Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona, also known as Shaka 'Zulu' and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that reorganized the military into a formidable force.
King Shaka was born in the lunar month of uNtulikazi in 1787, in Mthonjaneni, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The son of the Zulu King Senzangakhona kaJama, he was spurned as an illegitimate son. Shaka spent part of his childhood in his mother's settlements, where he was initiated into an ibutho lempi, serving as a warrior under Inkosi Dingiswayo.
King Shaka refined the ibutho military system with the Mthethwa Paramountcy's support over the next several years. He forged alliances with his smaller neighbours to counter Ndwandwe raids from the north. The initial Zulu maneuvers were primarily defensive, as King Shaka preferred to apply pressure diplomatically, with an occasional strategic assassination. His reforms of local society built on existing structures. Although he preferred social and propagandistic political methods, he also engaged in several battles.
King Shaka's reign coincided with the start of the Mfecane, a period of devastating warfare and chaos in southern Africa between 1815 and 1840 that depopulated the region. His role in the Mfecane/Difaqane is controversial. He was assassinated by his half-brothers, King Dingane and Prince Mhlangana and Mbopha kaSithayi.
Early life
Shaka was born to the reigning Zulu king. He was the eldest of many sons, but was considered to be a bastard child and was sent away to live with his mother's tribe, known as the Elangeni, leaving his half-brother to rule the Zulu kingdom. At the time, the Zulu were a regional tribe relying on pastoral livestock, sorghum, and milk. When Shaka reached a suitable age, he and his mother were sent to the Mthethwa clan, the most powerful regional tribe. There, he matured, and served as a warrior under Jobe, and then for Dingiswayo, a respected warrior and chief of the clan. When Inkosi Dingiswayo discovered Shaka was royalty, he put him in charge of a regiment, helping to develop Shaka's military tactics and strategy.After Inkosi Zwide, the king of the Ndwandwe nation, murdered Dingiswayo, Shaka sought to avenge his death. During that encounter, Zwide's mother, Ntombazi, a sangoma, was killed by Shaka. Shaka chose a particularly gruesome revenge on her by locking her in a house with jackals or hyenas inside. They devoured her, and in the morning, Shaka burned the house to the ground. Shaka continued his pursuit of Zwide. It was not until around 1825 that the two military leaders met in the vicinity of Pongola, near the present-day border of Mpumalanga, a province of South Africa. Shaka was victorious in battle, although his forces sustained heavy casualties, including his military commander, Mgobhozi Ovela Entabeni.
- Already at this time, Shaka had grown famous for his use of the short stabbing spear.
- This spear was referred to as the "iklwa," see: assegai.
- It was deadly and easy to thrust, whereas before, tribesmen barely tried to customize or improve their weapons. Shaka's innovative tactics, among them the "bull horn", devastated Zwide's forces at the battle of Gqokli Hill.
Expansion of power and conflict with Zwide
As Shaka became more respected by his people, he was able to spread his ideas with greater ease. Using his background as a soldier, Shaka taught the Zulus that the most effective way of gaining power quickly was by conquering and controlling other tribes. His teachings greatly influenced the social outlook of the Zulus. The Zulu tribe soon developed a warrior outlook, which Shaka used to his advantage.Shaka's hegemony was primarily based on military might, smashing rivals and incorporating scattered remnants into his own army. He supplemented this with a mixture of diplomacy and patronage, incorporating friendly chieftains, including Zihlandlo of the Mkhize, Jobe of the Sithole, and Mathubane of the Thuli. These people were never defeated in battle by the Zulus; they did not have to be. Shaka won them over with subtler tactics, such as patronage and reward. As for the ruling of Qwabe, they began re-inventing their genealogies to give the impression that Qwabe and Zulu were closely related in the past. In this way, a greater sense of cohesion was created, though it never became complete, as subsequent civil wars attest.
Shaka still recognised Dingiswayo and his larger Mthethwa clan, as overlord after he returned to the Zulu land but, some years later, Dingiswayo was ambushed by Zwide's Ndwandwe and killed. There is no evidence to suggest that Shaka betrayed Dingiswayo. The Zulu people had to retreat before several Ndwandwe incursions; the Ndwandwe was clearly the most aggressive grouping in the sub-region.
Shaka was able to form an alliance with the leaders of the Mthethwa peoples and was able to establish himself amongst the Qwabe, after Phakathwayo was overthrown with relative ease. With Qwabe, Hlubi and Mkhize support, Shaka was finally able to summon a force capable of resisting the Ndwandwe. Shaka's first major battle against Zwide, of the Ndwandwe, was the Battle of Gqokli Hill, on the Mfolozi River. Shaka's troops maintained a strong position on the crest of the hill. A frontal assault by their opponents failed to dislodge them, and Shaka sealed the victory by sending his reserve forces in a sweep around the hill to attack the enemy's rear. Losses were high overall but the efficiency of the new Shakan innovations was proven. It is probable that, over time, the Zulus were able to hone and improve their encirclement tactics.
Another decisive battle eventually took place on the Mhlatuze River, at the confluence with the Mvuzane stream. In the two-day running battle, the Zulus inflicted a resounding defeat on their opponents. Shaka then led a fresh reserve some to the royal kraal of Zwide, ruler of the Ndwandwe, and destroyed it. Zwide himself escaped with a handful of followers before falling afoul of a chieftain named Mjanji, ruler of a Babelu clan. Zwide's general, Soshangane, moved north towards what is now Mozambique to inflict further damage on less resistant foes and take advantage of slaving opportunities, obliging Portuguese traders to pay tribute. Shaka later had to contend again with Zwide's son, Sikhunyane, in 1826.
Shaka granted permission to Europeans to enter Zulu territory on rare occasions. In the mid-1820s, Henry Francis Fynn provided medical treatment to the king after an assassination attempt by a rival tribe member hidden in a crowd. To show his gratitude, Shaka permitted European settlers to enter and operate in the Zulu kingdom. Shaka observed several demonstrations of European technology and knowledge, but he held that the Zulu way was superior to that of the foreigners.
Death
and Mhlangana, Shaka's half-brothers, appeared to have made at least two attempts to assassinate Shaka before they succeeded, with support from the Mpondo elements and some disaffected iziYendane people. Shaka had made enough enemies among his own people to hasten his demise. It came relatively quickly after the death of his mother, Nandi, in October 1827 and the devastation caused by Shaka's subsequent erratic behavior. According to Donald Morris, Shaka ordered that no crops should be planted during the following year of mourning, no milk was to be used, and any woman who became pregnant was to be killed along with her husband. At least 7,000 people who were deemed to be insufficiently grief-stricken were executed, although the killing was not restricted to humans; cows were slaughtered so that their calves would know what losing a mother felt like.Shaka was killed by three assassins sometime in 1828; September is the most frequently cited date, when almost all available Zulu manpower had been sent on yet another mass sweep to the north. This left the royal kraal critically lacking in protection. It was all the conspirators needed. An iNduna named Mbopa created a diversion, and Dingane and Mhlangana struck the fatal blows. Shaka's corpse was dumped by his assassins in an empty grain pit, which was then filled with stones and mud. The exact location is unknown. A monument was built at one alleged site. Historian Donald Morris holds that the true site is somewhere on Couper Street in the village of Stanger, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Dingane assumed power and embarked on an extensive purge of pro-Shaka elements and chieftains, over the course of several years, in order to secure his position. The initial problem Dingane faced was maintaining the loyalty of the Zulu fighting regiments. He set up his main residence at Mgungundlovu and established his authority over the Zulu kingdom. Dingane ruled for some twelve years, during which time he fought, disastrously, against the Voortrekkers, and against another half-brother, Mpande, who, with Boer and British support, took over the Zulu leadership in 1840, ruling for some 30 years.