Lobengula - Matabele War

Matabele War

It soon became obvious that Lobengula had been duped and that the British team really intended to colonise his territory. The First Matabele War began in November 1893 and the British South Africa Company's use of the Maxim gun led to devastating losses for the Matabele warriors. As early as December 1893, it was reported that Lobengula had been very sick, but his death sometime in early 1894 was kept a secret for many months and the cause of his death remains inconclusive. The earliest accounts state it was smallpox, later it was diagnosed as dysentery, and some accounts mention poison, although this seems unlikely. By October 1897, the white colonists had successfully settled in much of the territory known later as Rhodesia and Matabeleland was no more.