seekers, attracted by the lure of lucrative trade in ivory and other goods and willing to do anything to make it rich.  There is evidence they knew what the future could hold for the Zulu, but most were in it for personal glory and wealth.  They had little regard, if any, for the Zulu either way.   Moreover, the competition for resources in the area made many African cultures hungry for any possible advantage.  There is evidence to suggest Shaka knew of the decimation of the Khoikhoi and Xhosa people at the hands of the Europeans.  Still, he wanted to use them for own political advantage.  It was a relationship of opportunity which both sides abused.   

The settlement at Port Natal was unimportant for several years, in part due to  the traders' lack of influence with the British government at the Cape.  They even named the city Durban, after Cape Governor Lord D'Urban in an effort to curry favor with the English, but to no avail.  Their standing among the Zulu was slightly better.  They had been required to prove themselves by fighting for the Zulu, and they expected to be fully reimbursed for their efforts.  They were given homesteads, cattle, and even took Zulu wives.  More importantly, they planned to present themselves as speaking for the King of the Zulu Empire; ambassadors of a sort, with connections to Zulu ivory.  This would prove their value to the British government, and earn them high profile positions in any potential colonial government.

Or so they thought.

Their Waterloo came in 1828, when James King led a disastrous mission to the Cape in an attempt to establish formal ties between the Zulu and the British Empire.  The traders' had assured the Zulu dignitaries that they had the ear of important people at the Cape.  When they arrived, however, they were treated as a public spectacle.  Cape colonists swarmed the Zulu contingent, eager to catch the first glimpse of this group; up to that point most had only heard rumors of their existence.  To the group of prominent Zulu leaders this carnival atmosphere was as confusing as it was insulting.  In addition, the governor refused to meet with the "savages" and suspected King was more charlatan than ambassador.

The failure was complete when King attempted to frighten the colony with tales of advancing Zulu armies.  The Cape had just dealt the Xhosa a crushing blow in the Eastern Cape--although they would continue guerilla attacks, the Xhosa were effectively defeated.  In addition, an expeditionary force came upon the war weary Ngwane. Under Chief Matiwane, the Ngwane fought their way out of Zululand and through the other African societies they encountered  along the way.  By the time the British force overran them, they were outnumbered, outgunned, and thoroughly exhausted.  They did not put up much of a fight.  Based on these experiences, the colonists did not believe any African nation could threaten a modern, European military.  King was debunked.  Cape officials would not meet him, and his Zulu guests lost confidence in him and in the Europeans in general.

Their skepticism was further reinforced by the effects of the mfecane--the violent social upheaval that was now affecting all of South Africa.  War, drought, and population density had left many nations fractured and weak.  Europeans entering this environment assumed it was the natural order of things; further evidence of the inherent inferiority of the African peoples (whom they viewed as incorrigibly savage).   They were still interested in ivory and other goods, however, and maintained their efforts to break Portuguese dominance of the East African trade.  

Shaka was assassinated in 1828 in a coup led by his half-brother Dingane.  With him died much of the good will with which the Europeans had been welcomed.  Stories were beginning to trickle in about the decimation of the Khoisan and Western Xhosa peoples at the hand of the Europeans, and many Zulu began to see the Europeans as a bad omen--one that needed to be removed by violent means, if necessary.  The two sides seemed headed for conflict.

While still the most powerful group in the region, the Zulu were a shadow of their former selves under Dingane.  Lacking the presence of Shaka, Dingane was unable to maintain the discipline of his predecessor.  The military system was intact, but dissent was rampant, and the generals who had grown powerful under Shaka began longing for the glory of the past battles.  Sensing the tension, Dingane attempted to assert his authority over the Europeans at Port Natal.  He was increasingly suspicious of them and demanded that any Zulu deserters to Port Natal be returned immediately (to face death).  When the Europeans hesitated, he threatened them with annihilation.  Their refusal to give him firearms also made Dingane suspicious of their intent.  While he may not have witnessed the musket's superiority to assegai in battle, he knew it to be true; stories of European defeats of major African clans had trickled in for years.  He wanted the firearms for his own army, and was infuriated that the Europeans refused to share the secret.  His fears were fueled by stories of the white farmers entering western Zululand and the increasing number of missionaries converting Zulu dissidents to Christianity.  

Meanwhile, the British continued to tighten their grip on the descendants of the first Dutch colonists, the Boers (from the Dutch word for "farmer").  Cape Colony authorities, seeking to end frontier disputes between Boers  and Africans, passed a number of ordinances to pacify the situation.  Some prevented colonists from violating African lands north and east of Cape Town,  and others ordered gifts of livestock as inducement to reduce raids against Colonial herds.  Equally important were laws which offered basic protections for indentured servants and migrant labor.  A system of "apprentices" had developed on Afrikaner farms in which children of African and mixed race descent spent the better part of their childhood "learning" the farm trade.  While they certainly developed skills, many apprentices were retained well into adulthood, working for little or no compensation other than food and/or shelter.  Some of these children were orphaned during commando raids against African villages while others were children of apprentices, indentured servants and/or other laborers.  In theory, some apprenticeships lasted 10 years while others ended by age 25.   In reality, those who attempted to leave were often forcibly detained (there are even accounts of female apprentices being denied children born during their employment; other cases involve child apprentices being withheld when their mothers came for them).  A great many others, knowing no other life than that on the farm, simply continued working.  The new measures by the Cape government set limits not only on apprenticeships, but other work contracts as well.  The end result was that Africans enjoyed nearly the same rights (except for the vote) as the Colonists.

Most farmers could not live under such restrictions.  Those without significant land holdings developed a migratory lifestyle that was very similar to that of their African adversaries.  They traveled seasonally from water source to water source  choosing the best grazing lands as they went.  The San (Bushman), already in low numbers, saw their remaining resources plundered.  Their meager resistance led to devastating reprisal raids by mounted, armed colonists and soldiers.  The Khoikhoi, pastoral farmers themselves, had the worst of both worlds.  Not only did they compete for the same land as the Boers, but they were often blamed for San (Bushman) livestock raids.

This combination of raids by local African communities and intrusive legislation by the Cape government  instigated the Great Trek--a series of expeditions by over 15,000 Boers into eastern South Africa.  Armed with muskets and the Bible, the first of these independent groups left in 1836, earning the moniker "Trekboers" (trek meaning "long or difficult trip"; boer from the Dutch word for "farmer").  Not all Afrikaners left.  The vast majority remained in the Cape colony under British rule.

The Afrikaners could not have arrived at a more turbulent time.  The Mfecane left large tracts of land abandoned or in disuse.  The Trekboers interpreted this as a  "promised land", or Divine gift.  They also encountered villages facing starvation or domination by the local paramount chief.  Many developed the belief that Africans were incapable of "civilization" and could barely fend for themselves.  This belief was reinforced by decades of frontier conflict in the Colony.  Nevertheless,  most Trekboers were willing to work with the locals when needed.  Unfortunately, their lack of knowledge of (and respect for) African customs created serious tensions.  For example, the Trekboers took the liberty of claiming unbranded cattle as "wild" and adding them to their own herds (a major offence among peoples who consider cattle a form of wealth).  They did not hesitate, however, to use violence to achieve their objectives, conspired against powerful nations that stood in their way.

In 1838, a party of Trekboers, led by Piet Retief visited Dingane with a request for land.  Dingane did not trust the them, and ordered them to retrieve stolen cattle from the Tlokwa Chief Sekonyela.  Dingane likely expected Sekonyela would defeat the Trekboers and solve his problem for him.  When they returned with his stolen cattle and a repeated request for land, Dingane panicked.  He invited them to his royal kraal (homestead) to celebrate a land agreement.  The Trekboers were confident this would be one of many land grants from the Zulu and probably did not even realize that many of the celebrants were in full battle regalia.  With a single command, Dingane ordered the execution of Retief and his entire party.  Retief's party fought valiantly but were overwhelmed by superior numbers.  A sole survivor escaped to report the massacre.  Dingane's impis (armies) then struck several other Trekboer settlements, killing women and children as they went.   He then turned his sights on Durban, intent on removing the European presence.  The frightened colonists and African refugees fled in the face of attack, taking shelter in offshore ships. 

To the Trekboers and their simple code of Biblical justice, this was the ultimate outrage: a sneak attack under the guise of peace.  Some Zulu --even though they may have wanted the Boers killed--agreed that this was a treacherous act.  To Dingane, however, it was a victory over an invading army.   Dingane felt as though he was securing his kingdom.  In reality, he condemned it to ruin.

Late in 1838, a contingent of nearly 500 Trekboers under Andries Pretorius set out to avenge to deaths of their compatriots.  The campaign led them to the banks of the Ncome river, where they circled their wagons in a defensive laager, awaiting an onslaught by a contingent of up to 10,000 Zulu warriors.  The Trekboers prayed for Divine Salvation before the battle, vowing to honor it as a holy day if they were victorious.  Divine Intervention aside, Zulu assegais were no match for muskets and canons.  In addition, their defensive position gave them full command of the battlefield and prevented the Zulu from surrounding the laager.  Finally, and perhaps most importantly was the Zulu lust for blood.  The army had grown impatient under Dingane and was eager to regain its past magnificence through battle.  An earlier Trekboer campaign ended in the deaths of its leader, Piet Uys, his son, and 10 of his men.  The Zulu who missed that fight could not wait to bask in the glory of war.

They didn't stand a chance.

The impi charged headfirst into a wall of canon and musket-fire.  Wave after wave attempted to engage the Trekboers in hand-to-hand combat, only to fall before even reaching the defensive laager.  After the fourth wave, the Trekboer cavalry attacked.  Few Zulu had seen a horse much less fought against a mounted foe.  The short, stabbing assegai (spear) was useless against an experienced horseman.  The Trekboers devastated the remaining attackers, killing as many as 3,000 warriors without suffering a loss.  The Ncome river ran red from the blood of the dead, causing the Trekboers to name the engagement "The Battle of Blood River".  Shortly thereafter, the Trekboers advanced on Dingane's royal kraal and raided his cattle herds.  By 1839, Dingane was dead and Mpande (a puppet of the Trekboers) was placed in his throne.  This defeat effectively broke Zulu domination of the region and left the Zulu nation fractured.  

With the defeat of the Zulu, the Afrikaners  now had land and lots of it.  Unfortunately for them,  the British also wanted this land, claiming the Port Natal tract granted by Shaka gave them a  legal claim to the area.  When the Boers attempted to declare an independent republic in what was left of Zululand, the British came running to the rescue.  Using the excuse of "protecting" the natives against Boer recrimination, the British sent an invasion force to Durban in 1842.  Soon after, Natal became a British colony.  

The Boers who had squatted in Zululand were in no mood to give up their newly acquired territory.  Some resisted but most were forced to  flee west over the Drakensberg Mountains where the republics of Transvaal, Orange Free State, and Natalia were formed.  Unable to mount an effective campaign in these remote locations the British eventually agreed to recognize the independence of the Boer republics.  One of history's many great ironies is that the Great Trek began as an effort to escape British influence.  A good number of Boers, however, chose to remain in Natal, even after it became a British colony.  Moreover, the new Boer Republics--with no manufacturing sector--were effectively dependent on British trade.

The Boers defeated the last pocket of African resistance in 1865.  The fall of the BaSotho gave the Boers the room they needed to secure their newly acquired lands.  It was during this period that the foundations for the future South Africa were laid.  Neither Boer nor British could understand the Zulu men's refusal to do fieldwork, which they considered beneath them.  This contributed to negative attitudes to Africans, and resulted in the importation of  large numbers of Indian and Asian indentured servants.  The social totem pole, therefore, read (from bottom up): Black Africans, Mixed Race Africans (called "coloureds" by the Apartheid government), Indians/Asians and Europeans.  These social divisions led to initial Boer efforts to remove the Zulu (and other Black Africans) to the first tribal "homelands".  It was a legacy of separation that would characterize South Africa for the next 125 years.

The tenuous stability of the region was rocked by the most monumental discoveries in South African history: diamonds (1867) and gold (1877).  Soon after diamond fields were discovered near Kimberly in the Orange Free State, the British annexed the area (doing the same after gold was discovered in the Transvaal in 1877).  British aggression in the gold and diamond fields infuriated the Boers, culminating  in the first Boer War of 1881.  The defeat of the British at the Battle of Majuba Hill secured Boer claims and resulted in the formation of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR, South African Republic, or Transvaal) under Paul Kruger.

On the British side of things, the administration of the Zulu and other clans was left to Alan Shepstone diplomatic agent of the Natal tribes from 1845.  Mpande received Boer assistance in capturing his half-brother, Dingane and securing the throne, which led to great strife within the kingdom.  Shepstone's solution to this instability was to place puppets in charge of the now divided Zulu nation.  Ignorant of traditional rivalries and social structures, he made his selections based on political expedience rather than merit or history.  As a result, members of the royal family were reduced to commoners overnight, while their enemies were placed in charge.  Shepstone seemed content on keeping the Africans divided rather than achieving a workable long-term solution.  His decision would create a major rift within the Zulu community.  Up until the death of chief Mpande in 1872, the Zulu kingdom was marred by violence.  

To British officials like Sir Bartle Frere, this violence was an indication that the "savages" must be defeated once and for all.  That the new Zulu King, Cetshwayo, preferred the British and wanted to work with them was irrelevant.  Frere's mind was made up, and he simply needed an excuse to strike.  He got it.  Accused of adultery, two wives of a minor Zulu chief fled into the Natal Colony seeking refuge from their enraged husband.  In Zulu culture, infidelity is punishable by death.  The chief's son set out in pursuit, capturing the women in Natal and returning them to Zulu territory for execution.  

An outraged Frere demanded the chief's son and his accomplice return to face trial in Natal as well as a fine in cattle from Cethswayo.  In addition, he ordered the Zulu army disbanded and the appointment of a British administrator to serve as governor of the Zulu kingdom.  Frere knew Cethswayo would never accept such conditions, declaring war when the Zulu King hesitated.  The bewildered Cethswayo could not understand why his "allies" were treating him with such contempt. His repeated attempts to negotiate a settlement fell on deaf ears.

Frere responded to each Zulu envoy with more demands, setting an ultimatum date for compliance.  When the date passed, the British invaded.  Ultimately, they were victorious, but not before suffering some of the most humiliating defeats in their colonial experience.  An army of 20-25,000 Zulu warriors overran a British contingent at a hill called Isandlwana in 1879.  The resulting battle decimated virtually the entire British force: almost 1,400 men.  Shortly thereafter, a second British contingent was routed at Hlobane Hill.  In addition to the nearly 200 men lost, hundreds more "native" troops (men of  African and mixed-race descent) deserted their regiments.

The Zulu seemed to poised for an military upset greater than that of the American Revolution: a pre-industrial society defeating an industrialized, global superpower.  They had returned to their warrior tradition and, once again, entire nations seemed poised to fall before them.  The supremacy of the assegai (spears) and the warrior who wielded it was unmatched.   Such thoughts, unfortunately, were mere folly.  The simple truth is that the British had woefully underestimated their foes and would not make the same mistake again.  The need to save face would require overwhelming force.  Furthermore, the Zulu were now guilty of woefully underestimating their foes...

Disaster struck first at the British stronghold of Kambula.  A well-fortified position featuring field artillery, Kambula was in no danger from direct assault.  Although victories, the actions at Isandlwana and Hlobane resulted in significant Zulu casualties (as much as 1,500 at Isandlwana alone).  There was also the incident at Rorke's Drift.  In the days following Isandlwana, a Zulu forced was repelled by a small, well-fortified British force; 500 Zulu lost their lives against 17 for the British.  In close quarter, hand-to-hand combat, the Zulu were without equal.  Modern firearms, however, shot at a distance could cut down an entire impi (army) before it could engage an opponent.

Cetshwayo surely knew this.  He only need look to the Battle of Blood River, fought 40 years earlier against the Boers, to see the futility of frontal attack against an entrenched opponent.  He also may have been wary of provoking the British any more than necessary.  He preferred a negotiated settlement, and decimating another British force would make such a prospect unlikely.  Whatever his motivation, he issued orders that his impis were not to attacked fortified positions.  Instead, they should loot cattle and crops and starve the enemy into submission.

For an, as yet untold reason, the impi did not follow orders at Kambula.  A small British mounted force advanced on the impi, fired a volley, and retreated back to camp.  Thus baited, the Zulu charged headlong into the well-aimed 7 pound artillery shells.  The few who made it to the defensive positions were repelled by small-arms fire and bayonet charges.  An estimated 2000 Zulu--including at least one general--fell that day.  They were joined by another 1,200 at Gingingdluvu a few days later.

As the campaign continued, the British managed to avenge their humiliating defeats in grand scale: villages were burned; women and children captured and/or killed; land and cattle confiscated.   The Zulu fought a defensive battle the remainder of the war, never repeating their earlier victories at Isandlwana.   Cetshwayo was eventually captured and forced into exile at the Cape.  The Zulu empire was divided into thirteen separate chiefdoms, based loosely on the clan alliances before Shaka's time; the Mthethwa, Ndwandwe, and other groups were granted a limited autonomy.  For the Zulu, the British took another approach: installing puppets loyal to England regardless of social standing.  Thus, men who were important, highly respected elders, soon found themselves answering to (and at the mercy of) commoners--many of whom were their political enemies.  In the mayhem that followed, the new leaders sought revenge (physical and political) against the elders they had previously followed.   60 years after its emergence, the Zulu empire was no more.

British policy had created a mess with both the Boers and the Zulu.  Things would get even more messy with the discovery of gold near Johannesburg (in the Transvaal, or South African Republic) in 1886.  In the ensuing rush, Johannesburg's population exploded to 60,000 whites (Boers, Americans, and Europeans).  Foreigners (Europeans and Americans) poured in, establishing lucrative trade centers and banking/financial institutions.  In addition , thousands of Blacks and Indians were imported for mine work and were now earning more money than the average Boer.  By 1892 Johannesburg was a major city with a wealthy elite class, a rising Black/Indian middle class, and a booming economy.  The Boers, many of whom were still living their pastoral lifestyles, appeared to be denied the benefits of this skyrocketing growth.

It would not take long for tempers to flare.

Rhodes joined the Cape Colony Parliament in 1881 to achieve his goal.  He used his influence to manipulate the British into establishing a protectorate  over the area north of the Transvaal (Boer Republic) known as Bechuanaland with (guess who?) himself as administrator.  His next move was to trick  King  Logenbula into granting mining concessions in much of the Matebele and Shona territories further north.  For his efforts he would be awarded the Cape Colony Prime Ministry and a British Royal Charter for his personal states of Northern and Southern Rhodesia (must be nice to own a few countries...).

His actions were calculated to place the squeeze on the Transvaal and its fortune in gold and diamonds.  The young South Africa Republic's first president Paul Kruger surely felt the pressure.  Born and bred a Trekboer, he experienced campaigns against the Ndebele and other African cultures during the Great Trek.  Fiercely independent, distrustful of foreigners, and resentful of Blacks, he resisted all British advances on the Transvaal.  

Rhodes drew first blood by trying to force the Transvaal to join a South African railway and customs union.  His next move was a purchase of Maputo (the Portuguese territory north of Zululand), in an attempt to land-lock the Boers.  This was the equivalent of a hostile takeover to Kruger, who (correctly) knew a South African railway would mean more foreigners entering the Transvaal.   Foreigners represented an influential political foe to Kruger.  Theoretically, with sufficient numbers, this voting bloc could takeover the Transvaal government.  Kruger  responded  through taxation and limiting the rights of foreigners living in Johannesburg.   

Rhodes retaliated with a coup attempt.  In 1896, he plotted a rebellion in the Transvaal, to be supported by a large number of British troops amassing on the border.  The plot, known as the Jameson Raid, failed miserably.  There was no secret as to who was behind it, and even though Rhodes resigned from the Prime Ministry in disgrace a year later, Kruger's suspicions about the British remained.

The English did not give up, using the issue of foreigners' rights as their cause.  In 1899, they demanded that foreigners should be granted the right to vote if they had to pay taxes.  (Sound familiar?  It should.  Taxation without representation was a key factor in the American Revolution against those same British).  Of course, Kruger refused, demanding that British forces pull back from the border.  War broke out in October, 1899 when, after a formal declaration of war, the Boers invaded the British Natal Colony.  After some initial success the Boers felt the brunt of nearly a half million well trained, well armed British soldiers.  By June 1900, all major Boer cities had fallen, and Kruger was hiding in exile.

Then the war got nasty.

Boer kommandos (small paramilitary units) staged clandestine assaults and guerilla raids, attacking British troop locations and disrupting rail service.  They struck with precision and effect.   Afterward, they simply returned to their roles as civilian farmers, escaping British reprisal.  With no one group to attack, the British targeted all Boers.  Farms in the vicinity of guerilla attacks were summarily destroyed.  Livestock, food and supplies were confiscated.  Captives were placed in the world's first concentration camps where conditions were harsh and the mortality rate was high--over 25,000 men, women and children died in these camps.

For the Africans, this "white man's war" was equally costly.  Both sides conscripted soldiers, scouts and spies from within the African communities.  Africans suspected of participation in the conflict were also executed by both sides.  In all, 15,000 Blacks were killed in combat, by execution, or died in British concentration camps.

Finally, in May 1902, the carnage ended, and only the British were left standing.  22,000 British and 34,000 Boer (most of which were women and children) added their names to the list of 15,000 Black casualties.  More importantly, the war had cost the conservative British government its power in England.  A newer, more liberal government took its place with promises of reconciliation with the Boers.  This, however, would prove impossible, as Boer bitterness toward the English and their tactics would remain well into the 20th century.