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Date	Original Topic
28th December 2001	Why was their a War with Zulus? By Dale Why exactly did the British decide the ultimatum for the Zulus to follow? And since the Zulus didnt follow the ulimatum, why did the British declare War on them? WHY? DALE
Date	Replies
29th December 2001	Glenn Wade Hi Dale! Part of the reason why British authorities declared war on Zululand is because two Zulu women who had commited adultery, crossed the Buffalo River into Natal to seek protection from the offended husbands' son and his warriors. The women took refuge in a Natal Mounted Police station which was raided by the warriors and the women were taken across the river and stoned to death. That is all I know Dale. Hope this helps. Glenn.
1st January 2002	Fred Dale My knowledge of the Zulu war mainly comes from Donald Morris's book `The Washing Of The Spears'. If you want a thorough examination of the whole issue, I'd certainly recommend the book (it is a pretty dense read though). In it Morris shows that the invasion was against the direct wishes of the British Cabinet and those of Sir Michael Hicks Beach, the Colonial Secretary, as evidenced by his response to Bartle Frere's request for two extra battalions thus: "Her Majesty's Government are not prepared to comply with a request for a reinforcement of troops. All the information that has reached them with respect to the position of affairs in Zululand appears to them to justify a confident hope that by the exercise of prudence and by meeting the Zulus in a spirit of forebearance and reasonable compromise it will be possible to avert the very serious evil of a war with Cetshwayo". Morris also states that Britain recognised the independance of Zululand, that Sir Henry Bulwer also opposed Bartle Frere's course of action and, in effect (for a number of complex reasons) the whole war was precipitated by Bartle Frere's own intentions and actions (maybe a slight simplification but he does seem to have been the dominant force behind the events). Morris also suggests that the invasion of Zululand took place when it did rather than later as Bartle Frere wanted to avoid being overruled by London and wanted to present them with a fait accompli. Bartle Frere used the incident that Glenn mentions as one of the bases for his ultimatum to Cetshwayo. Similar incidents had happened before and had been ignored by Bulwer, the Governor of Natal, despite them being a violation of Natals territory.
3rd January 2002	Fred Dale To add a little more to directly address your question, my understanding of the situation that led to the invasion is thus: At that time there were four main colonies in southern Africa: Cape Colony, Natal, (British controlled), Orange Free State and the Transvaal (Boer colonies). There had been a conference about confederation of these separate states. Henry Bartle Frere, who was High Commissioner for the Cape Colony and Natal, was a great supporter of confederation between the colonies. I don't think it denigratory to the Orange Free State and Transvaal to say that they were somewhat anarchic (in the dictionary sense). In order to interest them in confederation, Bartle Frere had to offer them something which was in their interest, and that was security. This was also a major concern of Natal. Why ? Because, contrary to the view insinuated by some nowadays, the Zulus were far from being a nation of peaceful farmers. They could claim to be one of the most militaristic nations in history, rivaling the Spartans. Before Shaka became their king in the 1820's, they were an insignificant Bantu tribe. He built them into the most feared and powerful one in Southern Africa and they displaced many Bantu tribes from lands the Zulus took over, many others being incorporated into the Zulu nation. Shaka organised them on the basis that most young Zulu men were incorporated into regiments consisting of men around their own age. None of them were allowed to marry or hold land until their regiment had fought a battle in which blood was drawn (Washed Their Spears). These men were `professional' warriors (the quotes because they didn't receive a salary, but they were maintained by the state. In all other respects they were full time, highly trained warriors, at close quarters probably the equal of any other troops at the time). Shaka had hit upon the regimental system, which was not dissimilar to that of the British Army. He instituted the system when he was fighting for the Mtetwa tribe. He was delighted to find that the warriors were more loyal to their regiment than they were to the tribe as a whole (again, not dissimilar to the experience of the British Army. Fights were not uncommon between regiments in both armies). At the time of the Zulu War, Cetshewayo was estimated to have had 50,000 full time warriors at his disposal, around 25,500 of them under thirty (the figures coming from Bernard Fynney, a border agent who provided Chelmsford with very detailed information about all of the Zulu regiments). Before the time of Cetshwayo's accession, there was some dispute over who was the rightful heir to the Zulu throne. Cetshwayo settled this by massacring the rival claimant (Mbulazi) and his entire clan at 'Ndondakusuka, some 25,000 all told, including women and children. One can shrug ones shoulders and say that this was an internal Zulu matter, but it was hardly an incident to inspire confidence in his neighbours. One of Cetshwayo's predecessors, Dingane, had sacked Durban in the 1820's and these memories were strong in Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State, as was the presence of a standing army of 50,000 on their borders. Bartle Frere seems to have been mainly interested in the confederation of the four colonies but seems to have viewed Zululand as a potential hornets nest on their borders (he described the Zulus to Hicks Beach as "... celibate, man destroying gladiators ...", somewhat florid but not a million miles from the truth). Cetshwayo had no apparent aggressive intentions towards the colonies and there is some testimonial evidence that he saw the Zulu regiments as a potential problem himself, but was at a loss to know what to do about it. The warriors enjoyed their status and those who had earned the IsiCoco (a head band that entitled them to marry and hold land) were very jealous of their position (hard earned after all) and would have been unlikely to have welcomed this being given to regiments that had not earned it (there was a very bloody confrontation between regiments at the First Fruits ceremony in 1878, caused in large part by this, leaving around 60 Zulu warriors dead and 300 fleeing to Natal). At some point they needed military action in order for them to earn their IsiCoco. When Lord Chelmsford arrived in South Africa, Bartle Frere asked him to advise on how Natal could be defended against the Zulus. Chelmsford reported back that he thought it impossible. There were at least twelve points on the Buffalo-Tugela river (the border between Natal and Zululand) at which large bodies of Zulus could cross. He did not have anywhere near sufficient troops to post big enough garrisons at these crossings to resist a large incursion. The Zulus were far too mobile to engage in a battle of manoeuvre using British infantry on Natal territory (British infantry covered an average of 15 miles a day. As rightly stated in the film `Zulu', the Zulus could run 50 miles, or at least fast trot, and then fight a battle) and he did not have anywhere near enough cavalry for the purpose. If the Zulus chose to invade Natal, they could easily evade British infantry forces and attack settlements at will. He advised that the only credible defence for Natal against the Zulu army was to draw them into a battle against the British troops and use their superior firepower to defeat the Zulus. In order to do this, Chelmsford thought that it would be necessary to invade Zululand, which would surely draw the Zulu army into battle. Bartle Frere seems to have seized on this and then issued his ultimatum to Cetshwayo (who was at a loss to understand why he was presented with it) which included the issue mentioned by Glenn. It also required,among other terms, that the Zulu army be disbanded and the men be left free to marry, for the perpetrators of the incursion into Natal to be surrendered to the Natal courts and large cattle fines be given in restitution. Bartle Frere gave a thirty day deadline which he clearly knew could not be met, despite the fact that Cetshwayo did attempt to comply with some of the terms. Thus, as best as I know and can summarise sufficiently, is why Zululand was invaded, not by the will of the British Government, but by the machinations of Sir Henry Bartle Frere. Remember that he had much power in his role and messages sent from him to London required around two months before he received a reply. Bartle Frere did not inform London of his ultimatum until five days after he had given it to Cetshwayo's representatives and, as mentioned before, seems to have wanted to present London with a fait accompli. It must be said that it was not only a matter of the Europeans against the Zulus. Natal had a large population of Bantus, many of them from tribes displaced in previous generations by the Zulus. When Bartle Frere was refused by London the extra two battalions Chelmsford requested, Chelmsford asked for a force of 7,000 to be raised from volunteers from the Natal Bantus. This was raised in around a month (the NNC - the Natal Native Contingent). They had only around a month of training before being despatched to face the Zulus, which seems to have been a costly mistake, but one apparently forced on him by Bartle Frere's timetable. Bartle Frere was far from being a stupid or bad man. He had a formidable reputation as a result of his governership of Scinde where he was much respected by the natives. He just seems to have regarded the Zulus as a dangerous obstacle to what he saw as the grand plan, the confederation.