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104-510: Langalibalele ( isiHlubi : meaning 'The blazing sun', also known as Mthethwa, Mdingi (c 1814 – 1889), was king of the amaHlubi , a Bantu tribe in what is the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal , South Africa. He was born on the edge of the arrival of European settlers in the province. After conflict with the Zulu king Mpande , he fled with his people to the Colony of Natal in 1848. During

208-696: A protectorate over a sub-divided kingdom. However this proved unsatisfactory to the colonial government, and eighteen years later the kingdoms were annexed to the Natal colony, doubling its size. In 1884, the Witwatersrand Gold Rush caused a considerable rush of colonists from Natal to the Transvaal . Railways were still far from the Transvaal border, and Natal offered the nearest route for prospectors from Cape Colony or from Europe. Durban

312-402: A "diplomatic agent" who was to act on behalf of the native people who were subject to "native law" rather than "colonial law", "in so far as it was not repugnant to the dictates of humanity". From 1856 until 1877, the post of diplomatic agent was held by Sir Theophilus Shepstone , son of a missionary and who had been brought up at the mission station. King Langalibalele I (literally "the sun

416-651: A British colony in 1843, and administered from the Cape Colony in 1844. However, it was not until the end of 1845 that an effective administration was installed with Martin West as lieutenant-governor that the power of the Boer Volksraad finally came to an end. In April 1842 Lord Stanley , then Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in the second Peel Administration , wrote to Sir George Napier that

520-418: A British colony. The institutions adopted were to be as far as possible in accordance with the wishes of the people, but it was a fundamental condition "that there should not be in the eye of the law any distinction or disqualification whatever, founded on mere difference of colour, origin, language or creed". Sir George then appointed Henry Cloete (a brother of Colonel Cloete) a special commissioner to explain to

624-476: A chief, summoned to the royal kraal in the manner in which Langalibilele had been summoned by the Natal Government, was often executed or at the very least had his cattle and wives confiscated. He also explained that his personal interest in the case was the protection that he had received from Langalibilele's namesake during the latter stages of his journey to Lourenco Marques. The ruling government of

728-629: A cordial reception. That controversial British annexation of the Transvaal, was disrupted when Sekhukhune allegedly signed a peace treaty with the Boers removing the main justification for British intervention in the Transvaal at that time. Nonetheless, tensions between the British colonists and the Zulu continued to build, culminating in the Anglo-Zulu War . After an initial defeat the British were able to conquer Zululand , where they established

832-552: A force under Duncan McKenzie entered Zululand. Thereupon Dinizulu surrendered (December 1907) without opposition, and was removed to Pietermaritzburg. His trial was delayed until November 1908, and it was not until March 1909 that judgment was given, the court finding him guilty only on the minor charge of harbouring rebels. Meantime, in February 1908, the governor— Matthew Nathan , who had succeeded Henry McCallum in August 1907—had made

936-407: A harbour board was formed under the chairmanship of Harry Escombe . It controlled the operations for improving the sea entrance until 1893 when on the establishment of responsible government it was abolished. The work of improving the harbour was however continued with vigour, and finally, in 1904, such success was achieved that vessels of the largest class were enabled to enter port. At the same time,

1040-424: A lengthy process, apply for exemption from native law. As of 1876, no indigenous people had successfully made such an application. The trial of Langalibalele started on 16 January 1874 and was described by Pearse as a "disgrace to British justice". Langalibalele was tried under native law with Pine and Shepstone, the chief accusers presiding over the court without the assistance of a Supreme Court judge. Langalibalele

1144-473: A lieutenant in the British navy, with other merchants of Cape Town , formed a company to trade with the natives of the south-east coast. In the brig Salisbury , commanded by James S. King, who had been a midshipman in the navy, Farewell visited Port Natal, St Lucia and Delagoa Bays. The voyage was not successful as a trading venture, but Farewell was so impressed with the possibilities of Natal both for trade and colonization that he resolved to establish himself at

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1248-534: A long history of escapes including escaping being killed by the AmaZulu Clan. In 1848 King Mpande of AmaZulu Clan summoned King Langalibilele I to the royal kraal. King Langalibalele I, mindful of what had happened to his brother King Dlomo III, refused, and King Mpande, incensed by King Langalibalele I's refusal, launched an attack. The AmaHlubi and the *AmaPutini* fled across the Buffalo River into

1352-468: A neighbouring state with the custody of a prisoner, who, if released, could increase the threat of war on the Cape frontier or Natal. It was argued that Langalibalele had been tried under Native Law, and that this should be honoured, regardless of how harsh the sentence seemed. The resulting bill to have Langalibalele released from Robben island faced opposition in the Cape's Legislature, and only succeeded when

1456-490: A plan was formed to murder Pretorius, Boshof and other leaders, who were now convinced that the only chance of ending the state of complete anarchy into which the country had fallen was by accepting British sovereignty. In these circumstances, the task of Henry Cloete was one of great difficulty and delicacy. He behaved with the utmost tact and got rid of the Winburg and Potchefstroom burghers by declaring that he should recommend

1560-647: A small British settlement at Port Natal (later to become Durban) but the British Government declined to take possession of the port. From 1834 onwards, the Voortrekkers (Dutch-speaking farmers) started to migrate from the Cape Colony in large numbers and in 1837 crossed the Drakensberg into KwaZulu-Natal where, after the murder of one of their leaders, Piet Retief , in the massacre at Weenen they defeated King Shaka's successor King Dingane at

1664-636: A staunch believer in the expansion of the British Empire bore the brunt of the criticism – both his theological views and his liberal views towards the native population were unpopular in the Natal Colony. To a lesser extent Durnford's views that were similar to Colenso's, and although he had held his nerve during the confrontation with the amaHlubi at the top of the Bushmans River Pass, he was ostracised from local society. One of

1768-462: A tour in Zululand, on which occasion some 1500 of the prisoners taken in the rebellion of 1906 were released. The intercolonial commission had dealt with the native question as it affected South Africa as a whole; it was felt that a more local investigation was needed, and in August 1906, a strong commission was appointed to inquire into the condition of the Natal natives. The general election which

1872-454: A tract of land including "the port or harbour of Natal". On the 27th of the same month, Farewell declared the territory he had acquired a British possession. In 1825 he was joined by King, who had meantime visited England and had obtained from the government a letter of recommendation to Lord Charles Somerset , governor of the Cape, granting King permission to settle at Natal. Farewell, King and Fynn made independent settlements at various parts of

1976-543: A united nation until King Shaka kaSenzangakhona united them once again in over 350 years, by attacking neighbouring clans and assimilating the survivors; his actions led to The Great Scattering . At the time of King Langalibalele I's birth, European settlements in Southern Africa were confined to the British controlled Cape Colony and to the Portuguese fortress of Lourenço Marques . In 1824 Fynn established

2080-528: A year before his own death, so that Prince Langalibalele I became king of the AmaHlubi . Under the guidance of Zimane, the great man in the AmaHlubi kingdom, that King Langalibalele I was circumcised and initiated into the rituals of the kingdom. He then took his first wife – he was later to take another three wives. Prince Duba, Princess Mini and Prince Luphalule were King Langalibalele I's half brothers & sister who plotted to have him killed and eaten by

2184-675: A year marked by the annexation of Zululand to Natal. In 1898, Natal entered the Customs Union already existing between Cape Colony and the Orange Free State . On 13 December 1873, Chief Langalibalele was captured by the Natal Government and taken for trial in Pietermaritzburg. This was the culmination of a long and tedious stand off between the chief and the Colonial Government. Langalibalele

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2288-427: Is always breaking on the shore, even in the finest weather, and at the mouth of every natural harbour a bar occurs. To deepen the channel over the bar at Durban so that steamers might enter the harbour was the cause of labour and expenditure for many years. Harbour works were begun in 1857, piers and jetties were constructed, dredgers imported, and controversy raged over the various schemes for harbour improvement. In 1881

2392-701: Is now the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It was originally only about half the size of the present province, with the north-eastern boundaries being formed by the Tugela and Buffalo rivers beyond which lay the independent Kingdom of Zululand ( kwaZulu in the Zulu language ). Fierce conflict with the Zulu population led to the evacuation of Durban , and eventually, the Boers accepted British annexation in 1844 under military pressure. A British governor

2496-488: Is shining"), He was the second son of King Mthimkhulu II who was born in 1818 and was originally known as Prince Midinga. In 1818 King Dingiswayo of AbaThethwa clan attacked and looted the amaNgwana clan who, to replenish their losses of cattle, and than attacked the AmaHlubi . when King Mthimkhulu II died in the ensuing battle and as both Prince Langalibalele I and his elder brother Prince Dlomo III were Still children, and so King Mthimkhulu II's brother Prince Mahwanqa assumed

2600-717: The Anglo-Zulu War and the First Anglo-Boer War , among other conflicts. In the end, the confederation plan came to naught. The year before the rebellion, the Cape Colony had been granted responsible government and in Natal there was agitation for a similar form of government. The Colonial Office however reviewed the role of native law and in 1875 established the Native High Court which was to rule on matters pertaining to native law. Responsible government did not come to Natal until 1895, over twenty years after

2704-649: The Battle of Blood River , and they put his youngest brother King Mpande on the AmaZulu throne and established the republic of Natalia . Friction between the Voortrekkers and the AmaPondo nation , a kingdom whose territory lay between Natalia and the Cape Colony, led to the British occupying Port Natal, the subsequent Battle of Congella followed by the siege and relief of the port. After the port had been relieved,

2808-466: The Hime ministry resigned and was succeeded by a cabinet under the premiership of George Sutton , the founder of the wattle industry in Natal and one of the pioneers in the coal-mining industry. In May 1905 Sutton was replaced by a coalition ministry under Charles John Smythe , who had been colonial secretary under Hime. These somewhat frequent changes of ministry reflected, chiefly, differences concerning

2912-471: The Tugela River , and asking that this territory should be proclaimed a British colony and that a governor and council be appointed. To all these requests no official answer was returned. The settlers had been joined in the year named (1835) by Allen Francis Gardiner , a naval officer, whose chief object was the evangelization of the natives. With the support of the traders he founded a mission station on

3016-582: The diamond rush of the 1870s, many of his men worked on the mines in Kimberley , where they acquired firearms. In 1879 the colonial authorities of Natal demanded that the guns be registered; Langalibalele refused and a stand-off ensued, resulting in a violent skirmish in which British troops were brutally killed. Langalibalele ran across the mountains into Basutoland , but was kidnapped, tried and banished to Robben Island . He after 30 years, returned to his home, but remained under life arrest. His imprisonment

3120-614: The 17th century, they had certainly settled there and displaced the Bushmen, who migrated into the foothills of the Drakensberg . The amaHlubi , a Bantu tribe speaking a Tekela dialect, had settled in the northern part of the province between the Buffalo and Blood Rivers . During the first decade of the nineteenth century the AbaThethwa King Dingiswayo , a neighbour of the AmaHlubi , set about consolidating

3224-516: The 1850s military levies and a hut tax were imposed on the native population who lived within the limits of the Colony. In 1873 a marriage tax of £5 imposed by the colonial government caused much resentment. The discovery of diamonds in Kimberley , in the British Colony of Griqualand West , attracted thousand of workers, black and white. Many young men from the amaHlubi became labourers on

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3328-481: The 30 October 1873 a Corps of Colonial Volunteer troops moved towards the Hlubi 'location'. The Hlubi began to flee. On 2 November 1873 Shepstone issued an order giving the Hlubi 24 hours to surrender or face the consequence of rebellion. On 4 November 1873 the Hlubi and Volunteer Corps came face to face and 3 colonists and 1 Mosotho were killed. The colonial forces then 'broke up' the tribe, seizing cattle, killing not just

3432-459: The Boer columns, but failed to prevent their escape due to the fraudulent use of Red Cross flags by the Boers. The British withdrew to Ladysmith . Boer forces proceeded to Ladysmith and surrounded the town, cutting off its communications from the south. The Siege of Ladysmith lasted until 28 February 1900, when the town was relieved by forces under Redvers Buller . During the six weeks previous to

3536-529: The Boers took control of the port and soon afterwards established the Natalia Republic . The Republic suffered from disorganized government and poor relations with the Zulus. On 2 December 1841, Sir George Thomas Napier , governor of Cape Colony, issued a proclamation declaring his intent to resume British military occupation of Port Natal. Most of the Voortrekkers left by 1843. Natal was proclaimed

3640-646: The Cape Prime Minister himself threatened to resign if it was not passed. The pressure to reconsider the sentence grew, and in August 1875, after Carnarvon, the Colonial Secretary had finally referred the case back to the courts in the Cape Colony , Langalibalele was allowed to leave Robben Island. He was obliged to remain in the Cape Colony for the time being, until 1887 when he was permitted to return to Natal. On his return to Natal, he

3744-634: The Cape, visited Mpande and obtained from him a valuable concession. Hitherto the Tugela from source to mouth had been the recognized frontier between Natal and Zululand . Mpande gave up to Natal all the territory between the Buffalo and Tugela rivers, now forming Klip River county. The colony's early population growth was driven by settlement from the United Kingdom between 1849 and 1851, with approximately 4500 emigrants between 1848 and 1851. From

3848-532: The Chief was immediately transferred. Almost immediately after Langalibalele arrived at Robben island, information began to surface across southern Africa about the unfair nature of the Chief's treatment. Doubts were soon raised about the fairness of the trial, and about whether Langalibalele actually intended to rebel at all. John Colenso , first Bishop of Natal , led the outcry. He journeyed to England to plead Langalibalele's case personally and succeeded in getting

3952-628: The Colonial Office in the UK received a telegram from Sir Henry Barkly in Cape Town of the imminent collapse of the Transvaal , because the Transvaal's President Burger and his men had been routed after their attack on Sekhukhune and his people the Pedi . This galvanized Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon who obtained permission from Disraeli to appoint Sir Theophilus Shepstone (known by

4056-450: The Colony as lieutenant governor in July 1873 ordered the arrest of Langalibalele. Meanwhile, Langalibalele and his people made plans to flee to Basutoland (modern Lesotho ) via the Bushmans River Pass. The Natal Colonial government proposed a three-pronged police operation with military support to arrest Langalibalele – initially Lieutenant Colonel Miles was to have overall command, but he

4160-469: The Colony of Natal became Natal Province , one of the founding provinces of the Union of South Africa . The British settlers quickly realised that the coastlands were suited to the cultivation of tropical or semi-tropical products, and from 1852 onward sugar , coffee , cotton and arrowroot were introduced, tea being afterwards substituted for coffee. The sugar industry soon became of importance, and

4264-540: The Drakensberg as the northern limit of Natal. On 8 August 1843, the Natal volksraad unanimously agreed to the terms proposed by Lord Stanley. Many of the Boers who would not acknowledge British rule trekked once more over the mountains into what are now the Orange Free State and Transvaal provinces. At the end of 1843, there were not more than 500 Dutch families left in Natal. Cloete, before returning to

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4368-436: The Drakensberg. It was hoped that the AmaHlubi would provide a buffer between the bushmen and the settlers and so protect the settlers' cattle from the bushmen. This area proved too small and within a few years, the Hlubi kingdom settlement had spread to over 6000 km. The British Government required that the colonies be self-supporting in so far as was possible, resulting in various taxes being imposed on all residents. In

4472-455: The English living at the bay. The next step was taken by the settlers at the port, who in 1835 resolved to lay out a town, which they named Durban , after Benjamin D'Urban , then governor of Cape Colony . At the same time the settlers, who numbered about 50, sent a memorial to the governor calling attention to the fact that they were acknowledged rulers over a large tract of territory south of

4576-556: The Framework Act to recognise Ingonyama Muziwenkosi ka Tatazela ka Siyephu ka Langalibalele, otherwise known as Langalibalele II as king of the amaHlubi . However, in 2010 the Nhlapo Commission found that since the amaHlubi has been dispersed before the colonial era they did not have a claim to a kingship. Hlubi The Hlubi people or AmaHlubi are an AmaMbo ethnic group native to Southern Africa , with

4680-560: The Klip River country and King Langalibilele I appealed to Martin West , the lieutenant governor of Natal for protection. In December 1849, after negotiations in which Shepstone exhibited considerable diplomacy, the *AmaChibi* , now reduced to 7000 in number, were granted 364 km of good land on the banks of the Little Bushmans River, between the newly established European settlement of Bushmans River ( Estcourt ) and

4784-488: The Natal commissioners disagreed; in 1905, however, an act was passed by the Natal legislature imposing a poll tax of £1 on all males over 18 in the colony, except indentured Indians and natives paying hut tax (which was 14 shillings a year). Every European was bound to pay the tax. In 1906, the Bambatha Rebellion broke out in the colony, attributable ostensibly to the poll tax, and spread to Zululand. It

4888-480: The Natal volksraad the decision of the government. There was a considerable party of Natal Boers still strongly opposed to the British, and they were reinforced by numerous bands of Boers who came over the Drakensberg from Winburg and Potchefstroom . Commandant Jan Mocke of Winburg (who had helped to besiege Captain Smith at Durban ) and others of the "war party" attempted to induce the volksraad not to submit, and

4992-488: The Voortrekkers withdrew from KwaZulu-Natal into the interior and the British established the Colony of Natal . The following decades saw the rise of the British industrial base – emigration was used to control unemployment and thereby boost the British economy. The Colony of Natal was one destination of such emigrants. In 1856 the colony was granted representative government by the British Government with responsible government following in 1895. The British government appointed

5096-513: The Zulu honorific as Somtseu meaning '’father of the nation'’) who had served for 30 years as a Natal administrator, first as Diplomatic Agent to Native Tribes, then as secretary for native affairs, to act as special commissioner to the Transvaal. On 15 December 1876, Shepstone with 25 troopers from the Natal Mounted Police and others set out from Pietermaritzburg to Pretoria to annex the Transvaal; arriving on 27 January 1877 to

5200-547: The bay. In 1834, a petition from Cape Town merchants asking for the creation of a British colony at Natal was met by the statement that the Cape finances would not permit the establishment of a new dependency. The merchants, however, dispatched an expedition under Dr Andrew Smith to inquire into the possibilities of the country, and the favourable nature of his report induced a party of Boers under Piet Uys , including Jan Bantjes , to go there also. Both Smith and Uys travelled overland through Kaffraria , and were well received by

5304-542: The cannibals. Prince Duba asked King Langalibalele I to accompany him to his mother's place at the AmaJuba Clan mountains. King Langalibalele I was tied to a pole. It is said he was saved by girls who saw King Langalibalele I and reported the matter to Gxiva, his friend. Gxiva managed to release King Langalibalele I who escaped during the night and crossed the Mzinyathi river which was in flood. King Langalibalele I had

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5408-564: The case returned to the South African courts. Charles Rawden Maclean (John Ross) wrote a letter to the editor of The Times in support of Langalibalele. In 1824 Maclean had been shipwrecked at Port Natal as a boy and stranded with his companions for four years. In 1827 he walked to Lourenco Marques, some 600 km away to obtained medical supplies. In his letter, Maclean, who had spent much of his time in Southern Africa at Shaka's royal kraal, described that in traditional African society

5512-459: The commission's report. But in 1909 an act was passed which placed native affairs in the hands of four district commissioners, gave to the minister for native affairs direct executive authority and created a council for native affairs on which non-official members had seats. While the district commissioners were intended to keep in close touch with the natives, the council was to act as a "deliberative, consultative and advisory body." On 31 May 1910,

5616-521: The country on Cape Colony was put to an end and Natal constituted a distinct colony with a legislative council of sixteen members, twelve elected by the inhabitants and four nominated by the Crown. At the time the population of settlers and their descendants exceeded 8000. While dependent on the Cape, ordinances had been passed establishing Roman-Dutch law as the law of Natal, and save where modified by legislation, it remained in force. On 14 September 1876,

5720-531: The crisis by renewed energy in harbour works, railway constructions and the development of the natural resources of the country. A railway to the Zululand coalfields was completed in 1903, and in the same year a line was opened to Vryheid in the newly annexed territories. Natal further built several railway lines in the eastern half of the Orange River Colony, thus opening up new markets for her produce and facilitating her transit trade. In August 1903

5824-815: The district of Wakkerstroom as was encompassed by a line drawn from the north-eastern corner of Natal, east by Volksrust in a northerly direction to the summit of the Drakensberg Range , along that range, passing just north of the town of Wakkerstroom , to the headwaters of the Pongola River (now called Phongolo River ), and thence following the river to the border of the Utrecht district. The districts added to Natal contained about 6,000 white inhabitants (mostly Afrikaners ), and some 92,000 natives, and had an area of nearly 7,000 square miles (18,000 km ), so that this annexation meant an addition to

5928-817: The eMbo people’s southern migration. More specifically, they are said to originate from the people known as the Shubi . The Shubi can still be found today in Congo and some parts of Rwanda and Tanzania. The AmaHlubi speak a dialect closely related to the Swati language , one of the Tekela languages in the Nguni branch of the Bantu language family . The Hlubi (AmaHlubi) dialect is endangered and most Hlubi speakers are elderly and illiterate. There are attempts by Hlubi intellectuals to revive

6032-453: The east. Alison and Barter were to travel under cover of darkness and to meet up at the top of the Bushmans River Pass on Monday 3 November 1873 at 0600 hrs and block Langalibalele's flight. The entire force comprised 200 British troops, 300 Natal Volunteers and about 6000 Africans. To the south, Durnford accompanied Barter and led by native guides followed the route across countryside that much more rugged than expected and they ended up to

6136-505: The elections to the council led to the return of a majority in favour of accepting self-government, and in 1893 a bill establishing responsible government was passed and received the sanction of the Imperial government. At the time the white inhabitants numbered about 50,000. The electoral law was framed to prevent more than a very few natives obtaining suffrage . Restrictions in this direction dated as far back as 1865, while in 1896 an act

6240-487: The establishment of a colony in Natal would be attended with little prospect of advantage, but at the same time stated that the pretensions of the emigrants to be regarded as an independent community could not be admitted. Various measures were proposed which would but have aggravated the situation. Finally, in deference to the strongly urged views of Sir George Napier, Lord Stanley, in a despatch of 13 December, received in Cape Town on 23 April 1843, consented to Natal becoming

6344-410: The hill overlooking the bay. In 1837 Gardiner was given authority by the British government to exercise jurisdiction over the traders. They, however, refused to acknowledge Gardiner's authority, and from the Cape government he received no support. The next wave of immigration consisted of Voortrekkers fleeing British rule in Cape Colony , who pushed out the English settlers at Port Natal. In May 1838

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6448-547: The language and make it one of the eleven recognized languages in South Africa. Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia , and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa , as one of its provinces . It

6552-597: The majority of population found in Gauteng , Mpumalanga , KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa . Hlubi people are located in Eastern Cape, Lesotho, and KwaZulu-Natal most Amahlubi speak IsiXhosa, Sesotho, and a handful speaks isiZulu, the language is near extinction many AmaHlubi identify themselves as Xhosa or Sotho, Zulu speakers. The Hlubi, similar to other current Southern African nations, originate from Central Africa. They moved as part of

6656-467: The men, but the women and children too. Survivors were 'apprenticed' to colonist and removed from their land. The Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899 with the Boer seizure of a Natal train on the Orange Free State border. Boer forces quickly occupied Newcastle . A landdrost was appointed and the town was renamed Viljoensdorp. In the Battle of Talana Hill on 20 October 1899, outside Dundee , British forces under William Penn Symons defeated

6760-541: The mines and some were paid in guns rather than in money, a practice that was legal in Griqualand West . The Hlubi labourers habitually brought these guns back to their home in the Natal Colony, upon returning from the mines. In 1873, John Macfarlane, then magistrate in Estcourt, ordered that Langalibalele hand in his people's guns for registration. As Langlibalele did not know who held guns, he refused to enforce

6864-440: The nineteenth century, the Colony of Natal had two systems of law – colonial law which applied to settlers and which was based on Roman Dutch law and native law which applied to the indigenous population and which was based on traditional tribal law. Native law was administered by the indigenous chiefs and, "in so far it was not repugnant to the dictates of humanity", was upheld by colonial magistrates. Indigenous people could, after

6968-493: The office was abolished by the establishment of the Union of South Africa. In August 1907 the report of the Native Affairs' Commission was published. The commission declared that the chasm between the natives and settlers had been broadening for years and that the efforts of the administration—especially since the grant of responsible government — to reconcile the natives to the changed conditions of rule and policy and to convert them into an element of strength had been ineffective. It

7072-428: The order. Walker records that the government named eight men who were to be ordered to register their guns and that after some hesitation, Langalibalele sent in five of the named eight men. Pearse on the other hand records that Langalibalele himself was ordered to appear before Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs and that Langalibalele refused on grounds of ill health. In the event, Sir Benjamin Pine, who arrived in

7176-451: The planters were compelled to seek for large numbers of labourers. The natives did not volunteer in sufficient numbers, and recourse was had to labour from India. The first Indian labourers reached Natal in 1860. They came as indentured labourers , but at the expiration of their contract were allowed to settle in the colony. The Indian population rapidly increased, the Indians becoming market gardeners, farmers, hawkers, and traders. Alone among

7280-495: The port. He went on with ten companions, among them Henry Francis Fynn . All the rest save Farewell and Fynn speedily returned to the Cape, but the two who remained were joined by three sailors, John Cane, Henry Ogle and Thomas Holstead. Farewell, Fynn and the others went to the royal kraal of Shaka , and, having cured him of a wound and made him various presents, obtained a document, dated 7 August 1824, ceding to "F. G. Farewell & Company entire and full possession in perpetuity"

7384-487: The protection of Chief Molapo. After the assassination of King Shaka kaSenzangakhona in 1828, Prince Mahwanqa returned to the AmaHlubi's traditional lands. Since Prince Mahwanqa was not subject to King Dingane , King Shaka's successor, he set about rebuilding his army. Once Prince Dlomo III came of age, Prince Mahwanqa was reluctant to relinquish the regency and wished to transfer the Kingship to Prince Langalibalele I, but Prince Mahwanqa's troops revolted and Prince Mahwanqa

7488-523: The protectorate via the Orange Free State and on 11 December reached a spot in the Maluti Mountains that bore evidence of Langalibalele having recently been there. In reality, Langalibalele had thrown himself at the mercy of the Basuto chief Molapo, but Molapo had already handed Langalibalele over to a local force who, on 13 December, handed him and five of his sons over to Allison. During most of

7592-471: The railway system was continually developing under the Natal Railway Company . For many years there had been an agitation among the colonists for self-government. In 1882 the colony was offered self-government coupled with the obligations of self-defence. The offer was declined, but in 1883 the legislative council was remodelled so as to consist of 23 elected and 7 nominated members. In 1890

7696-424: The rebellion, protested his loyalty to the British. As time went on, however, the Natal government, alarmed at a series of murders of whites in Zululand and at the evidences of continued unrest among the natives, became convinced that Dinuzulu was implicated in the rebellious movement. (When a young man, in 1889, he had been convicted of high treason and had been exiled, but in 1897 he had been allowed to return.) Now

7800-461: The rebellion. Langalibalele's legacy continued into the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In 1990, shortly after his own release from Robben Island Nelson Mandela laid a wreath on Langalibalele's grave in recognition of Langalibalele's own internment there. In 2005 the amaHlubi people presented a Submission to the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims under

7904-689: The regency. Prince Mahwanqa, rather than resolve the differences with the amaNgwana, fled northwards across the Pongola river (northern boundary of KwaZulu-Natal) to the Wakkerstroom area of Mpumalanga with the two boys where he sought sanctuary amongst the AmaNgwana Clan. Other members of the tribe fled southwards to Pondoland , or westwards to the Orange Free State and the Basutoland ; those fleeing to Basutoland placing themselves under

8008-480: The relief, 200 deaths had occurred from disease alone, and altogether as many as 8424 were reported to have passed through the hospitals. The relief of Ladysmith soon led to the evacuation of Natal by the Boer forces, who trekked northwards. As one result of the war, an addition was made to the territory of Natal, consisting of a portion of what had previously been included in the Transvaal. The districts transferred to Natal were: Vryheid , Utrecht and such portion of

8112-452: The semi-independent Cape Colony soon came to the conclusion that Langalibalele had been unjustly sentenced, though much of the Cape's legislature on the other hand remained wary of the Hlubi chief. The Cape government Minister and spokesman John X. Merriman publicly condemned the trial ( "Natal Prisoner's Bill" ) and demanded that it be considered illegitimate. The Cape government at the time

8216-593: The south of Giants Castle, not to the north where the pass lay. After a consultation, the guides took the party up the Hlatimba Pass, some 20 km south of the Bushmans River Pass. After negotiating the 2867 m summit of the pass, Durnford and his force consisting of 33 carbineers and 25 Basuto proceeded to the top of the Bushmans River pass where they intercepted the amaHlubi tribesmen 24 hours later than expected. Durnford attempted to negotiate with

8320-423: The tide of trade which had already set in with the Transvaal steadily increased. Natal colonists were not merely the first in the field with the transport traffic to the new goldfields; they became some of the earliest proprietors of mines, and for several years many of the largest mining companies had their chief offices at Pietermaritzburg or Durban. In this year (1886) the railway reached Ladysmith , and in 1891 it

8424-416: The time of the coming of the first considerable body of British settlers dates the development of trade and agriculture in the colony, followed somewhat later by the exploitation of the mineral resources of the country. At the same time schools were established and various churches began or increased their work in the colony. John Colenso , appointed bishop of Natal , arrived in 1854. In 1856 the dependence of

8528-518: The treatment of commercial questions and the policy to be adopted towards the natives. All Dutch colonists who had joined the Boer forces during the war were pardoned. As early as July 1903, rumours were current that Dinuzulu , king of the Zulus, was disaffected. Dinuzulu, however, remained at the time quiescent, though the Zulus were in a state of excitement over incidents connected with the Boer war, when they had been subject to raids by Boer commandoes, and on one occasion at least had retaliated. Unrest

8632-539: The tribal elders while Barter and the rest of the party covered him. Some of the British forces lost their nerve and shots were fired. Durnford and his men retreated back down the Hlatimba Pass having lost five of their number. Allison had meanwhile failed to find the Champagne Castle Pass. On 11 November martial law was declared in the Natal colony, and two flying columns, one under Allison, were sent to search for Langalibalele in Basutoland . They entered

8736-467: The underlying causes of the Langalibalele "rebellion" was an inconsistent policy in the various British colonies towards the native populations and in particular the ownership of guns. In the United Kingdom, Lord Carnarvon who returned to the post of Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1874 proposed a confederation of states in Southern Africa, under the control of Britain, but in reality this

8840-416: The various Nguni people under his leadership. In 1818 he was killed in battle and after a civil war, power passed into the hands of one of his lieutenants, Shaka , King of the Zulu clan. King Shaka expanded the Zulu clan into a kingdom for the first time since King Malandela KaLuzumana died way back in the year 1551, where he divided the kingdom into two clans, AmaZulu and AmaQwabe, thus they were no longer

8944-496: The white population of Natal of about one-tenth, to her native population of about one-tenth also, and to her territory of about one-fourth. An act authorizing the annexation was passed during 1902 and the territories were formally transferred to Natal in January 1903. The period following the war was succeeded by commercial depression, though in Natal it was not so severely felt as in other states of South Africa. The government met

9048-461: Was a euphemism for a common native policy. While his proposed native policy was too liberal for the Boer republics , it was considered too harsh by the Cape's government, which also rejected the way in which it was to be forcibly imposed on southern Africa from outside. The ill-fated confederation scheme also required the British annexation of the remaining independent states of southern Africa, leading to

9152-400: Was a watermark in South African political history that split the colonial population of the Colony of Natal. The Bushmen , a hunter-gatherer people, were the original inhabitants of the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal. Historians are divided as to when the Bantu , a pastoral people, first migrated southward into the province, although most think it was well before 1200. By the end of

9256-399: Was also manifested among the natives west of the Tugela, but it was not at first cause for alarm. During 1903–1904 a Native Affairs' Commission, representative of all the states, obtained evidence on the status and conditions of the natives. Its investigations pointed to the loosening of tribal ties and to the corresponding growth of a spirit of individual independence. Among its recommendations

9360-475: Was an improvement in the colony's security and the search for a scapegoat. Security was improved by the Governor of the Cape Colony , Sir Henry Barkly , sending a contingent of 200 men to Natal while both the neighbouring Boer Republics mobilised men to prevent Langalibalele seeking help for the Zulu king Cetshwayo . With most of the colonists supporting the colonial government, Colenso, who had once been

9464-481: Was appointed to the region and many settlers emigrated from Europe and the Cape Colony . The British established a sugar cane industry in the 1860s. Farm owners had a difficult time attracting Zulu labourers to work on their plantations, so the British brought thousands of indentured labourers from India. As a result of the importation of Indian labourers, Durban became the home to the largest concentration of Indians outside India. In 1823 Francis Farewell , formerly

9568-570: Was completed to the Transvaal frontier at Charlestown , the section from Ladysmith northward opening up the Dundee and Newcastle coalfields. Thus a new industry was added to the resources of the colony. The demand which the growing trade made upon the one port of Natal, Durban , encouraged the colonists to redouble their efforts to improve the Port of Durban . A heavy sea from the Indian Ocean

9672-610: Was confined to the Swartkop location near Pietermaritzburg. He never regained his power as leader of the Hlubi; he died in 1889 and was buried at Ntabamhlope, 25 kilometres west of Estcourt . In keeping with the amaHlubi tradition, his burial place was kept secret until in October 1950 his grandson revealed the site to the Native Commissioner in Estcourt. The immediate reaction to the failure to apprehend Langalibalele

9776-468: Was denied the right to have a counsel until the third day of the trial, the counsel was not permitted to interview the prisoner nor was he permitted to cross-examine the witnesses. Langalibalele was sentenced to banishment for life and as the Colony of Natal had no suitable place of detention, the neighbouring Cape Colony to the west was prevailed upon to make Robben Island available for Langalibalele's imprisonment. British Governor Henry Barkly assented and

9880-523: Was dominated by liberals, and their arguments on the matter were twofold. Firstly, they insisted that no white man would have been sentenced so severely, that the Natal court had therefore been guilty of racial prejudice, and that Langalibalele "had been victimised because of his colour". Secondly, they argued that, as a locally elected government, they neither fell under Natal's jurisdiction, nor were obliged to follow British imperial requests in this regard. In response, many stated that they had been entrusted by

9984-566: Was held in the following month turned on native policy and on the measures necessary to meet the commercial depression. The election, which witnessed the return of four Labour members, resulted in a ministerial majority of a somewhat heterogeneous character, and in November 1906 Smythe resigned, being succeeded by Frederick Moor , who in his election campaign had criticized the Smythe ministry for their financial proposals. Moor remained premier until

10088-678: Was not happy with many details and was happy to hand command over to Major Durnford . The plan was for Captain Allison to cross the Drakensberg via the Champagne Castle Pass , some 25 km to the north of the Bushmans River Pass, Captain Barter was to cross the Drakensberg via the Giants Castle Pass , some 10 km to the south of the Bushmans River Pass while other forces would approach Langalibalele's territory from

10192-402: Was not sufficient to secure them, as the government had done, peace and ample means of livelihood. The commission among other proposals for a more liberal and sympathetic native policy urged the creation of a native advisory Board entrusted with very wide powers. "Personal rule", they declared, "supplies the keynote of successful native control". The unrest in Zululand delayed action being taken on

10296-507: Was passed aimed at the exclusion of Indians from the suffrage. The leader of the party which sought responsible government was John Robinson who had gone to Natal in 1850, was a leading journalist in the colony, had been a member of the legislative council since 1863, and had filled various official positions. He now became the first premier and colonial secretary with Harry Escombe as attorney-general and F. R. Moor as secretary for Native Affairs. John Robinson remained premier until 1897,

10400-573: Was slain in the ensuing battle. Then Prince Dlomo III took over; on taking the Kingship he paid a visit to the then AmaZulu king Dingane at the royal kraal in UMGungundlovu where he argued that the best course would be for him King Dlomo III to retain the Kingship of the AmaChibi and than King Dingane should return his cattle. King Dingane however ordered the murder of King Dlomo III in 1839,

10504-475: Was soon thronged; and Pietermaritzburg , which was then practically the terminus of the Natal railway, was the base from which nearly all the expeditions to the goldfields were fitted out. The journey to De Kaap by bullock-waggon occupied about six weeks. "Kurveying" (the conducting of transport by bullock-waggon) in itself constituted a great industry. Two years later, in 1886, the Rand goldfields were proclaimed, and

10608-571: Was suppressed by the colonial forces under Colonel Duncan McKenzie , aided by a detachment of Transvaal volunteers. Bhambatha , a chief in the Greytown district who had been deposed for misconduct, kidnapped the regent appointed in his stead. He was pursued and escaped to Zululand, where he received considerable help. He was killed in battle in June, and by the close of July the rebellion was at an end. Dinuzulu, accused by many colonists of having incited

10712-602: Was the chief of the Hlubu (or amaHlbubi) tribe in northern Natal. He had failed to enforce an 1872 law that compelled all Africans in Natal to register their firearms with their local magistrate. When told to enforce the law by Resident Magistrate John Macfarlane, Langalibalele said, how one can "count the maggots in a piece of beef?". Langalibalele was then called to appear before the Secretary of Native Affairs, Theophilus Shepstone, in Pietermaritzburg twice, both times refusing. On

10816-458: Was the direct political representation of natives in the colonial legislatures on the New Zealand model , and the imposition of direct taxation upon natives, which should not be less than £ 1 a year payable by every adult male. The commission also called attention to the numerical insufficiency of magistrates and native commissioners in certain parts of Natal. With some of the recommendations

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