A Brief History of KwaZulu Natal
In the early 19th cent. the area was inhabited primarily
by Bantu-speaking Zulu people. In the 1820s and 30s the British acquired
much of Natal from the Zulu chiefs Shaka and Dingane. Afrikaner farmers
( Boers ) arrived in 1837 and, after battles with the
Zulu (notably the Boer victory over Dingane at Blood River in 1838), established
(1838-39) a republic. In 1843, Britain annexed Natal to Cape Colony, and
a Boer exodus followed.
In 1856, Natal became a separate colony. Sugarcane cultivation
began c.1860, and many Indians (mostly indentured laborers) came to work
in the sugar industry. Many Indians remained in Natal after their indenture
expired; by 1900 they outnumbered whites. In 1893, Natal was given internal
self-government; in 1910 it became a founding province of the Union (now
Republic) of South Africa.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, KwaZulu-Natal was wracked
by conflict between the African National Congress and the Zulu-nationalist
Inkatha Freedom Party, under the leadership of Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
When the homeland of KwaZulu, which means "Place of the Zulu" was re-incorporated into the Natal province after the end of Apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal which had existed between 1910 and 1994 was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy, and the majority population and language of the province is Zulu. It is also the only province in South Africa which includes the name of its dominant ethnic group in its name.
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