KwaZulu-Natal - History

History

Further information: Zulu Kingdom, Natalia Republic, Colony of Natal, Natal Province, and KwaZulu

Vasco da Gama of Portugal saw the coast of Natal on Christmas Day 1497. Natal is the Portuguese word for Christmas which gave rise to the European name for the region. The area was occupied centuries ago by the Nguni branch of the Bantu.

The first European settlers established a trading post called Port Natal in 1824 – these were mostly British settlers. These settlers made almost no attempt to develop the interior, whose inhabitants had been decimated by the Zulu chief Shaka (also spelled Chaka). The Afrikaner Voortrekkers entered the area via the Drakensberg passes in 1837. These Afrikaners defeated the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838 and thereafter established the Republic of Natal. Thus, the territory was once part of a short-lived Boer republic between 1839 and 1843 until its annexation by Britain. Many Afrikanner inhabitants left for the interior after the annexation and were replaced by immigrants, mainly from Britain. From 1860 onward, increasing numbers of Indians were brought in by the British mainly to work in the sugar plantations on the coast. The colony acquired Zululand (the area north of the Tugela River) after the Zulu War of 1879. The lands north of the Buffalo River were added in 1902. Boer forces entered the area during the South African War (1899 to 1902) – also known as the second Boer War- and laid siege to Ladysmith. They failed to build on their initial advantage and for three months the line between the opposing forces followed the course of the Tugela River. In 1910 the colony became a province of the Union of South Africa and in 1961 of the Republic of South Africa.

When the homeland of KwaZulu, which means "Place of the Zulu" was re-incorporated into the Natal province after the end of apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal, which had existed between 1910 and 1994, was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy; the majority population and language of the province is Zulu. It is the only province in South Africa that has the name of its dominant ethnic group as part of its name.