The Battle of Blood River : South African History
After the Voortrekkers had failed to negotiate with the Zulus the secession of land for settling and grazing, and had endured a number of catastrophic assaults, they assembled at the Ncome River for a decisive battle. On December 16, 1838, 464 Boers under the command of Andries Pretorius defeated more than 10,000 Zulu warriors. The deeply religious Boers did not ascribe the military victory to their technically superior armaments, but interpreted it primarily as a sign of God. Before the battle, they had prayed and made a vow that if God would grant them victory over the Zulus, they would commemorate the event annually. With that battle behind them, they believed even more strongly that white predominance over blacks is God’s own will.
The monument at the Blood River, a fort of cast-bronze wagons, brings to life the terrible events of 1838, which meant the beginning of the end of the Zulu Kingdom. This monument stood alone for many years as a reminder exclusively of the heroism of the white settlers, who suffered no fatalities at Blood River on that day.
Finally, in December 1998, a memorial for the 3,000 Zulu soldiers who died in the battle, was inaugurated by Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi across the river from the Afrikaner monument. The historic anniversary of the ‘Day of the Vow’ has been renamed ‘Reconciliation Day’ in the New South Africa.
The South African History:
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The Landing at the Cape
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The Expansion of the Trek Boers
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The Great Trek
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The Xhosa People
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The Zulu Kingdom
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The Battle of Blood River
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The Anglo-Boer War
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The Apartheid Era
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The Democratic South Africa
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The Colony of Natal
Related Travel Information
History of the Colony of Natal : South African History
The Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama reached the bay of today’s Durban on Christmas Day 1497. He named it "Rio de Natal", Christmas River. From that time on, the bay was a frequent port-of-call for sailors and merchants, but not until 1823 did a real settlement start to develop. In 1835, Port Natal was renamed Durban after the then Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Benjamin Durban. Life in the small harbour town was very precarious. The Zulus regarded Natal as their own territory and merely tolerated the white settlers,
The Expansion of the Trek Boers : South African History
From the beginning of the 18th century the Cape settlers expanded their territory towards the north and the east. These settling movements were led by the Trek Boers, white farmers who penetrated the hinterland looking for grazing land for their cattle.
The Trek Boers preferred the free and unrestricted life on their ox wagons and in tents to the more protected existence within the realms of town administration. The price they had to pay for their lifestyle was constant armed conflict with native peoples. First the Khoikhoi successfully resisted the conquest
The Xhosa People : South African History
At the time of white settlement of the Cape, Xhosa groups were living far inland, into the area between Bushman's River and the Kei River. Since around 1770, they had been confronted with the Trek Boers who approached from the west. Both the Boers and the Xhosa were stock-farmers. The competition for grazing land led first to quarrels between the two groups, and eventually it came to a number of wars.
The politics of the colonial government attempted to enforce the separation of white and black settlement areas with the Fish River as the border.
The New Democratic South Africa
Only months after taking up office, Frederik Willem de Klerk rang in the end of Apartheid in an historic speech in Parliament in February 1990, and declared himself in favour of a democratic South Africa. The ANC was unbanned. Some days later, Nelson Mandela, the President of the ANC, was released from prison on Robben Island, after 27 years behind bars. Earlier, in secret negotiations the ANC and the government had agreed to refrain from violence and work for a peaceful transition and a new constitution. The process of rapprochement was slow in the beginning, particularly
The Zulu Kingdom : South African History
Towards the end of the 18th century, all over southern Africa small tribal groups were amalgamating into larger communities. This was by no means a peaceful process, but the result of protracted wars. The rise of the Zulu Kingdom falls into this period. Through incredible atrocities and cruelties the infamous Zulu warrior Shaka gained control over a number of Zulu clans. He expanded his territory systematically. Shaka's warriors raided Zulu villages and burnt them down. Women and children were gored to death; young men were called up and chiefs tortured and forced into allegiance.
Shaka
