teifidancer: Remembering The Battle of Isandlwana of 1879

Saturday 22 January 2022

Remembering The Battle of Isandlwana of 1879

The Battle of Isandlwanad - Charles Fripp

On 22 January 1879 a British army camp was annihilated by a 20,000-strong Zulu regiment sent by King Cetshwayo kaMpande to defend his land and independence.at the Battle of Isandlwana Of the 1,750 British and auxiliary troops defending the camp, some 1,350 were killed by the Zulu army. Zulu casualties were also high, but at around 2,500 (though accurate figures are not known), this was a much lower proportion of the force that attacked the camp.

The defeat was a huge shock in Victorian society, ameliorated only by the successful defense of Rorke's Drift camp on the Natal border the same day. The Battle of Rorke's Drift was immediately marked with as many as 12 Victoria Crosses and later immortalised in the film Zulu starring Michael Caine. Isandlwanad howevr was conveniently forgotten as long as possible.

The late 19th century was a tumultuous time for European empires. As revolutions sprang up in the Americas, some crowns sought to expand their borders, while others struggled to maintain control of their territories. Meanwhile, the British resolved to continue their colonization of Africa, particularly in the south, where diamonds had recently been discovered.

Since the British arrival in South Africa at the beginning of the 19th Century, Zululand had proved a troublesome nation in their efforts to control the region. During the first three decades of the century the British made no attempt to challenge Shaka, the founder of the Zulu Empire, and his immediate successors. From the 1840s through the 1860s however, British (and Boer) power gradually increased as Zulu military control grew weaker.White settlers grew in number,expropriating the bulk of the land, and subjugating the black majority. Through conquest, a capitalist economy arose, born in blood and exploitation.

By the 1870s the Zulu Empire threatened British expansion into the diamond and gold-rich interior and in 1878 the British High Commissioner of Southern Africa, was Sir Bartle Frere, who was a key figure in Britain’s imperialist agenda for the continent.In this role, he governed British possessions in the southernmost region, with the goal of creating a confederation of Brits, South Africans, and Boers—the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of Dutch settlers.

Land negotiations between the British Empire, the South African Republic, and the powerful Zulu Kingdom were becoming increasingly tense. Although British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli wanted his country to avoid war, especially in the midst of other conflicts with Eastern Europe and India, Frere thought the Zulus would be an ongoing threat to British interests. Accordingly, he planned an invasion of Zululand, located along the coast of the Indian Ocean.

Some justifications for war, or casus belli, were put together by Frere, based on a few minor incidents that Frere insisted were proof of Zulu aggression. It was largely political theater, given that the British were looking for any excuse to clash with the Zulu. On December 11, 1878 Frere sent an ultimatum to Zulu King Cetshwayo, ordering him either to dismantle the military system of his nation or else face war with the British Empire. Cetshwayo had long made efforts to avoid outright war with the British; however he found it impossible to comply with this request as approving the British Agent’s presence would largely strip him of power. When Cetshwayo failed to respond to the ultimatum, Frere ordered an attack without approval from the British government.

Cetshwayo

On the 22nd January 1879 the British invaded Zululand. Their army was composed of nearly 1,800 troops, made up of both British and African men from the neighbouring British colony of Natal. Although they faced a force of roughly 20,000 Zulu warriors, the British felt assured of their victory due to superior military resources.Led by Commander-in-Chief Lord Chelmsford, the center British column advanced and made camp at a hill named Isandlwana, taking no defensive precautions. Chelmsford claimed he saw no need to do so; past colonial wars had shown that a small, well-trained, well-equipped army could overcome indigenous forces in spite of a numerical disadvantage. Chelmsford was actually more worried about the work that would go into moving their wagons and oxen into a defensive position than he was about a potential attack from the Zulus.

However, the battle which ensued would prove to be an embarrassing defeat for the British as they were out-manoeuvred by Cetshwayo’s men despite being equipped with vastly military technology mainly with traditional iron spear 'the assegai', a slim hardwood spear with a fire-hardened iron tip. When thrown at the enemy it was often fatal. King Shaka, also introduced a shorter version known as the iklwa, a stabbing spear with a broad, sword-like head. Both weapons were withdrawn from a wounded foe and could be used again. and cow-hide shields, they also had a number of muskets and old rifles.

By the end of the battle the British had lost around 1,300 of their force of 1,800 while the Zulus suffered a relatively light loss of around 1,000 men.

The Zulus’ triumph, however, would not last long. In order to preserve the Imperial image of power and prestige and to avoid the Zulu victory inspiring other nations to revolt against British colonial rule, they launched a nine-month counteroffensive that would engage at least 17,000 British troops, the largest Army they sent to Africa. Britain would emerge victorious in this Anglo-Zulu War, Ulundi, the Zulu capital, was taken by July 1879. and forces captured Cetshwayo on August 28, 1879, forcing him to agree to the dismantling of the Zulu Empire into 13 small states.Eight years later, on May 9, 1887, all of these states were annexed by the British.

Cetshwayo was exiled to Cape Town and later to London, earning the respect and sympathy of the British public for his dignified and peaceful inclinations. After the war was over Chelmsford came in for much criticism. he'd underestimated his enemy. The Zulu warrior was a fit. tough, fighting man, used to outdoor life and totally dedicated to the authority of his elders

Behind the British of course, was the whole social and economic power of British imperialism. In contrast the Zulu army, efficient and skilful fighting force as it was, was a “part-time” army, which also had responsibilities for maintaining production.

In public, British imperialism claimed a big military victory in occupying Ulundi. But its shrewder representatives , such as the new army commander Wolseley, recognised that they would be over-reaching themselves to try to smash the Zulu completely. They offered peace provided that the military age-regiment system was disbanded, but on the basis that the Zulu would not be deprived of any land.

Thus the victory of Isandhlwana further delayed expropriation of Zulu land. It also had a wider impact in SA history. Together with the 1881 uprising by the Transvaal Boers, it persuaded British imperialism to retreat temporarily from its plans for annexation and confederation.

The Battle of Isandlwana remains the British Army’s worst-ever defeat against a native enemy whose military weaponry was not nearly as technologically advanced as their own, and serves as an important landmark in the history of Africa as an example of successful resistance to colonial rule and imperialism and a symbol to black South Africans that white domination was not inevitable. I honor the heroism of the Zulu warriors who sacrificed their lives to preserve their land and kin against the European conquerors. The Zulu victory at Isandlwana is an exception to the rule that Europeans, with their technological superiority, always prevail in battles.

The battle was also remembered in a film from 1979 starring Peter O'Toole and Burt Lancaster called Zulu Dawn that never proved as popular at the box office as the previous film mentioned. It is perhaps not surprising that cinema audiences preferred a heroic defence to a blundering defeat. But this is a shame. Zulu Dawn is a fine film that portrays the workings of the Victorian British army in a wonderfully visual and realistic way. The racism underlying the whole campaign is there throughout. It deserves to be remembered as the better movie of the two.