Blood River - Tragic Boer-Zulu Battlefield
As the British colonized the Cape, the Dutch farmers packed their bags onto ox-wagons and moved out across South Africa in search of new lands to call their own. Their various grievances, laid out in a manifesto, written by their leader, Piet Retief on 22 Jan 1837, complained that they would have no protection or financial support against the Xhosa in the frontier wars, complained about the abolition of slavery, and lack of compensation for the loss of their slaves.
At first, the Voortrekkers met with little or no resistance and the land seemed bereft of people. Little did they realise that this was because a far more formidable force had been through more recently.
Since 1818, the Zulus had been welding themselves into a formidable fighting machine, mopping up minor clans and building an empire. Fainthearted opponents had simply fled to the mountains, abandoning their farms and leaving the land deserted. It was not long however, before the Voortrekkers crossed into Zulu territory in what has now become known as the KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields. Conflict was inevitable.
The Massacre
Retief, at the head of the Boer wagon train, did try negotiation. King Dingane promised him land if he would recover 7,000 head of cattle stolen from the king by a rival Tlokwa nation. Retief did this, returning to Dingane's camp with his son, 70 Boers, around 30 mixed race servants, and the cattle.
Although dated 4 February, 1838, the cession treaty was signed by Dingane two days later on 6 Feb.
Then all went horribly wrong. Dingane took a fancy to the party's horses and guns and demanded to be given those as well. When refused, he seemed at first to take it in good grace but as the party was getting ready to leave two days later, he called them together for a final drink. As they were gathered around, unarmed, he accused them of witchcraft and massacred the lot. It was an act of betrayal that destroyed what little faith there was between the races for decades to come. When their bodies were left out for the wild animals according to the Zulu custom, it only enflamed Boer anger and hatred further.
Blood River
Throughout the rest of 1838, a series of battles and skirmishes were fought between the Zulus and the Boers. The town of Weenen (Place of Weeping) owes its name to those who lost their lives at Zulu hands during an attack that year.
It all came to a head on the 16 December 1838 at an obscure bend on the Ncome River, where a tiny Boer force of 464 (including a few British settlers and mixed race servants) was camped with 64 ox wagons.
According to Afrikaans history, the night before the battle, the Boers, led by Andries Pretorius, took a solemn vow to keep the day as a religious holiday should they win the battle.
At dawn, an overwhelming force of over 10,000 Zulus attacked the circled wagons. By night, over 3,000 Zulus lay dead, only three of the defenders were slightly injured. Dingane, his authority in tatters, was forced to flee. The river, its waters red, got a new name, Blood River.
There are now two monuments at the battlefield site. A laager (ring) of cast-bronze wagons commemorates the heroism of the Boer defenders. In December 1998, Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi dedicated a memorial to the 3,000 Zulu warriors who died that day.
The Aftermath
Following the battle, the Boers managed to retrieve the bodies of Piet Retief and his followers, burying them on 21 December 1838. In Retief's bag, they found the signed, legally valid cession claim that allowed them to colonise the land. This was later lost during the Anglo-Boer War, but an exact copy survives. In 1841, the Church of the Vow in Pietermaritzburg was dedicated to the memory of the battle. Blood River and 16 December became a symbol of the divided South Africa.
After liberation in 1994, in one of the most powerful symbolic gestures of the new regime, the public holiday of 16 December was renamed Reconciliation Day.
At first, the Voortrekkers met with little or no resistance and the land seemed bereft of people. Little did they realise that this was because a far more formidable force had been through more recently.
Since 1818, the Zulus had been welding themselves into a formidable fighting machine, mopping up minor clans and building an empire. Fainthearted opponents had simply fled to the mountains, abandoning their farms and leaving the land deserted. It was not long however, before the Voortrekkers crossed into Zulu territory in what has now become known as the KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields. Conflict was inevitable.
The Massacre
Retief, at the head of the Boer wagon train, did try negotiation. King Dingane promised him land if he would recover 7,000 head of cattle stolen from the king by a rival Tlokwa nation. Retief did this, returning to Dingane's camp with his son, 70 Boers, around 30 mixed race servants, and the cattle.
Although dated 4 February, 1838, the cession treaty was signed by Dingane two days later on 6 Feb.
Then all went horribly wrong. Dingane took a fancy to the party's horses and guns and demanded to be given those as well. When refused, he seemed at first to take it in good grace but as the party was getting ready to leave two days later, he called them together for a final drink. As they were gathered around, unarmed, he accused them of witchcraft and massacred the lot. It was an act of betrayal that destroyed what little faith there was between the races for decades to come. When their bodies were left out for the wild animals according to the Zulu custom, it only enflamed Boer anger and hatred further.
Blood River
Throughout the rest of 1838, a series of battles and skirmishes were fought between the Zulus and the Boers. The town of Weenen (Place of Weeping) owes its name to those who lost their lives at Zulu hands during an attack that year.
It all came to a head on the 16 December 1838 at an obscure bend on the Ncome River, where a tiny Boer force of 464 (including a few British settlers and mixed race servants) was camped with 64 ox wagons.
According to Afrikaans history, the night before the battle, the Boers, led by Andries Pretorius, took a solemn vow to keep the day as a religious holiday should they win the battle.
At dawn, an overwhelming force of over 10,000 Zulus attacked the circled wagons. By night, over 3,000 Zulus lay dead, only three of the defenders were slightly injured. Dingane, his authority in tatters, was forced to flee. The river, its waters red, got a new name, Blood River.
There are now two monuments at the battlefield site. A laager (ring) of cast-bronze wagons commemorates the heroism of the Boer defenders. In December 1998, Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi dedicated a memorial to the 3,000 Zulu warriors who died that day.
The Aftermath
Following the battle, the Boers managed to retrieve the bodies of Piet Retief and his followers, burying them on 21 December 1838. In Retief's bag, they found the signed, legally valid cession claim that allowed them to colonise the land. This was later lost during the Anglo-Boer War, but an exact copy survives. In 1841, the Church of the Vow in Pietermaritzburg was dedicated to the memory of the battle. Blood River and 16 December became a symbol of the divided South Africa.
After liberation in 1994, in one of the most powerful symbolic gestures of the new regime, the public holiday of 16 December was renamed Reconciliation Day.