The Natal government's policy towards amakhosi in the former Kingdom of KwaZulu 1846-1910
type: CreativeWork
description: The policy of the Natal Colonial government towards amakhosi was overtly hostile. In 1843 the British forcefully took over a large territory, which formerly belonged to kwaZulu, from the Voortrekkers. They renamed their newly acquired land as Natal. Three years later a Boundary Commission was instituted with a clear mandate to demarcate boundaries. The results were very unfavourable to the African people in Natal. Fertile land was given to white people, while Africans were crowded into eight land barren magisterial districts. This meant that the Africans were deprived of land to live, plant and graze then-livestock. It also meant the introduction of foreign administration, customs and religion to amaZulu. Furthermore it meant that African people were converted into a cheap labour force for whites in the territory which historically belonged to them. This foreign rule greatly demolished amaZulu system of administration. Amakhosi, the institutions which formed the core of amaZulu bottom-up system of administration, were highly disregarded. In an attempt to run kwaZulu without any cost and responsibility, the British government implemented its indirect rule policy in the kingdom. Here hereditary leadership was replaced by the British appointed amakhosi. As the description points out, the latter paid allegiance to the colonial government. To ascertain that laws promulgated by the Natal government were implemented in kwaZulu, a hierarchy of white officials was introduced over these appointed amakhosi. These officials were granted powers to appoint and demote amakhosi. Furthermore they had powers to confiscate lands and to define and re-difine boundaries. Following the defeat of amaZulu in 1879 by the British government, kwaZulu was further divided into thirteen "Chiefdoms". The 1879 Settlement dealt a tremendous blow to hereditary amakhosi. The British tried to neutralize amakhosi who were loyal to the Royal House by exalting respected men in the former kingdom, abanumza…
abstract: The policy of the Natal Colonial government towards amakhosi was overtly hostile. In 1843 the British forcefully took over a large territory, which formerly belonged to kwaZulu, from the Voortrekkers. They renamed their newly acquired land as Natal. Three years later a Boundary Commission was instituted with a clear mandate to demarcate boundaries. The results were very unfavourable to the African people in Natal. Fertile land was given to white people, while Africans were crowded into eight land barren magisterial districts. This meant that the Africans were deprived of land to live, plant and graze then-livestock. It also meant the introduction of foreign administration, customs and religion to amaZulu. Furthermore it meant that African people were converted into a cheap labour force for whites in the territory which historically belonged to them. This foreign rule greatly demolished amaZulu system of administration. Amakhosi, the institutions which formed the core of amaZulu bottom-up system of administration, were highly disregarded. In an attempt to run kwaZulu without any cost and responsibility, the British government implemented its indirect rule policy in the kingdom. Here hereditary leadership was replaced by the British appointed amakhosi. As the description points out, the latter paid allegiance to the colonial government. To ascertain that laws promulgated by the Natal government were implemented in kwaZulu, a hierarchy of white officials was introduced over these appointed amakhosi. These officials were granted powers to appoint and demote amakhosi. Furthermore they had powers to confiscate lands and to define and re-difine boundaries. Following the defeat of amaZulu in 1879 by the British government, kwaZulu was further divided into thirteen "Chiefdoms". The 1879 Settlement dealt a tremendous blow to hereditary amakhosi. The British tried to neutralize amakhosi who were loyal to the Royal House by exalting respected men in the former kingdom, abanumza…
author: Ndhlovu, Bongani Cyprian
keywords: Amakhosi, Natal Government
license: https://devspace.unizulu.ac.za/bitstreams/f585f4e4-e589-4c19-94da-c8463613ede7/download
date published: 2000
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:16:47Z
provider: University of Zululand
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Zululand