 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Cetshwayo kaMpande | |
|---|---|
| King of theZulu Kingdom | |
 | |
| King of the Zulu Nation | |
| Reign | 1 September 1873 - 8 February 1884 |
| Predecessor | Mpande kaSenzangakhona |
| Successor | Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo |
| Born | 1826 Eshowe,Zulu Kingdom |
| Died | 8 February 1884 (aged 58) Eshowe, Zulu Kingdom |
| Issue | Dinuzulu |
| House | House of Zulu |
Cetshwayo kaMpande (/kɛtʃˈwaɪ.oʊ/;Zulu pronunciation:[ᵏǀétʃwajokámpande];c. 1826 – 8 February 1884) was the king[a] of theZulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1884 and its Commander in Chief during theAnglo-Zulu War of 1879. His name has been transliterated asCetawayo,Cetewayo,Cetywajo andKetchwayo. Cetshwayo consistently opposed the war and sought fruitlessly to make peace with the British and was defeated and exiled following the Zulu defeat in the war. He was later allowed to return to Zululand, where he died in 1884.
Cetshwayo was a son of Zulu kingMpande[1] and Queen Ngqumbazi, half-nephew of Zulu kingShaka and grandson ofSenzangakhona. In 1856 he defeated and killed in battle his younger brother Mbuyazi, Mpande's favourite, at theBattle of Ndondakusuka. Almost all of Mbuyazi's followers were massacred in the aftermath of the battle, including five of Cetshwayo's brothers.[2] Following this he became the ruler of the Zulu people in everything but name. However, he did not ascend to the throne as his father was still alive. Stories from that time regarding his huge size vary, saying he stood at least between 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) and 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) in height and weighed close to 25 stone (350 lb; 160 kg).
His other brother, Umthonga, was still a potential rival. Cetshwayo also kept an eye on his father's new wives and children for potential rivals, ordering the death of his favourite wife, Nomantshali, and her children in 1861. Though two sons escaped, the youngest was murdered in front of the king.[3] After these events Umthonga fled to theBoers' side of the border and Cetshwayo had to make deals with the Boers to get him back. In 1865, Umthonga again fled across the border, apparently making Cetshwayo believe that Umthonga would organize help from the Boers against him, the same way his father had overthrown his predecessor,Dingane.
Furthermore, he had a rival half-brother nameduHamu kaNzibe, who betrayed the Zulu cause on numerous occasions.[4]
Mpande died in 1872. His death was first concealed to ensure a smooth transition; Cetshwayo was installed as king on 1 September 1873. SirTheophilus Shepstone, who annexed theTransvaal to theCape Colony,[5] crowned Cetshwayo. Shepstone eventually turned on the Zulus, as he felt he was undermined by Cetshwayo's skillful negotiations for land area and compromised by encroaching Boers, as well as the fact that the Boundary Commission established to examine the ownership of the land in question had dared to rule in favour of the Zulus.[5] The report was subsequently buried.
After his coronation, as was customary, Cetshwayo established a new capital for the nation and called itUlundi(the high place). He expanded his army and readopted many methods of Shaka. Cetshwayo also equipped hisimpis withmuskets, though evidence of their use is limited. He banished European missionaries from his land and may have incited other native African peoples to rebel against Boers in theTransvaal.
In 1878, SirHenry Bartle Frere, British High Commissioner for theCape Colony, sought to confederate the colony the same wayCanada had been and felt that this could not be done while there was a powerful Zulu state bordering it. Frere thus began to demand reparations for Zulu border infractions and ordered his subordinates to send messages complaining about Cetshwayo's policies, seeking to provoke the Zulu king. They carried out their orders, but Cetshwayo kept calm, considering the British his friends and being aware of the power of theBritish Army. He did, however, state that he and Frere were equals, and since he did not complain about how Frere administered the Cape Colony, Frere should observe the same courtesy concerning Zululand. Eventually, Frere issuedan ultimatum that demanded that Cetshwayode facto disband his army. His refusal led to war in 1879, though he continually sought to make peace after theBattle of Isandlwana, the first engagement of the war. After an initial decisive but costly Zulu victory over the British at Isandlwana and the failure of the other two columns of the three-pronged British attack to make headway – indeed, one was bogged down in theSiege of Eshowe – the British retreated, other columns suffering two further defeats to Zulu armies in the field at theBattle of Intombe and theBattle of Hlobane. However, the British follow-up victories atRorke's Drift andKambula prevented a total collapse of the British military positions. While this retreat presented an opportunity for a Zulu counterattack deep into Natal, Cetshwayo refused to mount such an attack; he intended to repulse the British offensive and secure a peace treaty. However, Cetshwayo's translator, aDutch trader he had imprisoned at the start of the war namedCornelius Vijn, gave warnings to Chelmsford of gathering Zulu forces during these negotiations.[6]
%2c_Carl_Rudolph_Sohn%2c_1882.jpg)
The British then returned to Zululand with a far larger and better-armed force, finally capturing the Zulu capital at theBattle of Ulundi, in which the British, having learned their lesson from their defeat at Isandlwana, set up a hollow square on the open plain, armed with cannons andGatling guns. The battle lasted approximately 45 minutes before the British ordered their cavalry to charge the Zulus, which routed them. After Ulundi was taken and burnt on 4 July, Cetshwayo was deposed and exiled, first toCape Town and then toLondon. He returned to Zululand in 1883.
From 1881, his cause had been taken up by, among others,Lady Florence Dixie, correspondent ofThe Morning Post, who wrote articles and books in his support. This, along with his gentle and dignified manner, gave rise to public sympathy and the sentiment that he had been ill-used and shoddily treated by Bartle Frere andLord Chelmsford.
By 1882, differences between two Zulu factions—pro-CetshwayouSuthus and three rival chiefs led byZibhebhu—had erupted into ablood feud and civil war. In 1883, the British government tried to restore Cetshwayo to rule at least part of his previous territory, but the attempt failed. With the aid of Boer mercenaries, Chief Zibhebhu started a war contesting the succession, and on 22 July 1883, he attacked Cetshwayo's newkraal in Ulundi. Cetshwayo was wounded but escaped to the forest atNkandla. After pleas from the Resident Commissioner, Sir Melmoth Osborne, Cetshwayo moved toEshowe, where he died a few months later on 8 February 1884, aged 57–60, presumably from a heart attack, although there are some theories that he may have been poisoned.[7] His body was buried in a field within sight of the forest, to the south near Nkunzane River. The remains of the wagon that carried his corpse to the site were placed on the grave and may be seen at Ondini Museum, nearUlundi.
Cetshwayo's most prominent role in South Africanhistoriography is being the last king of the Zulu Kingdom, though it still exists. His sonDinuzulu, as heir to the throne, was proclaimed king on 20 May 1884, supported by (other)Boer mercenaries. Ablue plaque commemorates Cetshwayo at 18Melbury Road, Kensington, London.[8]
.jpg)
Cetshwayo figures in three adventure novels byH. Rider Haggard:The Witch's Head (1885),Black Heart and White Heart (1900) andFinished (1917), and in his non-fiction bookCetywayo and His White Neighbours (1882). He is mentioned inJohn Buchan's novelPrester John. In the short storyA Municipal Report inStrictly Business byO. Henry (1910), the face of a key character is compared to that of "King Cettiwayo".
A character in the operaLeo, the Royal Cadet byOscar Ferdinand Telgmann andGeorge Frederick Cameron was named in his honour in 1889.
In the 1964 filmZulu, he was played byMangosuthu Buthelezi, his maternal great-grandson and the future leader of theInkatha Freedom Party.
In the 1979 filmZulu Dawn, he was played by Simon Sabela..
In the 1986 miniseriesShaka Zulu, he was played by Sokesimbone Kubheka.
There is a brief allusion made to Cetshwayo in the novelAge of Iron byJ. M. Coetzee in the line "The new Africans, pot-bellied, heavy-jowled men on their stools of office: Cetshwayo, Dingane in white skins."[9]
Civilization V: Brave New World features Cetshwayo as the leader of the Zulus in the Scramble for Africa scenario.
In 2016, theKing Cetshwayo District Municipality was named after him.
Media related toCetshwayo kaMpande at Wikimedia Commons| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of the Zulu Nation 1872–1879 1883–1884 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
