istoryworld
Events relating to south africa
The first big influx of British settlers, numbering some 5000, arrives at Cape Town in South Africa
Napoleon dies on St Helena, after six years of captivity
Mzilikazi, after a quarrel with Shaka, leads the Ndebele people to new territories west of Natal
Shaka is murdered by his half-brother Dingaan, who becomes leader of the Zulu in his place
Hendrik Potgieter sets off with some 200 Boers and their cattle at the start of the Great Trek to the north
The Portuguese ban the shipping of slaves from the coast of Angola
Hendrik Potgieter and the Boers, protected by a laager at Vegkop, hold off an attack by a large force of Ndebele tribesmen
After a victory at Vegkop, Boers massacre the inhabitants of a dozen Ndebele villages in secret dawn raids
Piet Retief emerges as the new leader of the Great Trek, replacing Potgieter
Potgieter defeats the Ndebele at the Marico river and drives them north of the Limpopo
Piet Retief reaches a provisional agreement with Dingaan, the Zulu leader, for a Boer settlement in southern Natal
During a ceremony to celebrate their treaty with Dingaan, Piet Retief and his Boer companions are overpowered and killed
Dingaan's warriors massacre Boer families in a series of dawn raids near the Bloukrans river
The river Ncome becomes known as the Blood River after thousands of Zulu die attacking Andries Pretorius and the Boers
Andries Pretorius sets up the Boer republic of Natalia, with its capital at Pietermaritzburg
With Boer help, Mpande removes his brother Dingaan from the Zulu throne and takes his place
The British take control of the existing Boer republic and proclaim Natal a British protectorate
Pretorius leads the last Boer families out of Natal and over the Drakensberg to the high veld
Harry Smith annexes for Britain the land between the Orange and Vaal rivers, calling it the Orange River Sovereignty
David Livingstone makes a heroic six-month journey from the Zambezi river to the west coast of Africa
The Boers establish the Orange Free State as an independent republic, with its own custom-built constitution
The Boers of the southern Transvaal declare independence as the South African Republic
Britain annexes Basutoland (now Lesotho), the kingdom of the Sotho leader Moshoeshoe
The proprietor of the New York Herald gives Henry Morton Stanley a very concise commission – 'Find Livingstone'
18-year-old English entrepreneur Cecil Rhodes, on a temporary visit to South Africa, arrives in the new diamond town of Kimberley
