During
the short but significant twelve years of his reign,
King Shaka
brought together a number of disparate tribes to form
the mighty Zulu nation and formidable force of
undefeated warriors. During the period popularly known
as the Mfecane, this conquering clan swept through the
KwaZulu Natal region, trampling and dispossessing all
rival clans in their path with their innovative weaponry
and new improved battle tactics, conceived by their
militant warrior king.
Shaka
replaced the throwing spear and small shield of the Zulu
forefathers with the formidable stabbing-spear and
full-length body shield, designed to facilitate Shaka's
new battle approach - encircling the enemy with a
horn-shaped pincer movement and engaging in
highly-effective hand-to-hand combat. This ingenious
means of fighting proved to be one of the main factors
behind the amalgamation of the mighty Zulu nation as it
is today.
Cannibals and Colonists
Many who fled before the all-conquering Zulu impis took
refuge in the numerous caves dotted amongst the scenic
undulating terrain, southeast of Dundee. Without
livestock or the leisure to plant crops, however, hunger
soon drove these 'scatterlings' to desperate and grisly
means of survival in the so-called Valley of the
Cannibals.
During
his consolidation of the Zulu Empire, Shaka had
established a working relationship with the British
colonists and other Western settlers who by now
regularly dropped anchor off Port Natal. This situation
was to change drastically at the hands of Shaka's
co-assassin successor, his half-brother, Dingane.
During
the short but significant twelve years of his reign,
King Shaka
brought together a number of disparate tribes to form
the mighty Zulu nation and formidable force of
undefeated warriors. During the period popularly known
as the Mfecane, this conquering clan swept through the
KwaZulu Natal region, trampling and dispossessing all
rival clans in their path with their innovative weaponry
and new improved battle tactics, conceived by their
militant warrior king.
Shaka
replaced the throwing spear and small shield of the Zulu
forefathers with the formidable stabbing-spear and
full-length body shield, designed to facilitate Shaka's
new battle approach - encircling the enemy with a
horn-shaped pincer movement and engaging in
highly-effective hand-to-hand combat. This ingenious
means of fighting proved to be one of the main factors
behind the amalgamation of the mighty Zulu nation as it
is today.
During
his consolidation of the Zulu Empire, Shaka had
established a working relationship with the British
colonists and other Western settlers who by now
regularly dropped anchor off Port Natal. This situation
was to change drastically at the hands of Shaka's
co-assassin successor, his half-brother, Dingane.