Zulu Wars of Empire
The Zulu Wars of Empire refer to a series of conflicts in the 19th century that were largely shaped by the Zulu leader Shaka and the rise of the Zulu Empire in southern Africa. Shaka's innovative military strategies and organizational reforms transformed the Zulu army, enabling them to dominate neighboring tribes and expand their territory significantly. This era is often characterized by the Mfecane, or "the Crushing," a period of widespread upheaval that led to large-scale migrations and conflicts across southern and central Africa, resulting in the deaths of an estimated two million people.
The wars began with the Zulu Civil War in the 1810s and continued through the subsequent struggles for power among the Zulu themselves, particularly following Shaka's assassination. Notable conflicts included the Battle of Gqokoli Hill and the Zulu War against the British in 1879, which ultimately marked the decline of Zulu dominance. Following the capture of King Cetshwayo, the internal strife continued, culminating in further civil wars and the eventual alliance of the Zulu under Dinuzulu with British settlers, leading to significant cultural and demographic shifts in the region. The impact of these wars and innovations in warfare not only shaped the Zulu Empire but also had lasting effects on the political landscape of southern Africa.
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Zulu Wars of Empire
At issue: The Zulu conquest and domination of southern Africa
Date: 1817–1879
Location: Natal and Zululand (southern Africa)
Combatants: Zulu vs. Ndwandwe, Sotho, Shona, Xhosa
Principal commanders:Zulu, Shaka, king of the Zulu (c. 1787–1828), Cetshwayo, king of the Zulu (c. 1826–1884); Ndwandwe, Zwide (d. 1819)
Principal battles: Gqokoli Hill, Tugela River
Result: Zulu victory, the massive population displacements and conflicts of the Mfecane, and the rise of the Zulu state; British partition of Zululand into thirteen British protectorates.
Background
The rise of the Zulu Empire was characterized by nineteenth century historians in terms of the life and times of the Zulu leader Shaka, whose military prowess and innovative and strategically brilliant maneuvers on the battlefield made possible the rise of the Zulu as a power to be reckoned with in southern Africa. The myth of Shaka, and the militaristic Zulu more generally, was greatly enlarged by Europeans whose colonial encroachments and slave raiding activities were seemingly justified by the anticipated military movements of Shaka and his successors. Beginning with the slave raids of Delagoa Bay, traders in the first decades of the nineteenth century in the region of Natal, southern Africa, underwent a period of dramatic social and political upheaval as the result of the disruptions brought to bear by the actions of slavers and their confederates.
Once set in motion, intertribal conflicts escalated with the intensification of slaving activities, periods of drought, and population movements that struck in tandem at the onset of the nineteenth century.
In the midst of this picture arose the Zulu leader Shaka, whose ambitions were inspired by his Mtetwa clan predecessor Dingiswayo. Chosen as successor, Shaka continued the policy of conquering neighboring Nguni peoples, who were then incorporated into the Mtetwa empire. In 1816, Shaka was relegated the task of ruling the Zulu, whom he led with an iron fist. His leadership was as innovative as it was autocratic and far-reaching. In addition to his reorganization of the Zulu army, Shaka ultimately changed the nature of warfare by way of innovations in battlefield strategy, formation, and weaponry. His strategic innovations in this regard propelled Shaka and the Zulu to military greatness and the domination of much of southern Africa.
Action
The introduction of new techniques, including the use of shock weapons; lightweight javelins, or short stabbing spears; large shields; age-grade regimental formations; battlefield enveloping tactics; long-range campaigns into enemy territory; and wars of conquest and incorporation served to rapidly promote the domination of the Zulu over their adversaries. These innovations transformed the nature of African warfare as well as the cultural and political landscape of the peoples of southern and central Africa and portions of eastern Africa.
So dramatic was the impact of Shaka’s rise to power that the period associated with his ascendancy has been termed the Mfecane or “the Crushing.” During this period, Nguni wars and forced migrations transformed much of the region. This pattern was initiated during the Zulu Civil War of 1817–1819, during which Shaka and his mentor, Dingiswayo, went to war against the Ndwandwe led by Zwide. In the Battle of Gqokoli Hill (1819), Shaka avenged the murder of Dingiswayo by routing a numerically superior Ndwandwe army and killing its leader, Zwide. At this point, the Ndwandwe abandoned their lands and fled northward, thereby leaving Shaka the undisputed master of Zululand. In the wake of this battle, Shaka and the new Zulu army laid waste to all opposition, and the death toll mounted rapidly. So devastating was the Mfecane that it has been estimated that some 2 million people perished in the devastation and chaos that ensued as the result of the ripple effect initiated by Zulu armies, in which displaced tribes went to war with peoples as far afield as Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia.
Subsequent to the murder of Shaka by his half brothers, several wars of succession were fought among the Zulu to determine rightful heirs to the throne. The Zulu Civil War of 1856 was essentially a war of succession in which rival sons fought for the Zulu throne occupied by their father, King Mpande. Rival brothers Cetshwayo and Mbulazi went to war, and Cetshwayo ultimately emerged victorious at the Battle of Tugela River in December of 1856. Cetshwayo then saw to it that his brother Mbulazi and all those adversaries who survived the battle were captured and put to death.
Thereafter, the Zulu War (January-July, 1879) with the British and the imprisonment of Cetshwayo effectively ended Zulu domination. The Zulu Civil War of 1883–1884 was in turn provoked by Cetshwayo’s release. Upon release, Cetshwayo waged war against a rival claimant to the throne, Zibelu, who claimed the throne during Cetshwayo’s incarceration. Ultimately, Cetshwayo was killed in 1884, and his son Dinuzulu formed an alliance with the British in exchange for concessions in Natal. Dinuzulu prevailed against Zibelu, who was killed in 1884; however, victory was short-lived for Dinuzulu, who came into immediate conflict with white settlers and was ultimately exiled.
Aftermath
Within three years of the Zulu conquest and domination of much of southern Africa, innovations introduced by Shaka and his successors were rapidly adopted by neighboring tribes. This had the effect of increasing the mortality and casualty rates among warring factions, both Zulu and non-Zulu. The Mfecane in turn had the effect of rapidly and widely scattering the peoples of the region into far-flung provinces, whose own people were in turn scattered by the effects of conflict with the refugee newcomers. In the end, this mass scattering of peoples and the destruction of regional traditions had the effect of depopulating vast regions and facilitating the encroachment of Afrikaners and other colonists of European origin into those regions formerly occupied by the affected peoples.
Bibliography
Knight, Ian. The Anatomy of the Zulu Army: From Shaka to Cetshwayo, 1818–1879. London: Greenhill Press, 1999.
Laband, John. The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation. London: Arms and Armour, 1997.
Morris, Donald. The Washing of the Spears. New York: Da Capo Press, 1998.
Omer Cooper, John D. The Zulu Aftermath. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 1966.
Otterbein, Keith F. “The Evolution of Zulu Warfare.” In Feuding and Warfare: Selected Works of Keith F. Otterbein. Langhorne, Pa.: Gordon and Breach, 1994.
Reader, John. “Zulu Myths and Reality.” In Africa: A Biography of the Continent. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998.
Shaka Zulu. Fiction miniseries. Starmaker Entertainment, 1989.
Zulu. Fiction feature. Charter Entertainment, 1986.
Zulus at War. Documentary. The Learning Channel, 1997.