THE definitive Battle of Blood River, fought between Boers and Zulu, shaped the colonization and political future of Southern Africa for more than a century. Much has changed since that century; perhaps it’s time for a review.
The Great Trek, undertaken by Boers from the Cape Colony, began in 1836. Intent on removing themselves from British domination with its dispossessing new laws, parties of Boers in wagons trekked out to seek new lands. When some of these parties, especially those led by Retief, Potgieter and Maritz, reached Natal, they were pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful piece of country with only a handful of British settlers at Port Natal. However, the Voortrekkers were less pleased to encounter a nation of Zulus occupying the very land they coveted.
Their diplomatic efforts to acquire land from the Zulus were unsuccessful. Piet Retief entered into negotiations with the Zulu King Dingane kaSenzangakhona. Retief wanted title, or ownership, of huge tracts of Zulu land. This, however, was a European concept. The Zulus had no concept of land ownership – all land was created by God, , for the use of all, it. Secondly, confronted with a demand to give away half of his kingdom, it is unsurprising that Dingane reacted in the way he did, and the whole enterprise ended badly.
