The Red Alert, Volume 02, Number 01, Monday 27 January 2025.
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Volume 02, Number 01, Monday 27 January 2025 |
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The Battle of Isandlwana |
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By Dikobe Ben Martins
Before 1910, the people of the land of South Africa fiercely defended themselves and their lands against Boer and British colonisation, leaving an enduring legacy of resistance and courage. They were led by the kingdoms under which they had organised themselves. The Khoi and San resisted Dutch colonial expansion through a series of conflicts such as the Khoi-Dutch Wars of 1659 to 1677 under leaders like Autshumato and Chief Klaas. The Xhosa, led by figures such as Hintsa kaKhawuta and Maqoma, fought nine Frontier Wars of 1779 to 1879 against British and Boer forces, resisting encroachment into their lands. Shaka Zulu’s revolutionary leadership and military innovations laid the foundation for Zulu strength, while Dingane and Cetshwayo fought valiantly to protect their kingdom, culminating in the famous Battle of Blood River and the Anglo-Zulu War. Sekhukhune I of the Pedi waged unyielding wars against colonial forces, and Moshoeshoe I of the Basotho combined diplomacy and military skill to preserve his nation’s sovereignty. Bhambatha kaMancinza’s 1906 rebellion against unjust taxes marked one of the final acts of defiance before South Africa’s unification under colonial rule.
These are but a few examples – and by no means all – of the wars our people fought to defend themselves and their lands. It would take volumes to fully document our struggle from its inception. Michael Harmel, known by most as A Lerumo, an outstanding strategist of the Communist Party, made an important contribution to recording some of these wars. The people, under these leaders, though often outmatched by superior weaponry and resources, exemplified resilience, strategy and an unwavering commitment to the freedom and dignity of their people.
It is the struggles they led that we continued after 1910 through our liberation movement, culminating in our victory against the apartheid regime in 1994. However, the struggle is not over, as the objectives of land ownership transformation have yet to be achieved and the formerly oppressed remain the most affected by the exploitative capitalist system imposed on our land during colonisation and its consequences, such as unemployment, poverty, inequality and uneven development. In reaffirming our commitment to this struggle, we remember one of the gallant wars fought by our people, a profound source of inspiration. Frederick Engels, Karl Marx’s lifelong comrade and co-author, commended our people for their remarkable performance in the war. Of the Zulu army, he wrote:
“did what no European army can do. Armed only with pikes and spears and without firearms, they advanced under a hail of bullets from breach loaders right up to the bayonets – acknowledged as the best in the world for fighting in close formation – throwing them back into disorder more than once, this despite the colossal disparity in arms”
Wednesday, 22 January 1879 marked the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War. The war was fought from 11 January to 4 July 1879 between the British Empire and the Kingdom Zululand.
The seeds of this war are to be found after the enactment of the British North America Act of 1867. One British Carnavon thought that a similar political manoeuvre, coupled with military campaigns, might lead to a ruling white minority over a black majority in the Zululand Kingdom.
The objective was to garner a large pool of cheap labour for the British sugar plantations and mines and was intended to bring the African Kingdoms under British tutelage.
From 1872, the Zulu Kingdom under King Cetshwsyo was regarded as an obstacle to the expansionist designs of British imperialism.
In 1874, Britain dispatched Bartle Frere to what was then a British Cape colony as the High Commissioner for the British imperialist regime to effect the plan.
Among the obstacles to this grandiose plan were what were then armed independent Boer republics and the Kingdom of Zululand.
The British Frere, in his arrogance, sent a provocative ultimatum on the 11 December 1878 to King Cetshwayo. Upon its outright rejection with contempt, he ordered Chelmsford to invade the Kingdom of Zululand.
The war had several, particularly bloody, battles. These included an opening victory of the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana, which shattered prior colonial notions of British invincibility, due to their massive early defeats at the hands of commanders Ntshingwayo ka Mahole Khoza and Dabulamanzi ka Mpande.
The battles were followed by the defence of Rorke’s Drift by a British Garrison from an attack by a Zulu force.
The British having superior arms and led by Overall Commander Major General Chelmsford, eventually gained the upper hand at Kambula, before taking Ulundi the capital of Zululand.
In 1887, the British declared the Zulu Kingdom a protectorate and divided it into thirteen districts with salaried chiefs, a resident magistrate and a police force. The British later annexed it into the British Empire.
Historians have pondered whether the misadventures, and other unpopular wars in Africa and elsewhere may have contributed to the loss of the Benjamin Disraeli government from office in 1880, after only one term.
In line with the wars of resistance, the Zulu people people rose again in armed protest during the Bambata Rebellion of 1906 against the imposition of a hut and dog tax, designed to make them wage earners.
Once again, they were overpowered by superior weapons, but they the kept flame of freedom struggle alive.
- Martins is a member of the SACP Central Committee and Political Bureau Secretary for International Affairs and Solidarity
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
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