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Dr Casely-Hayford explores the history the Zulu. He examines their origins in the 17th century, their expansion under controversial military leader King Shaka and their brutal encounters with the Boers and the British.
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00:02The mountain of Azandalwana in eastern South Africa.
00:08On the 22nd of January, 1879, this was the site of one of the most humiliating defeats ever suffered by
00:15the British Army.
00:19In just three hours, over 1,200 British troops armed with state-of-the-art weapons were annihilated by an
00:27African army
00:27equipped only with spears, shields and a collection of old muskets.
00:38The enemy responsible captured the British imagination and went down in history as one of the most fearsome and powerful
00:45kingdoms in Africa, the Zulu.
00:53We know less about Africa's past than almost anywhere else on Earth.
00:59But the scarcity of written records doesn't mean Africa lacks history.
01:05In this series, I'm exploring some of the richest and most vibrant histories in the world.
01:15I'm travelling across South Africa through some of the country's most spectacular landscapes
01:20to discover how a tiny ethnic group, born in a period of turmoil, could become one of the most famous
01:27and celebrated kingdoms in history.
01:43Every February, a few thousand people gather to celebrate contemporary Zulu identity by taking part in a traditional South African
01:52ceremony.
01:57This first fruits festival is dedicated to the small yellow marula fruit native to the country.
02:05The crowds have come here to present the first harvest of the marula to their leader, King Goodwill Zuelitino.
02:14According to tradition, the king must be the first to taste the fruit before the people can harvest their crops.
02:22What's happening here is more than just a celebration of Zulu culture.
02:26It's an affirmation of the power of the king, the king who's the embodiment of the state,
02:32and a connection to the great monarchs that founded the Zulu nation.
02:41Zulu identity was shaped by a series of powerful kings.
02:46According to oral tradition, the original Zulu chiefdom was established in the 17th century by the founding patriarch, Malandela.
02:56It was his son Zulu who gave his name to the people.
03:01Zulu means heaven.
03:02They became known as the Yama Zulu, the people of heaven.
03:12They settled in a region that would eventually become known as KwaZulu-Natal.
03:19Bounded by the Drakensberg Mountains in the west and the Indian Ocean in the east,
03:25it's a landscape of rolling hills, deep river gorges and fertile grasslands.
03:33I do love this bit of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal.
03:37There's something about it that feels very authentic.
03:41I mean, so much of South Africa is so like Europe, but this feels really like Africa.
03:49At the end of the 18th century, the Zulu were just one of a patchwork of small chiefdoms that occupied
03:56this region.
03:57For over a hundred years, they'd lived in relative peace, raising cattle and cultivating their fields.
04:04But then, everything began to change.
04:15Trade was the catalyst for the transformation of the Zulu people, from a small local chieftain into a major regional
04:22power.
04:28Europeans have been trading in Southern Africa since the 16th century.
04:32On the west coast, the Dutch, and later the British, controlled the city of Cape Town.
04:38While closer to Zulu territory, the Portuguese had a trading post at Delagoa Bay.
04:44In exchange for ivory, cattle and slaves, the Portuguese and other European traders supplied copper, brass, textiles and beads.
04:54But troubles broke.
04:57By the end of the 18th century, rival ethnic groups were competing more and more aggressively for access to trade
05:03routes that linked to Delagoa Bay.
05:06Trade with the Portuguese was vital for local power and influence, but not everyone would get access.
05:13Small chieftains were in danger of being crushed by their larger rivals in the fight for goods to trade with
05:20the Europeans.
05:21The small Zulu chieftains were suddenly vulnerable.
05:27But out of that turmoil would emerge a man who would change Zulu history forever.
05:32His name, Shaka.
05:40Shaka was a king, and a soldier, and the founder of the Zulu nation.
05:51In the space of 12 years, in the early 19th century, he transformed the small Zulu chiefdom into a large
05:58and powerful military force.
06:03Although he became an icon of the Zulu people, Shaka's legacy remains deeply contentious, something not helped by the myths
06:12that surround his biography.
06:13What's really frustrating about Shaka's life is that there are hardly any contemporaneous written records.
06:20We have to rely on second-hand written material, and oral testimonies, most of which is conflicting.
06:26The lack of reliable evidence has left room for multiple interpretations of Shaka, many of them highly romanticized.
06:39Respected sources suggest he was born in the 1780s, the eldest son of a Zulu chief.
06:50For reasons unknown, he was raised in a neighboring chiefdom, where he learned the skills of statecraft and soldiering.
06:57As inter-ethnic conflict erupted, he returned to the Zulus, seized the chieftaincy, and transformed the lives of his people.
07:13One legend portrays Shaka as a benevolent patriarch.
07:18As a young man, he is said to have worked as a herdsman.
07:22One day, he was out in the fields when he was distracted.
07:26As a result, he lost his herd.
07:29The shame he felt had a profound effect according to the story.
07:34Shaka learned from his early experience as a herdsman that it's important to look after every single member of your
07:40flock.
07:41He spent the rest of his life trying to compensate, making sure that security and discipline were the central focus
07:49of Zulu life.
07:52To explore one view of how Shaka built the Zulu kingdom, I'm meeting Makawi Biella, a descendant of Shaka himself.
08:01Before Shaka, there was no Zulu empire. Shaka, through his intelligence, is the one who created the Zulu empire.
08:10After he came to the throne, he said, okay, now what I'm going to do, I will go from clan
08:16to clan.
08:18Chieftain, I will approach each and every chief and I will just unite people using the spear.
08:25I united them in order for me to establish the great Zulu empire.
08:31But were people scared of him or did they respect him or was it a mixture of the two?
08:36A mixture of the two.
08:38Some feared him.
08:40Because for those who refused to join his faction, you know, they knew very well what would happen to them.
08:48A spear would be put into youth.
08:51There are so many other people who said, no, we cannot tolerate this. We cannot live under your control.
08:56But there must have been good reasons why people stayed within the Zulu nation.
09:02What was so attractive about the Zulu state that Shaka was building?
09:07What were the wonderful things that he was giving to the people that they didn't have before?
09:11Well, they think that people never had, they were not united.
09:15They were like having small clans here and there.
09:19He was emphasizing unity.
09:21No separation, no isolation, no quarrel, nothing.
09:26He is trying to unite the people, he is trying to create our identity as Zulu people.
09:37Many Zulu today venerate Shaka as the protector and defender of the people.
09:45They give him credit for reforming an institution that shaped Zulu identity and transformed its fortunes.
09:54The army.
10:11These warriors are members of a ceremonial Zulu regiment.
10:17Today, they perform on formal occasions.
10:20But in Shaka's time, regiments were the backbone of Zulu society.
10:29When Shaka assumed the throne in 1816, he decided to build upon recent innovations of local chiefs.
10:36He introduced a system of conscription, divided his soldiers into regiments called Amabutu,
10:41and these were to revolutionize Zulu society.
10:46Under the Amabutu system, young men left their families, around the age of 14, to work and fight in regiments.
10:58Separating young men from the rest of Zulu society was a way of shifting their loyalty from local chiefs to
11:05their Amabutu and their king.
11:11One of the leaders of the regiment is Ungumezi.
11:16Unlike Shaka's time, they will have a chance to build upon a job for a child in the U.S.
11:22for the child, enjoying a child, when they are from living, and their children, when they are from living,
11:33we have to be part of the country, though they don't have to be part of the young man.
11:39They will not be part of the child.
11:41However, this was an issue in the coming year.
12:01To the military system, it's actually part of the culture.
12:05And the culture is part of the military system.
12:07That in a way, it's absolutely fundamental to Zulu culture.
12:11Yes.
12:19Under Shaka, young men in the Amabuta were not allowed to marry and set up their own homesteads.
12:27Marriage rights could only be earned once soldiers had reached maturity and distinguished themselves
12:33in battle, normally around the age of 35.
12:37By making marriage a reward for military service, Shaka ensured the loyalty of his men.
12:49Shaka's also credited with introducing new fighting techniques, including a new battle
12:53formation that proved brilliantly effective.
12:56It became known as the horns of the buffalo.
13:00Simon, can you tell me about the battle formation that the Zulu used?
13:04Regiment leader Simon is giving me a demonstration.
13:07So this is the enemy here.
13:09How would the horns of the buffalo actually work if that was the enemy that was approaching
13:14the Zulu lines?
13:15Yes.
13:16How would it...
13:16Can I draw it down or not?
13:17Yeah, please do.
13:18Yes.
13:20The buffalo, pawn shape, it's like this.
13:29What they would engage with this group here, is that...
13:32This is the chest.
13:33This is the chest.
13:34Of warriors.
13:37Where the very strong and the strongest men used to stand.
13:42All these young stars, all these round left and right, they surround an enemy and then
13:50the enemy will be in the middle now.
13:52They will kill him dead.
13:53To illustrate the battle technique more clearly, Simon's arranging his warriors into the attack
13:59formation.
14:00This is what I'm talking about.
14:04So this is the strategy that Shaka actually invented, that they would form the horns of
14:11a buffalo.
14:12Yes.
14:13At the actual head are the strongest men.
14:16Yes.
14:17And that they would hit the enemy really hard.
14:20They would hit the enemy really hard.
14:21And then whilst the enemy is trying to deal with these big guys, the two horns come round.
14:27Yes, come round.
14:28And they enclose you.
14:29Yes.
14:30And they finish you off.
14:31They finish off.
14:32This is how he conquered so many tribes.
14:35Wow.
14:35And make it one big tribe, Zulu Nation.
14:44So they're actually singing, we are the bull, but we will destroy you.
14:51I mean, that metaphor of cackle, it's obviously so deeply infused into the Zulu.
14:57And it's just amazing to see it brought to life in these kinds of performances.
15:06Shaka also transforms Zulu weaponry, preferring a short-handled stabbing spear, used like a dagger, to the older long-handled
15:16throwing spear.
15:20What is so much better about this than what went before?
15:24Why is this such a good piece of weaponry?
15:28Before they've used the long, the long spears.
15:33When they just throw these long spears like that, it was a waste of energy.
15:39Because once they throw missing an enemy, the enemy will take those spears and face you again.
15:47It was a waste.
15:49Now, that's why Shaka invented this.
15:52Money where your mouth is, Simon.
15:53Yes.
15:54Are you ready for this?
15:55Yes, I'm ready.
15:57Shaka's warriors were instructed to fight their enemies to the death.
16:01If they lost their spears, they weren't only vulnerable to the enemy.
16:05They were treated by their own leaders as cowards.
16:08Yes.
16:08This short spear is your life.
16:13If you lose your short spear, you're dead, what you can say?
16:19Where is your spear?
16:20You lost it running?
16:22Huh?
16:22You must be taken to the place called Gwankata.
16:28What would happen to you at Gwankata?
16:30If someone have done wrong, like you lost this short spear, that's a serious case.
16:37You will be taken by the very strong man, you will be struck in the head, dead.
16:44In that place, always the vultures are turning around that place.
16:50As soon as you have been killed, the vultures will get into you, take some ice out, and you know?
16:57That's how it is.
17:08With the creation of his powerful army, Shaka had transformed the Zulu people from a small chieftain into a powerful
17:15militaristic state.
17:16The army became the focus of Zulu life.
17:24And as chieftains started fighting each other for access to the trade routes, Shaka's soldiers prepared for conflict.
17:40The early Zulu kingdom wasn't like a European kingdom with palaces, crown jewels and a civil service.
17:47Rather, it was a web of small communities ruled by the king through a network of local chiefs.
17:55It was these communities that Shaka's army was defending.
18:02They lived in clusters of small houses whose layout has changed little since King Shaka's time.
18:12This is in Kandla Valley, in the heart of KwaZulu-Natal.
18:18This whole area is peppered with traditional Zulu homesteads, and I'm about to visit one.
18:27While the designs have changed over the years, the homestead remains the focal point of Zulu society.
18:34I've been invited to meet the lady who lives here.
18:36Hello.
18:43What a welcome.
19:07How many people live in a homestead of this size?
19:12How?
19:12How?
19:19How.
19:20I know how.
19:27How chicken is diferencia of the archaic?
19:31How.
19:31The layout of the homestead reflects the structure of Zulu society as a whole.
19:39Zulu culture was patriarchal and polygamous each house in the homestead functioned like an
19:47individual room with the married man's house at the rear surrounded on both sides by those of his
19:55wives children and extended family this domestic structure was the same throughout Zulu society
20:04making the homestead the smallest building block of Shaka's Empire and at the center of the homestead
20:12is its most important feature this is a traditional Zulu cattle corral and they were usually placed
20:21right in the center of a Zulu village and that was partially for security but it's also a measure of
20:27the importance of cattle they are the central focus of Zulu society they were actually used as part of
20:34the Zulu economy they were also used for bartering traditionally a man who wished to marry had to
20:45provide his bride's father with a gift of cattle to compensate him for the loss of his daughter
20:52and distribution of cattle was both a source of conflict and one of the ways in which warring
20:58factions made peace only men were allowed in the cattle pen and the pen itself had a spiritual
21:07status within the homestead the circular shape of both the cattle pen and the homestead is not an
21:18accident it's a design that's both protective and defensive embodying the promise of security and
21:24belonging upon which the Zulu kingdom was founded but for Shaka it wasn't enough just to protect his own
21:40people the Zulu were just one of a number of chiefdoms competing for power in a period of turmoil
21:47for many it was a case of conquer or be conquered
21:55with his powerful new army Shaka was able to set about turning his Zulu chiefdom into an empire
22:02for four years Shaka then embarked on a period of aggressive regional expansion he annihilated his enemies
22:10and forced people off of their land it was a period that became known as Mfukane the crushing
22:21Shaka built the Zulu nation by conquering these chiefdoms and incorporating them into the larger
22:27Zulu Kingdom those who refused to cooperate had two options death or exile as the Zulu Kingdom expanded
22:37southward many fled to the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains on the fringes of Zulu territory
22:47here in this remote landscape archaeologist Benjamin Smith has traced the impact of Shaka's conquests
22:57this is on the periphery of the Imte Khan main area and what happened is that many groups were sort
23:03of
23:03fled the Imte Khan and came out into the mountains as places of refuge to get away from sort of
23:09Zulu imperialism
23:10and the the domination of the Zulu family and so chiefs that wanted to still retain independence or that
23:19were kicked out for some reason ended up in these kind of areas and they would come here for security
23:24and
23:24safety and to get away from the things that are happening down in the the main sort of center of
23:30Imte Khan activity
23:32but before the refugees of warfare came here this region was already inhabited it was home to
23:41hunter-gatherers known as the sand people hardly any traces of the Mfukane remain but one remarkable
23:50piece of evidence survives Benjamin's taking me to see a tiny fragment of a sand rock painting depicting a
24:00warrior perhaps a refugee from Shaka's conquests okay so here we are there is the great painting of a man
24:12carrying a shield beautiful probably painted in 1810s or reflecting on things from 1810 1820 exactly the
24:19time of the impact on what are we actually seeing in Benjamin you can see here a human figure back
24:25leg
24:25front leg in his left arm you can see a long spear with a long metal tip and in his
24:32right arm is
24:33holding this this slightly exaggerated shield and what's noticeable about it is not the classic Zulu
24:39shape you know sort of lozenge but it's slightly indented in the middle and one of the things that
24:43we recognize now is that this is not a typical Zulu shield it's probably someone escaping from the Zulu
24:50kingdom and coming into no man's land as a place of refuge so the person who created this may well
24:56have lived in the period of Shaka very very likely one of these groups it's fleeing from the direct rule
25:03and sort of might of Shaka the Mfukane transformed southern Africa it was swift and uncompromising as a
25:15result the Zulu nation expanded from around 3,000 people to over a quarter of a million for those
25:24who didn't resist Shaka offered security a collective identity and the promise of a future for their
25:30children but around the Zulu kingdom southern Africa was changing
25:43in 1824 a group of British traders landed in a small lagoon on the east coast of southern Africa
25:52today it's Durban the largest city of KwaZulu-Natal the traders established a base and quickly made
26:03contact with King Shaka their arrival would have profound consequences for the Zulu Kingdom
26:11this is France's farewell square the location of Britain's first trading post in the town from a
26:18collection of hearts on this side Britain traded with the Zulu in textiles and metals and they
26:24exchanged those goods for animal hides and ivory and those first traders accounts would shape the
26:31reputation for Shaka for decades
26:38Shaka continues to be remembered by many Zulus as an heroic warrior statesman whose military conquest
26:46created a proud nation but 19th century British accounts of Shaka offer a darker view they wrote of
26:55a brutal despot who maintained internal control by terrorizing his own people while these accounts
27:03of Shaka as savage may well have been an alibi for Britain's colonial ambitions they cast a long shadow
27:10over his reputation to explore that legacy I'm visiting the Keeley Campbell library to meet historian
27:18Siobonga Makhize in the early 20th century a British colonial official named James Stewart recorded oral
27:27testimonies from Zulu elders many of them first or second-hand accounts of Shaka's life they provide some
27:36of the most important historical evidence of Shaka's biography Siobonga could you explain to me a little bit
27:44about James Stewart about James Stewart and his archive yeah most of the informants of James Stewart where
27:51people who have seen Shaka or people that have seen people that were living during Shaka's time for
27:59example if you can find that we go to the information that was given by Balega Balega was a man
28:08from the
28:09Kwaabe clan Shaka did many evil things to people seeing a woman who was pregnant though she had done
28:16him no harm he ordered her to be caught killed and cut open so that it could be seen in
28:22what position her
28:23child was lying gosh it's shocking I mean are there other negative accounts I mean just interested in
28:30getting that to find out that side of him if you can let check to this page page 10 you
28:36find Balega
28:37here still talking about King Shaka Balega says that Shaka once asked a woman who was drawing water in an
28:45earthen pot at a stream for a drink of water the woman not knowing Shaka said why don't you lap
28:50up the
28:50water as the other dogs do thereby refusing him the drink Shaka marked her down he then directed that
28:58she was to be put to death in order that he might see what kind of heart so inhospitable a
29:03person had
29:05Wow sounds like quite a ruthless picture of her almost a despot it might be true it might be true
29:12it might not
29:13be true because during Shaka's time people were making a lot of stories about him those stories were
29:21constructed by different people because they wanted to find to show that people others to believe that
29:28I've seen Shaka or have been in Shaka's court then people will tell a lot of lies but it seems
29:36like Baleka
29:37Shaka is not a fan of Shaka whatever way we cut it that these are a variety of fairly awful
29:45things that Baleka
29:46feels that Shaka has done but are their views then by contrast that are very positive
29:52yes yeah Chanchi he talks about Shaka as a good character or as a good king my father said Shaka
30:03was a great
30:04king and very clever because he defeated all the chiefs in every direction he was very resourceful
30:12you remember the clans were living independently all over the country then he managed to defeat them
30:20and make them one nation I found that really fascinating it there's obviously a broad range of
30:27different interpretations of Shaka and but you you mean you know this material probably better than
30:34anyone I mean who do you feel Shaka was and how do you feel about him if I can say
30:42let's bring back
30:43Shaka now he can make a good politician for me that's how I see Shaka it was just a game
30:51of the day that it
30:53could kill other people to get what he wanted to get but he was a great politician
31:07Shaka died in 1828 in his early 40s he'd been assassinated by his half-brothers who seized the Zulu
31:18throne as happened so often with historical research when you get close to the subject they
31:25seem almost to dissolve in ambiguity I mean Shaka is a very complicated man that he's part despotic leader
31:32but at the same time he's a very charismatic individual who transforms Zulu society and one
31:40has to think that he left huge shoes to fill the legacy of this man is enormous
31:51Shaka's death marked a break with the past
31:57his successor King Dingan decided to build a new royal residence in the heart of Zulu territory
32:03the Amakasini Valley
32:09this is in Gungan Clovu the site of Dingan's royal compound when it was built in 1829 this compound
32:19would have contained around 1500 small beehive shape houses clustered eight deep around a central cattle
32:26pen between five and seven thousand people lived on this site
32:33when Dingan seized control of the Zulu throne he took control of a nation at its absolute zenith
32:40during his 12 years of rule Shaka had expanded Zulu territory from 10 square miles to over 12,000
32:47he left a standing army of more than 40,000 men and ruled over a population of more than 250
32:54,000 people
32:55but the Zulu faced a new threat and that was to come to a head here
33:03beginning in 1836 groups of Boer settlers descendants of Dutch German and French farmers
33:10set off from the Cape Colony in search of new land their leader was Pete Retief
33:18in late 1837 they arrived in Zulu territory after a series of skirmishes Dingan agreed to give them land in
33:27exchange for cattle
33:28to seal the deal some 70 Boer farmers traveled to Dingan's royal residence
33:38the Boers arrival was provocative they rode into the royal enclosure on horseback firing their weapons
33:44it was a display that Dingan interpreted as insulting and aggressive
33:52before their departure the Boers were invited to Dingan's homestead for a final leave-taking
33:58as was traditional they were asked to leave their weapons outside
34:03whilst two Zulu regiments did a ceremonial dance
34:07Dingan stood up and he shouted seize the wizards
34:11and the Boer were taken away and one by one they were clubbed to death
34:24the Boers were executed on a hill just outside the royal Zulu compound
34:30their leader Pete Retief was forced to witness their deaths
34:34he was the last to die
34:37the 70 Boers were buried on this site
34:41the manner of the Boers deaths
34:43only helped to reinforce their view that the Zulu were treacherous and barbaric
34:50this was an act that would be avenged
34:58nine months after the massacre of the Boers
35:01their compatriots appointed a new leader
35:04Andreas Pretorius
35:06he organized a commando of 470 Boers to take the fight to the Zulu
35:14by the 15th of December 1838 the Boer party had advanced towards the banks of the Income River
35:25they halted their wagons and set up camp
35:28the day commemorated by this monument on the spot
35:35what happened next would become a turning point in Zulu history
35:40the Boers developed a defensive strategy for dealing with attacks from the indigenous population they encountered on their treks
35:48they'd circle wagons and place between them wooden fences and pack these spaces with straw
35:54this allowed for a large space in the centre in which they could protect their families and their livestock
36:00they call this a laga
36:05the Zulus attacked at dawn
36:07but the Boers improvised fortification gave them a crucial tactical advantage
36:12the circular shape of the laga meant the Zulus had no clear point of attack
36:17in their confusion the Zulus made a crucial tactical error
36:26the left horn of the Zulu army attacked before the chest or the right horn were ready
36:32they came under sustained Boer gunfire and they were forced to retreat
36:36and many of them ended up in the river
36:43the Boers advanced and fired down onto the Zulus massing in the riverbed
36:49the Zulu were unable to engage in close combat with their short spears
36:55around 3,000 Zulus were killed
36:59their bodies filled the riverbed and turned the water red
37:04the battle became known as Blood River
37:13Historian Ken Gillings has studied the impact of Blood River on the Zulu
37:17so Ken what were the consequences of the loss here at Blood River?
37:20for the first time the Zulu had now come up against a western method of fighting if you like
37:26volley fire, gunfire, no longer was there that close combat which they were so used to
37:31and which they were successful with against indigenous opponents if you like
37:36so the precedent, the potential vulnerability of the Zulu strategy
37:42it was actually here at Blood River that that was actually found out
37:48they were found wanting
37:49that's correct because the traditional method of Zulu attack was one of close combat
37:55and here it was a fortified position
37:59and it was simply impossible for them with the weaponry at their disposal
38:03to break into a defensive position such as this
38:09the defeat at Blood River split the Zulu Kingdom in two
38:13and plunged it into civil war
38:16three decades of instability followed
38:22the Zulu were only just recovering
38:24when an event 800 miles away, deep in Boer territory
38:29destabilised the Zulu Kingdom even further
38:43in 1871
38:45a labourer on a farm near the modern town of Kimberley
38:48discovered a small white stone that caused an international sensation
38:55within two years
38:57tens of thousands of people had descended on the area to seek their fortunes
39:06and this is what they came for
39:11the De Beer brothers became the luckiest farmers in history
39:15and their land became the largest diamond mine in the world
39:24by the mid-1870s the town of Kimberley had become the African equivalent of the Klondike
39:31filled with prospectors, speculators, powerful European financiers
39:38together with vast amounts of gold discovered in the 1880s
39:43diamonds would transform South Africa
39:48Singapore
40:03This is the big hole.
40:06The site of the original De Beers diamond mines
40:11before it was exhausted the mine was excavated to a depth of 1097 meters the first 240 meters
40:22were dug by hand with picks and shovels making this one of the world's biggest man-made excavations
40:29it also meant to accomplish this the mine owners developed a near insatiable need for one thing
40:40they turned to local african men but here they encountered a problem
40:47the increasingly complex mining operations required a consistent labor force but african
40:54workers many from traditional chiefdoms tended to work in the mines for short periods
40:59and then returned home leaving their employers in the lurch
41:06to control their black labor force the mine owners introduced barrack-style compounds
41:13migrant workers had to sign up to six-month contracts during which they were forced to
41:19live in the compounds surrendering all personal freedoms the impact on the traditional way of
41:26life was devastating young men who'd only ever experienced the barter economy suddenly had cash
41:35in their pockets ancient cultures that endured for generations were suddenly under attack
41:43although kimberley was 800 miles from zulu territory a number of zulu men ended up working on the diamond
41:50fields the mcgregor museum in kimberley holds a remarkable collection of photographs of those zulu migrant workers dating from the
42:00early 20th century
42:04they were taken by a compound guard and amateur photographer alfred duggan cronin
42:10robert hard is the curator so here's one of uh dragon cronin's original photograph albums
42:19rather than photograph the zulu workers in their mining clothes
42:23duggan cronin encouraged them to dress in their traditional costumes and pose an elaborate tableau
42:29he took some quite startling photographs for example this one um it's which he's called a zulu mp on the
42:37march
42:38but it's these mine works in their traditional dress on a on a mine dam
42:45um here's here's another study this is a portrait of a zulu warrior the man's in his traditional attire
42:55he's obviously a very good photographer and there are beautiful things
43:00yes here's another one instructions from the chief and they they zulu scouts
43:06again the most startling thing is the mine dump in the background
43:10and on the part of the the mine owners there was a curiosity for the other they used to take
43:17visitors to see them on sundays and they used to actually ask them to dress up and then they would
43:23do these war dogs that's sort of but it is a bit like animals in the zoo for these people
43:29who
43:29were so fiercely independent for them to then see their identity becoming something which is
43:35just worthy of being photographed or captured by people on a sunday afternoon as something that's
43:42exotic and wonderful and it must have been humiliating at some level it must have because
43:48yeah to be reduced to a sort of curiosity yeah it's a sad story but um beautifully beautifully illustrated
44:01the colonial mindset that viewed the zulu as an exotic curiosity contributed to what happened next
44:11before the discovery of diamonds south africa was an economic backwater now it was a source of untold wealth
44:21at the end of the 1870s the lands that contained such abundant mineral resources
44:27that were located in a patchwork of independent boor british and african controlled territories
44:34with so much money at stake and with other european powers scrambling for a piece of the action
44:40it was a situation the british authorities were keen to regularize
44:46so they hatched a plan
44:49by drawing the different states of south africa into a single british controlled territory
44:55the british hoped to consolidate their power develop the economy and suppress the growing resistance
45:01from african chiefdoms among them the zulu
45:07in 1878 a number of minor zulu infringements on the border of the colony of natal
45:14were cited by the british authorities as evidence of the zulu kingdom's aggressive intentions
45:21the british mischievously hinted that the zulu invasion of natal was imminent
45:27and so on the 11th of december 1878 under a fig tree on the banks of the tegela river
45:35the zulu were issued with an ultimatum the ultimatum comprised a number of key demands the end of the
45:44zulu army the dismantling of the old regiment system and the presence of a colonial administrator deep
45:51in the heart of zulu territory effectively these would have combined to mean the end of the zulu empire
46:00the new leader of the zulu nation was ketchwayo he'd become king in 1872
46:09during his reign he'd built relationships with the british and reunified the zulu nation after decades
46:15of trauma and infighting by 1878 only a small number of zulu men had gone to work on the diamond
46:23fields
46:25the zulu kingdom was once again a powerful military force
46:31king kechwayo was not about to give away his empire without a fight
46:43on the length of january 1879 three columns of british soldiers led by lieutenant general lord
46:51chelmsford moved into zulu land
46:57the invasion force consisted of around 12 000 men made up of british soldiers and african support troops
47:08on the 20th of january the central column set up camp deep inside zulu territory
47:17they chose a wide expanse of land beneath a rocky outcrop named as andalwana
47:27the british troops remarked that the distinctive mountain resembled the egyptian sphinx
47:35lord chelmsford believed the zulu would employ guerrilla tactics rather than engage in a single
47:41large battle so he decided to take the fight to them but he was mistaken
47:49in what can only be described as a catastrophic mistake lord chelmsford decided to split his troops
47:56leading the bulk of his men down through that v in the mountains right deep into zulu territory
48:03but what he didn't know at that very moment
48:07massing on the other side of those adjacent mountains were 20 000 zulu troops
48:16later that morning a british patrol was out on the hills close to a zandalwana
48:23they came over a ridge and saw an astonishing sight
48:28thousands of zulu warriors sitting on the ground in complete silence
48:38with the main body of the british army many miles away the troops at the base camp were dangerously
48:45exposed when the zulu spotted the british patrol they launched their attack
48:56as the british started firing their weapons the zulu took on their traditional horns of the buffalo
49:02formation the toughest troops in the chest took on the british infantry the two horns spread out to
49:09fully surround the british positions the zulu descended in their thousands using their short
49:16stabbing spears to attack the british in the hand-to-hand fighting style that king shaka had favored
49:23the result was carnage the british were completely overwhelmed and their camp was totally destroyed
49:33over 1200 british and african support troops were killed
49:39the white cairns that dot the battlefield at the zandalwana mark the burial places of the british soldiers
49:51lindizwe ingobezi is the great great grandson of one of the zulu warriors who fought at the zandalwana
49:57how does it make you feel having that personal connection to what happened here it makes me feel
50:03proud here now zulus now they're fighting within their kingdom and also they are now aware that the
50:09people now they want to do away with their kingdom they do not want to lose it let's fight and
50:14die for
50:15it and do you feel that those people who died that they died for something which was worthwhile i think
50:21so that is the only zulu kingdom we've got nothing else losing this one we've got nowhere to go
50:28today we're here we're proud of what they did it it doesn't look nice but you know they did it
50:35for
50:36those descendants today it's like this we're very proud
50:42many zulu today celebrate the zulu military and remember zandalwana as the kingdom's finest hour
50:50the zulu nation had been threatened with destruction but its army had responded with focus and discipline
50:57their victory had embarrassed and shaken the british but it was a victory that would be short-lived
51:10before the two horns of the zulu army met and fully enveloped the british a small band of survivors
51:16attempted to retreat they were trying to make their way to a small british garrison and field hospital
51:36the field hospital here at rorke's drift sits on the banks of the buffalo river in what was then
51:43the british-run territory of natal now quetsuaya had expressly forbidden his troops from entering the
51:50British colony, but in defiance of their king, 4,000 men, the men who made up the
51:54rump of the earlier battle formation at Izandwana, entered this area with the
51:59express idea of attacking the hospital. This was going to be a repeat of their
52:04earlier victory. The British realised there was no point in trying to flee.
52:09They barricaded themselves in and turned their buildings into a fortification.
52:15In the late afternoon, the Zulu attacked.
52:23They laid siege for over five hours and at one point actually broke through the
52:28British perimeter. But remarkably, the British prevailed.
52:34With thousands of rounds of ammunition and state-of-the-art weapons, the British
52:38were able to see off the Zulu. The Zulu withdrew, but not before over 500 of their
52:46men were killed.
52:51Rourke's Drift went down in history as a legendary British success.
52:5611 of the soldiers who defended the site received Victoria Crosses for bravery, the
53:02highest number ever awarded to a regiment for a single battle. But an event that went down
53:09in history as a triumph for the British was a catastrophe for the Zulu.
53:14Come and have a seat. It's a nice place to sit this and have a chat.
53:18Rob Caskey is an expert on the Battle of Rourke's Drift.
53:22Amazing view.
53:22So, Rob, why did the Zulu fail here at Rourke's Drift?
53:25Well, there are a number of factors as to why they lost here at Rourke's Drift Coast.
53:30The fact that it was a prepared defensive position, the fact that the Zulus were overconfident
53:35and didn't really have a battle plan as to how they would attack this place. And when
53:39the initial attacks were repulsed here, I think a huge amount of the fight was knocked
53:44out of the Zulu.
53:45And what was the Zulu's attitude to modern weaponry?
53:48The Zulus hitherto had not really come up against sustained modern firepower from rifles
53:54like the Martini Henry or the Gatling gun.
53:56And I don't think they really knew quite what to expect and just how devastating this weapon
54:00would be. I mean, a close range, it would kill three men in a line. And the Zulus up to
54:05that point hadn't faced weaponry of that power.
54:08So what were the repercussions of Rourke's Drift for the Zulu? Obviously, the repercussions
54:12continued to fold out over months and years.
54:16Well, they did. The repercussions here were enormous. The Zulus, I think, realised now that the
54:22British would be almost impossible to attack if they were behind prepared positions. And
54:27the fact that they had crossed the Buffalo River into Natal gave the British reason to
54:32reinvade Zululand and to smash the Zulu Order forever.
54:44Five months after his Andalwana and Rourke's Drift, the British army returned to Zululand,
54:5125,000 strong. This time, they were determined to finish the job. After a series of battles,
55:00the decisive Anglo-Zulu clash came at the town of Ulundi, a few miles from Ketsueyo's
55:06royal compound. This monument marks the site of the battle.
55:22The British arranged their troops into a hollow square, firing out from all sides. It was the
55:29kind of fixed fortification that had proved so successful at Rourke's Drift.
55:36The sweeping horns of the Buffalo were no match to the British block formation, particularly
55:41when backed by serious artillery. The Zulu lost 1,500 men, the British, by comparison, 13.
55:49This was the end of the Zulu Empire.
55:55Using a well-tried divide-and-rule strategy, the British sliced up the kingdom into 13 individual
56:02chieftances, each led by an enemy of King Ketsueyo. The kingdom was plunged into a bitter civil
56:10war in which more Zulus died than in the whole of the Anglo-Zulu conflict.
56:18Ketsueyo was captured and imprisoned. He eventually made his way to England to plead
56:24his case to Queen Victoria, but he died in 1884. The glorious kingdom that Shaka had built
56:34had been systematically destroyed.
56:57Ketsueyo was captured and rebuilt.
57:04Zulu Kingdom in the late 19th century, the Zulu nation lives on.
57:14Though it is no longer a sovereign state with a standing army,
57:17the Zulu people remain the largest ethnic group in South Africa.
57:24Over the years, the Zulu military past has been glorified, interpreted
57:29and used by different factions for their own political purposes,
57:33especially in South Africa's recent history.
57:37Sometimes the portrayal of Shaka and the Zulu past has obscured the truth,
57:42but it's served to maintain Zulu pride.
57:48The history of the Zulu could be read as one of defeat and disaster,
57:53but there's something else.
57:55There's a triumph against adversity, there's a sense of unity,
57:59things which continue to bind and endure.
58:07The St. Louis all the history of Zulu is now.
58:15The St. Louis is now.
58:18The St. Louis and the Zulu 18th century, the Zulu of the St. Louis,
58:20the history of Zulu, that Sinnesia is now.
58:22The St. Louis and the Zulu of the St. Louis is now.
58:29The St. Louis is now.
58:30God bless.
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