Anglo-Zulu War Facts & Worksheets

Southern Africa in the 1870s

• By the mid-nineteenth century, Britain was the leading power in southern Africa, controlling Cape Colony, taken from the Dutch in 1814, and Natal, annexed in 1843 after the fall of the Boer Republic of Natalia. These territories bordered Boer settlements and African kingdoms, including the Zulu Kingdom, and British policy focused on steady expansion. The discovery of diamonds near the Vaal River in 1867 further increased British interest, leading to the rapid growth of Kimberley and the annexation of West Griqualand to secure the diamond fields.
• In 1874, the Colonial Secretary, Lord Carnarvon, proposed a federation of colonies, Boer states, and African kingdoms under British rule. The Boers rejected the plan, but in 1877 Britain annexed the Transvaal, claiming it needed protection from the Zulus. Sir Bartle Frere, appointed High Commissioner in 1877, saw the Zulu Kingdom as the main obstacle to federation. He accepted claims that the Zulu army threatened Natal and the Transvaal, using cross-border raids as evidence. Bishop John Colenso of Natal warned that officials were twisting the truth, but Frere pressed on.
• In December 1878, Frere delivered an ultimatum to King Cetshwayo, demanding that the Zulu army be disbanded and a British resident be accepted. To agree would have ended Cetshwayo’s authority, so he refused, and war followed in January 1879.
• The Zulu Kingdom was built up by Shaka Zulu in the early 1800s, who turned a small clan into a powerful state covering over 11,000 square miles by 1825. After Shaka’s assassination in 1828, his half-brother Dingane became king and fought the Boers, but after his defeat at the Battle of Blood River in 1838, he was replaced by another half-brother, Mpande. Mpande ruled for many years, often keeping peace with the Boers and later with the British, though his reign was troubled by internal struggles.
• In 1856, a violent succession battle left Cetshwayo as the dominant heir, and he took full power when Mpande died in 1872. As king, Cetshwayo rebuilt the Zulu army in the style of Shaka, forming age-based regiments and training warriors with short stabbing spears (iklwa) and cowhide shields. A small number carried old muskets, but most Zulus preferred traditional weapons. The army was highly disciplined and could field tens of thousands of warriors.
• The Zulus also faced disputes with the Boers over land, especially in the Utrecht district, creating lasting tension. European missionaries lived in Zululand, tolerated by Cetshwayo but often reporting against him to colonial officials. Despite decades of generally peaceful relations with Natal, the strength of the Zulu army was seen by Britain as a barrier to its expansionist plans in southern Africa.

The Ultimatum (1878)

• Tensions between the Zulu Kingdom and the British grew during the 1870s. One major cause was a border dispute between the Zulu and the Boers of the Transvaal. At first, Theophilus Shepstone, a British official who Cetshwayo thought of as a friend, supported the Zulu position. But after Britain annexed the Transvaal in 1877, Shepstone’s stance changed. He began to view the issue from the Boer side and painted the Zulu as a threat. This shift in reporting helped to turn British opinion against Cetshwayo.
• In 1878, a boundary commission was set up to settle the land question. The commission decided almost entirely in favour of the Zulu. But Sir Bartle Frere, the British High Commissioner, dismissed the findings as unfair to the Boers. He insisted that Boer settlers on the land should be protected or compensated, and more importantly, he used the occasion to prepare for a wider confrontation. Frere wanted to weaken the Zulu state, which he saw as an obstacle to British plans to unite southern Africa under one rule.
• Three incidents in 1878 gave Frere the excuse he needed. In July and August, two wives of a chief named Sihayo fled into Natal. They were seized by Sihayo’s sons and taken back to Zululand, where they were executed according to Zulu custom. Then in September, two Europeans, Mr Smith and Mr Deighton, were briefly detained and threatened by Zulu warriors near the Thukela River before being released. 
• On their own, these events were minor and local. The Natal authorities even described them as acts of private individuals rather than the Zulu state. Cetshwayo himself admitted the young men were rash and deserved punishment, but he argued these were family matters and not reasons for war.
• Frere, however, presented them as deliberate violations of British territory and demanded action. At the same time, he added other issues to strengthen his case. He claimed that Cetshwayo had broken promises made to Shepstone at his 1872 coronation, such as agreeing to allow greater freedom for Zulu men to marry. 
• He also demanded the surrender of Umbilini, a Swazi chief living under Zulu protection who had been raiding Boer and Zulu alike.
• On 11 December 1878, Frere summoned Zulu representatives to the Lower Thukela. Officially, the meeting was to deliver the boundary commission’s findings, but it was here that the British also presented Cetshwayo with a sweeping ultimatum. The demands went far beyond the border dispute.

Main Terms of the Ultimatum:

1. Cetshwayo had to hand over Sihayo’s three sons and his brother so that they could be tried by the Natal courts.
2. He was required to pay a fine of 500 cattle for the raids by Sihayo’s family and for his delay in answering the Natal Government’s request to surrender them.
3. He had to pay a further fine of 100 cattle for the offence committed against Smith and Deighton.
4. He was ordered to surrender Umbilini, the Swazi chief, and others to be named later so that they could be tried by the Transvaal courts.
5. He was required to observe the promises he had made to Shepstone at his coronation in 1872.
6. He was instructed to disband the Zulu army and send the men back to their homes.
7. He had to abolish the regimental system and accept new military rules to be decided with the British Resident and the Zulu council.
8. He was told to allow every man the freedom to marry once he reached adulthood.
9. He had to allow missionaries and their converts, who had left Zululand in 1877, to return and reoccupy their stations.
10. He was required to permit missionaries to teach freely, and any Zulu who wished to listen had to be allowed to do so.
11. He had to accept a permanent British Resident in Zululand, who would make sure these conditions were carried out.
12. He was told that all disputes involving missionaries or Europeans must be heard publicly by the king in the presence of the Resident.
13. He was required to accept that no sentence of expulsion from Zululand could be enforced unless the British Resident approved it.

• Cetshwayo was given until 10 January 1879 to accept these demands. The conditions were almost impossible. If he agreed, it would mean the dismantling of the very system that gave the Zulu kingdom its strength. If he refused, Britain would have the excuse to invade.
• In London, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir Michael Hicks Beach, repeatedly warned Frere not to provoke war. He stressed that reinforcements were sent only to defend Natal, not to conquer Zululand. But Frere deliberately delayed reporting his actions to London, ensuring that by the time news of the ultimatum arrived, Chelmsford’s army was already assembled on the border.
• Cetshwayo did not respond to the demands. On 11 January 1879, the British crossed the Thukela River and invaded Zululand. The war had begun.

First Invasion (January–April 1879)

• Left Column: Under Colonel Charles Pearson, this column advanced from the coast, aiming to secure strategic positions and support the centre column.
• Centre Column: Led by Lord Chelmsford, this column crossed the Buffalo River at Rorke’s Drift and was intended to advance directly towards the Zulu capital, Ulundi.
• Right Column: Commanded by Colonel Evelyn Wood, this column moved from Utrecht to occupy northern Zulu nations and prevent them from interfering with the main advance.
• The first British invasion of Zululand began on 11 January 1879 after Cetshwayo failed to respond to the British ultimatum. The original British plan had called for five columns to fully encircle the Zulu army, but only three main columns actively entered Zululand at the start of the campaign.
• Cetshwayo’s army, numbering around 35,000, was primarily a militia armed with spears, clubs, and shields, with few firearms. Although the Zulus had limited supplies, they were highly disciplined and could mobilise quickly in defence of their kingdom.

Key Battles:

• Battle of Isandlwana (22 January 1879): The largest and most devastating British defeat. About 20,000 Zulu warriors, led by Ntshingwayo kaMahole Khoza, attacked a British camp of 1,800 men under Colonels Pulleine and Durnford. Over 1,300 British soldiers were killed, and all supplies were lost.