Zulu Research PaperSM
Zulu Research Paper
Deep in Southern Africa, along the coast of the Indian Ocean, the Zulu people have made their home. This province of Africa, is in fact named KwaZulu Natal. The Zulu people do in fact speak their own native language, also known as Zulu, which falls under the subcategory of Bantu language. Many African tribes, and clans had been moving down Africa’s east coast for thousands of years, starting in about the 9th century, or 800’s.Settled around the year 1709, the Zulu tribe settled into the land in which they now occupy. This culture was started by Zulu kaNtombela, who settled this tribe in the early 1700’s, and where the name of the culture came from. For around the next hundred years, the Zulu people carried on building, and growing their tribe. In the year 1818, the Zulu took on an identity that would consume their entire culture and even be their identifying trademark in today’s society. During 1818, the Zulu were under the direction of a new king, Shaka. He was, and remains the most influential Zulu member as far as historical significance is concerned. Shaka’s greatest asset to the Zulu’s was the vast military improvements he made during his reign. He changed everything from, weapons, mobility, and strategy. While under the control of Shaka the Zulu people were at the height of their existence, and were able to expand their empire to the largest in Zulu historyi. After Shaka’s death, the Zulu power was quickly diminished, and as a result they were taken over by the British, who were claiming territories in the Southern African region at the time. Once taken over by the British, the Zulu were divided into separate kingdoms, and an immense civil war ensued. The fighting would not stop until Zululand (as it was referred to then) became a part of the British colony of Natal. Finally, in the 1970’s, The Zulu’s were acquitted of British control and were given their own land, named KwaZulu. This stood for around twenty years, as
Deep in Southern Africa, along the coast of the Indian Ocean, the Zulu people have made their home. This province of Africa, is in fact named KwaZulu Natal. The Zulu people do in fact speak their own native language, also known as Zulu, which falls under the subcategory of Bantu language. Many African tribes, and clans had been moving down Africa’s east coast for thousands of years, starting in about the 9th century, or 800’s.Settled around the year 1709, the Zulu tribe settled into the land in which they now occupy. This culture was started by Zulu kaNtombela, who settled this tribe in the early 1700’s, and where the name of the culture came from. For around the next hundred years, the Zulu people carried on building, and growing their tribe. In the year 1818, the Zulu took on an identity that would consume their entire culture and even be their identifying trademark in today’s society. During 1818, the Zulu were under the direction of a new king, Shaka. He was, and remains the most influential Zulu member as far as historical significance is concerned. Shaka’s greatest asset to the Zulu’s was the vast military improvements he made during his reign. He changed everything from, weapons, mobility, and strategy. While under the control of Shaka the Zulu people were at the height of their existence, and were able to expand their empire to the largest in Zulu historyi. After Shaka’s death, the Zulu power was quickly diminished, and as a result they were taken over by the British, who were claiming territories in the Southern African region at the time. Once taken over by the British, the Zulu were divided into separate kingdoms, and an immense civil war ensued. The fighting would not stop until Zululand (as it was referred to then) became a part of the British colony of Natal. Finally, in the 1970’s, The Zulu’s were acquitted of British control and were given their own land, named KwaZulu. This stood for around twenty years, as
Bibliography: Reevaluating Zulu Religion: An Afrocentric Analysis Ana Maria Monteiro-Ferreira Journal of Black Studies , Vol. 35, No. 3 (Jan., 2005), pp. 347-363 Warfare, Political Leadership, and State Formation: The Case of the Zulu Kingdom, 1808-1879 Mathieu Deflem Ethnology , Vol. 38, No. 4 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 371-391 THE EVOLUTION OF ZULU WARFARE Keith F. Otterbein Kansas Journal of Sociology , Vol. 1, No. 1 (Winter 1964), pp. 27-35