In the early 1800’s, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, a powerful kingdom arose. Its leader was the cruel yet clever King Shaka. Under his rule, the small Zulu tribe grew and conquered all other tribes in the region. During his reign, more than a hundred chiefdoms were brought together in a unified Zulu kingdom. His bold conquests created a lasting legacy based on ruthlessness and ultimately, his own insanity. Who was this Napoleon of Africa?
Sigidi kaSenzangakhona lived in southeast Africa, a region populated by many independent chiefdoms. Shaka’s birth itself was controversial. Prince Senzangakhona, chief of the then small Zulu tribe, had sex outside marriage with a woman, Nandi. But she was the daughter of a chief from a different tribe, the eLangeni. Engaging in intercourse with members of different tribes was forbidden.
When Nandi announced she was pregnant, Prince Senzangakhona said was just an intestinal beetle, called an iShaka. When the baby was born in 1787, they were banished from her own tribe and sent to the Zulu’s and Prince Senzangakhona. At first, he denied the child was his, but ultimately admitted he was the father; making Nandi his third wife. Shaka spent his early years at his father’s homestead near present day Babanango.
His adopted name “Shaka” was used disparagingly. He was teased and mistreated by Senzangakhona’s other wives, his half-siblings, and the prince himself. Despite being the eldest son of Senzangakhona, the prince announced to the tribe that Shaka would never become prince. That title would go to Shaka’s younger half-brother, Sigujana.
Publicly humiliated, Nandi and Shaka left the Zulu’s and returned to the mother’s tribe. They sought sanctuary in the Mhlathuze Valley of the eLangeni. The pair were not welcomed there either. The shame that still hung over them led the two to be treated harshly. They stayed until 1802, when famine arrived and forced them to leave again.
They took refuge in the mDletsheni tribe of his mother’s aunt, which was ruled over by old King Jobe. Nandi and Shaka were accepted this time, and Shaka became a cattle herder. In 1803, when Shaka was 16 years old, King Jobe died, and his son Dingiswayo became King, who continued to accept them and treat them well.
Under Dingiswayo’s leadership, the tribe became militarized.
Shaka eagerly joined to became one of Dingiswayo’s warriors. Outwardly, he was now imposing, tall and muscular. His skill and daring gave him a natural mastery over the other boys. Inwardly, he wanted shed his shame, give up cattle herding, and instead rise in both rank and power.
When he was 23, the king placed him in the Mthethwa regiment where he finally found his place. He was no longer judged by his bastard birth. Instead, he enjoyed camaraderie with his fellow warriors. On the battlefield, he showed the tribe both his skills and bravery. Shaka became engrossed in learning battle strategy and tactics as well. Rising rapidly in rank, he became one of Dingiswayo’s commanders.
In 1815, Zula King Senzangakhona died and was succeeded by Shaka’s younger half-brother, Sigujana. Shaka asked King Dingiswayo to attack the Zulu so that he could become the rightful chief of the tribe. The king agreed and Shaka returned to the Zulu with a regiment of mDletsheni warriors. The Zulu were far outnumbered. In a bloodless coup, he had his half-brother captured and put to death. Shaka now became chief of the Zulu tribe, but still a vassal of Dingiswayo.
Shaka quickly proved himself a capable chief. The Zulu were still small, but he militarized the tribe and allied himself with many smaller tribes to grow his numbers. As Dingiswayo’s favorite, the king allowed him to carve out a bigger principality, conquering and assimilating his neighboring tribes, including the eLangeni tribe of his childhood.
Within a year, war broke out with the rival Ndwandwe tribe.
During a battle with King Dingiswayo present, Shaka did not arrive in time to offer support. Instead, he purposely arrived after his overlord’s capture. King Dingiswayo was murdered at the hands of King Zwide of the Ndwandwe tribe. This left a convenient power vacuum within the Mthethwa (mDletsheni + Zulu + other tribes). Shaka immediately stepped in as the new King.
Smelling weakness, King Zwide sent his entire army into Zululand. Shaka pretended to retreat his forces, drawing Zwide’s army deep into his own territory. When half the Ndwandwe had crossed the Mhlatuze River, splitting the enemy army in half, Shaka launched his attack. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Shaka’s Zulu army defeated the Ndwandwe.
Shaka then began conquering even more surrounding chiefdoms, adding their forces to his own and building a new Zulu kingdom. During his ten-year reign, his regiments continuously went on expansion campaigns. When a chiefdom submitted, he left the local chief in charge of the subjegated tribe. If a chiefdom resisted, it was either driven off as refugees or destroyed to the last member.
Shaka used the Bull Horn formation to deadly effect. He deployed his Zulu army with flanks (horns) extending from the main formation. Behind them stood ample reserves waiting as reinforcements. In an age when battles consisted of standing in lines and throwing spears at each other, this tactic was both effective and deadly.
Another change Shaka made was his choice of lethal weapon.
The traditional, long-handled assegai spear, thrown from a distance, was not good during hand-to-hand combat. Shaka instead armed his warriors with Iklwas, short-handled, stabbing spears. He trained them to advance on the enemy in close formation with their long cowhide shields forming an impenetrable barrier.
Shaka prohibited sandals. Instead, he toughened his warriors’ feet by making them run barefoot over rough ground, ensuring greater mobility on the battlefield. His war cry was `Victory or Death!’ He kept his men on near continuous military campaigns, earning them the right to wear the isicoco headring of manhood.
Shaka built a Zulu capital on the banks of the Mhodi River in Babanango. He named it KwaBulawayo [at the place of the murder]. As his kingdom grew, the capital grew as well to about 1,400 huts. Shaka’s constant wars were accompanied by great carnage and mass migrations in the region. Some estimate that during his reign Shaka directly or indirectly caused the death of more than one million.
White traders arrived in Port Natal in 1824.
By this time, Shaka had established a powerful monarchy from the Pongola River in the north to beyond the Tugela River in the south. Two Europeans, Englishmen Henry Francis Fynn and Francis Farewell set out to visit Shaka. Henry Fynn would end up spending 9 years living in Shaka’s capital and the two became good friends. Fynn wrote that he found Shaka both an intelligent and agreeable man.
In 1825, King Shaka sent a goodwill delegation to the British Cape government at Port Elizabeth. Shaka bestowed the white traders with favored treatment, gave them land, and allowed a them to build a settlement at Port Natal. However, Shaka also built large barracks nearby at Dukuza, to let them know they should not take too much advantage of his generosity.
In exchange, he wanted knowledge of their technology. Shaka was particularly eager to learn about British warfare. He was also knew the advantages that trade would bring. He was visited by other European representatives who also wished to have peaceful relations with the Zulu. During Shaka’s reign, there were no conflicts between the whites and the Zulu kingdom.
In 1827, Shaka’s beloved mother, Nandi, died.
This triggered the king’s slow descent into insanity. His behavior became erratic and even more violent. He sent his armies out into the Zulu nation to force other tribes to grieve. Shaka had his warriors execute tribes en masse for not “mourning enough.” Cows were killed so that their calves could experience life without a mother. He banned the planting of crops and the use of milk for an entire year.
This bizarre destructive behavior generated great concern within amongst the Zulu kingdom. What was happening to their once great king? Within the political ranks of power, a plot was hatched to kill King Shaka.
While Shaka’s armies were away enforcing the mourning period, his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana, along with a trusted bodyguard stabbed him repeatedly with their spears. As Shaka’s life faded, he called out to Dingane: “Brother! You kill me. You think you will rule, but the swallows (whites) will do that.” According to his family, Shaka’s last words were: “Are you stabbing me, kings of the earth? You will come to an end by killing one another.”
Shaka Zulu died on September 22, 1828. His body was hastily buried in a near-by grain pit, then filled with mud. As Shaka left no heir, his half-brother Dingane declared himself the new Zulu king. Under Dingane’s rule and subsequent kings, the Zulu’s continued Shaka’s militaristic ways for another half century. It was not to last. They would come into an unavoidable conflict with the expanding British Empire in South Africa.
In 1878, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, without orders to do so, instigated a war by presenting then Zulu king Cetshwayo with an ultimatum. The Zulu army must disband and accept British control. The British suffered a blistering defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana in January 1879. The Zulu army killed more than 1,000 British soldiers in one day.
The defeat prompted Sir Henry to develop a new strategy. Though outnumbered, the British began winning smaller frontier engagements and later larger battles. The war ended in July 1879 at the Battle of Ulundi, the Zulu capital, with the defeat of the African warriors. It ended the Zulu Kingdom built by Shaka half a century earlier.
In 1986, SABC premiered a 10 episode miniseries, entitled Shaka Zulu, starring South African actor Henry Cele in the title role. An aquatic theme park, uShaka Marine World, opened on the Durban ocean front in 2004. In 2010, the King Shaka International Airport was dedicated at Durban in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Like France’s Napoleon, Shaka was a layered, complex leader. He was hailed as a mighty hero by some, and a despicable villain by others. There is no doubt however that he made his mark on South African history and created the foundation for the Zulu nation that still exists in Africa today.