Shaka was born in the lunar month of untulikazi july in the year of 1787 near presentday melmoth, kwazulunatal province. Now shaka was the chief of the zulu, but a vassal of dingiswayo. Mzilikazi broke away from the zulu in 1822 after a conflict he had with tshaka. The creation of the zulu kingdom, war, shaka, and the. The zulu people also call themselves abantsundu, which means brown people. He was one of the most influential monarchs of the zulu kingdom. The tswana and pedi lived in the west and the venda, shangaan, tsonga and swazi lived in the north. War, shaka, and the consolidation of power this scholarly account traces the emergence of the zulu kingdom in south africa in the early nineteenth century under the rule of the ambitious and iconic king shaka. Pdf applicability of shaka zulus leadership and strategies.
Shaka began to take over nearby clans and gain soldiers for the zulu. This map illustrates the rise of the zulu empire under shaka 18161828. His life is the subject of numerous colourful and exaggerated stories, many of which are. When you ask a south african white anthropologist what the name of zulu means, he will say it means the sky laughter, and therefore the zulu call themselves people of the sky. Retief had an agreement with dingane that if he succeeded in returning dinganes cattle that had been stolen by sikonyela, the voortrekkers would be allowed to buy land from him and his.
By the mid1820s, shaka ruled a kingdom of more than 100,000 people. Sep 07, 2018 the zulu monarch shaka was a contemporary of the french emperor napoleon, and has even been dubbed the african napoleon by some. He was sent away with his mother nandi to grow up in her tribe, the langeni, but he. Shaka, zulu chief 181628, founder of southern africas zulu empire. Zulu history the history of the zulu nation tourism kzn.
Shaka and the rise of the zulu nation africa unlimited. Elizabeth a eldredge is an independent scholar whose publications include. It is based on the map in illustrated history of south africa. Part one john wright school of human and social studies university of kwazulunatal, pietermaritzburg october 2004 introduction shaka kasenzangakhona, who ruled the emerging zulu kingdom from the late 1810s until his assassination in 1828, has long featured in south african historymaking as a. Pdf the origin and evolution of the nineteenthcentury zulu kingdom are. The life story of king shaka and gender tensions in the. Shaka incorporated the mthethwa under his rule, and established the zulu state as the dominant power among the northern nguni. He and his mother, nandi, were exiled by senzangakona, and found refuge with the mthethwa. Zulu territory was however, strategically important to dingiswayos rivalry with the equallyrapacious ndwandwe leaders, and he cultivated the allegiance of jamas heirapparent, senzangakhona he who acts with good reason. In his initial days, he served as a warrior under the leadership of dingiswayo. Shaka then incorporated the mthethwa under his rule, and established the zulu state as the dominant power among the northern nguni.
His coming into power increased the rate of the mfecane as he was so interested in wars and hence defeated other tribes. The zulu became powerful, aggressive, ambitious, and expansionist. As a result, cattle ranching became the mainstay of the society. An outcast as a child, shaka was brought up among a number of neighboring groups, finally ending with the mthethwa where he distinguished himself as a skilled w arrior in dingiswayos army. In contrast to recent literary analyses of myths of shaka, this book uses the richness of zulu oral traditions. Shaka zulu was the illegitimate son of senzangakona, king of the zulus.
The zulu capital was the royal kraal, a ring of beehiveshaped thatched huts built around two central enclosures. After the death of zulu, his descendants called themselves abakwazulu people of zulu. The pursuit of security in the nineteenthcentury lesotho. The son of matshobana whom many had considered to be the greatest southern african military leader after. By the mid1820s, shaka ruled a kingdom of more than 100,000 people with a standing army of 40,000 men. Problems of the zulu state under the reign of shaka to 1828 shaka succeeded his father sezangakone in about 1816, some problems under his reign included. History of mzilikazi, king of the matebele ndebele.
He solved his owi military and organisational problems in his own way, though within the context of his own ndwandwenguni thought patterns. He was able to recruit additional warriors from these sources and proceeded to train them in his own methods of close combat. After prolonged ritual ceremonies befitting a kings funeral, the burial process started on the 2nd of november, and he was buried on the 4th of november 1868 when his remains were put in a cave at entumbane, on the northern peripheries of the matopo hills. Shaka kasenzangakhona is considered as one of the greatest rulers in the history of the zulu kingdom. Born out of wedlock to a father who was the chief of the zulus, his clan exiled him at a young age. Mzilikazi was one of tshaka s trusted generals and had been tasked to raid a certain group. A starts the rise of what becomes the zulu kingdom. Results of zulu success the zulu did develop a strong state and a powerful sense of identity. While serving in dingiswayos army, before he was chief of the zulus, he create the iklwa 1. Shaka zulu was successful in establishing zulu dominance in southern africa. Shaka constructed a new type of state the concentration of power in the. Jul 27, 2019 shaka, founder of the zulu kingdom of southern africa, is murdered by his two halfbrothers, dingane and mhlangana, after shakas mental illness threatened to destroy the zulu tribe. Shaka kasenzangakhona facts, childhood, life history. Shaka fought as a warrior under jobe, and then under jobes successor, dingiswayo, leader of the.
In the early nineteenth century, the legendary zulu warrior, shaka zulu, emerged as a leading figure in the military and political state of affairs in the zulu kingdom of southern africa. In 1826, under zwides successor, sikhunyane, they again fought the zulu, but were totally routed. External trade was carried out to a small extent while production and distribution of food was centralized by shaka. This 19thcen tury engraving depicts the kraal of dingane, shakas successor, which was built when the zulu empire was at its zenith. The ndebele state under the leadership of king mlizikazi differed from other precolonial states. Crop cultivation was not favourable to the climate and rainfall was inadequate for crops like maize. Apr 02, 2018 this map illustrates the rise of the zulu empire under shaka 18161828 in presentday south africa. The rise of the zulu empire under shaka forced other chiefdoms and clans to flee across a wide area of southern africa. Due to persecution as a result of his illegitimacy, shaka. John omercooper, whose experiences teaching history at the university of ibadan aligned him with the historiographical mood of newly independent black africa, described shaka thus in 1966. As monarch, he held tremendous influence in the zulu kingdom. The zulu ethnic identity gradually emerged in the broad valley along the eastern coast of south africa. The tribes that did not want to come under tshaka s rule fled.
On september 28 1868, king mzilikazi of the ndebele state died. Rise of the zulu people under king shaka zulu after the mfecane, the black peoples were living in an area shaped like a horseshoe. Shaka zulus brutality was exaggerated, says new book. Warfare, political leadership, and state formation. From 1816 to 1897, it was a wellestablished monarchy situated in southern africa, located along the indian ocean coast. Shaka zulus brutality was exaggerated, says new book world. When dingiswayo died, shaka took control of the surrounding tribes and became the most powerful leader in the area. In 1818, shaka fought a great battle against the army of his main rival for control of the region, zwide. Dingiswayo, shakas father, was the powerful, creative leader of one branch of the zulu nation, the mthethwa. The ndebele state by julian cobbing the ndebele state was. He centralized power in the person of the king and his court, collected tribute from regional chiefs, and. In the early 19th century, as population pressures increased, the zulu began to form more centrally organized, warlike bands. South africa shaka and the rise of the zulu state country studies.
The zulu state under tshaka organized instant wars of expansion against the pondo, mthethwa, swazi, zwide ndwandwe and the sotho. Textbooks and literature agree that shaka zulu, king of the zulu nation, was a leading figure in the military history of the zulu kingdom of south africa during the early 19th century eldredge. During his brief reign more than a hundred chiefdoms were brought together in a zulu kingdom which survived not only the death of its founder. Growing up shaka was born into the small south african clan of the zulus in 1787. Clans fleeing the zulu war zone included the soshangane, zwangendaba, ndebele, hlubi, ngwane, and the mfengu. Rise of the zulu people under king shaka zulu on 3 february 1838, dinganes tribesmen killed piet retief, together with 67 of his followers, during an ambush.
Uniting many tribes into the zulu kingdom biography. This is mostly due to the military genius of shaka. It became the largest political and military african state in southern africaat least 250,000 people and about 50,000 warriors by the time of shakas death from about 2,000 warriors and 1015,000 people 10 years earlier. His father was the chief of the zulus and his mother, nandi, was the daughter of the chief of a. The zulu nation became the state of warriors, maintained by warriors and sustained by warfare and it could only survive as long as there was enough fighting to keep the king, the indunas and the warriors busy.
May 18, 2018 the zulu kingdom also goes by the name zulu empire or kingdom of the zululand. Shaka zulu, the 19thcentury warrior king dubbed africas napoleon, was not the bloodthirsty military genius of historical depiction, says new research. They left to live under the great king dingiswayo, who later influenced shakas development and way of thinking. Shaka fought as a warrior under jobe, and then under jobes successor, dingiswayo, leader of the mthethwa paramountcy. Shakas historical reputation may have declined during the materialist hegemony of the early 1980s, but it was the cobbing hypothesis that really put the. Shaka zulu was born in 1787, the illegitimate son of senzangakona, chief of the zulu clan. His life is the subject of numerous colourful and exaggerated stories, many of which are debated by historians. When senzangakona died, dingiswayo helped shaka become chief of. Shaka zulu, the man who would organize them into an empire, was born the illegitimate son of a zulu king. During the reign of king shaka of the zulus, the zulu tribe went from being a small, weak tribe to a powerful, feared tribe. Jan 06, 2017 economically shaka regarded cattle in the zulu state as the state property. Shaka became the celebrated villain of a revolution which supposedly had begun under the good auspices of european influence.
When dingiswayo was killed by zwide, shaka assumed leadership of the mthethwa state and army. Unlike the zulu kingdom the ndebele one was for over twenty years. It was one of tshaka s laws to his regiments that no young men and women of a hostile tribe should be killed at war. On the one hand, napoleon, despite the wars he waged across europe, has been considered by. This map illustrates the rise of the zulu empire under shaka 18161828 in presentday south africa. The ndebele state by julian cobbing the ndebele state.
His father, senzangakhona, was a minor chief of one of the zuluspeaking clans and his mother, nandi, was. The zulu people, who are famous as a warrior people, the people to whom king shaka zulu, of the last century, belonged. Bryant and the wars of shaka, ha, 181991, 409425 reprinted in d. Tshaka also known as chaka, shaka was born an unwanted son of a minor chieftain. He is credited with creating a fighting force that devastated the entire region.
May 21, 2006 shaka zulu, the 19thcentury warrior king dubbed africas napoleon, was not the bloodthirsty military genius of historical depiction, says new research. He was one of the most influential monarchs of the zulu kingdom shaka was born in the lunar month of untulikazi july in the year of 1787 near presentday melmoth, kwazulunatal province. Mzilikazi meaning the great road, was a southern african king who founded the matabele kingdom mthwakazi, matabeleland, in what became rhodesia and is now zimbabwe. Shaka, founder of the zulu kingdom of southern africa, is murdered by his two halfbrothers, dingane and mhlangana, after shakas mental illness threatened to destroy the zulu tribe.
His neighbors were affected and those who failed to accept migrated away, which continued up to 1828 when shaka was murdered in a plot by his brother. Shaka zulu established the zulu empire and revolutionized warfare in southern africa in the early 19th century. Pdf warfare, political leadership, and state formation. Theals generalized picture of the upheavals caused by the expansion of the zulu under shaka was given apparently firm empirical underpinning by several regionally focussed histories produced in the early 20th. However, apart from their reputation as great military leaders, history has remembered these two men quite differently. The zulu chiefdom was small, relatively insignificant and subordinate to dingiswayo, ruler of the emerging mthethwa state. The kingdom of zulu sometimes referred to as the zulu empire or the kingdom of zululand. The zulu wanted to dominate all other chiefdoms in the region. The rise of tshaka and his expansion policy led to the intensification of the mfecane. The life story of king shaka and gender tensions in the zulu state volume 17 daphna golan skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. The fingoes went south where they met the xosas, and for eighteen years tshaka was king and emperor of natal and zululand. By the early 19th century the zulu had become the strongest military force in southern africa under the leadership of the powerful but violent shaka. At the age of six, shaka and his mother were dismissed from his fathers tribe.
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