Langalibalele
Encyclopedia
Langalibalele also known as Mtetwa, (c1814 - 1889) was king of the amaHlubi, a bantu
tribe in what is the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal
, South Africa
. He was born on the eve of the arrival of European settlers in the province. During the diamond rush, many of his young men worked on the mines in Kimberley
where they acquired guns. In 1873 the colonial authorities demanded that the guns be registered, Langalibalele refused and a stand-off ensured resulting in a skirmish in which European troopers were killed. Langalibalele fled across the mountains into Basutoland
, but was captured, tried and banished to Robben Island
. He eventually returned to his home, but remained under house arrest.
His imprisonment split the colonial population of Natal and was a watershed in South African political history.
, a hunter-gatherer
people were the original inhabitants of the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal.If the name of a locality in this article had a legal connotation (for example a clearly demarcated border), the nineteenth century name is used, otherwise the post-Apartheid name is used.The prefix "kwa" means "The place", thus "kwaZulu" means "The place of the Zulu"
The prefix "ama" means "The people", thus "amaHlubi" means "The Hlubi people"
The prefix "isi" means "The language of", thus "isiHlubi" means "The language of the Hlubi people" Historians are divided as to when the bantu
, a pastoral
people first migrated into the province from the north, but they had certainly settled there by the end of the seventeenth century and displaced the bushmen who migrated into the foothills of the Drakensberg
. The amaHlubi, a bantu
tribe speaking an Nguni dialect had settled in the northern part of the province between the Buffalo
and Blood River
s.
During the first decade of the nineteenth century the Mtetwa chief Dingiswayo
, a neighbour of the amaHlubi, set about consolidating the various Nguni people
under his leadership. In 1817 he was killed in battle and after a civil war, power passed into the hands of one of his lieutennants, Shaka
, chief of the Zulu clan. Shaka expanded the Zulu clan into a tribe, both by assimilating neighbouring clans and by the use of the policy of Mfecane
(genocide).
At the time of Langalibalele's birth, European settlements in Southern Africa were confined to Cape Colony
and to Portuguese fortress of Lourenço Marques
. In 1824 Fynn established a small British settlement at Port Natal (later to become Durban) but the British Government declined to take possession of the port. From 1834 onwards, the Voortrekkers
(Dutch-speaking farmers) started to migrate from the Cape Colony in large numbers and in 1837 crossed the Drakensberg
into KwaZulu-Natal where, after the murder of one of their leaders, Piet Retief
, the massacre at Weenen
they defeated Shaka's successor Dingane
at the Battle of Blood River
, put Mpanda
on the Zulu throne and established the republic of Natalia
. Friction between the Voortrekkers and the Pondo
, a tribe whose territory lay between Natalia and the Cape Colony led to the British occupying Port Natal, the subsequent Battle of Congella
followed by the siege and relief of the port. After the port had been relieved, the Voortrekkers withdrew from KwaZulu-Natal into the interior and the British established the Colony of Natal
.
The following decades saw the rise of the British industrial base - emigration was used to control unemployment and thereby boost the British economy. The Colony of Natal was one of the destination of such emigrants. In 1856 the colony was granted representative government by the British GovernmentIn the context of British colonial development in the nineteenth Representative Government gave the colony had the right to elect a legislative council to advise the governor, but the governor, as chief executive was not bound to accept their advice with responsible governmentIn the context of British colonial development in the nineteenth Responsible Government gave the colony the right to have a parliament elected by the colonists headed by a prime minister and cabinet with executive responsibility, but with the governor still having the power of veto following in 1895.
The British government appointed a "Diplomatic Agent" who was to act on behalf of the nativeIn order to maintain linguistic consistency with the term "native law", this article uses the term nineteenth century term "native people" instead of the twenty-first century term "indigenous people". people who were subject to "native law" rather than "colonial law", "in so far as it was not repugnant to the dictates of humanity". From 1856 until 1877, the post of Diplomatic Agent was held by Sir Theophilus Shepstone
, son of a missionary and who had been brought up at the mission station.
In 1818 Dingiswayo attacked and looted the amaNgwana clan who, to replenish their losses of cattle, attacked the amaHlubi. Mthimkhulu died in the ensuing battle and as both Langalibalele and his elder brother Dlomo were children, Mthimkhulu's brother Mahwanqa assumed the regency. Mahwanqa, rather than resolve the differences with the amaNgwana, fled northwards across the Pongola river (northern boundary of KwaZulu-Natal) to the Wakkerstroom
area of Mpumalanga
with the two boys where he sought sanctuary amongst the amaNgwe. Other members of the tribe fled southwards to Pondoland, or westwards to the Orange Free State
and the Basutoland
; those fleeing to Basutoland placing themselves under the protection of Chief Molapo. After the assassination
of Shaka in 1828, Mahwanqa returned to the amaHlubi's traditional lands. Since Mahwanqa was not subject to Dingane, Shaka's successor, he set about rebuilding his army.
Once Dlomo came of age, Mahwanqa was reluctant to relinquish the regency and wished to transfer the chieftainship to Langalibalele, but Mahwanqa's troops revolted and Mahwanqa was slain in the ensuing battle. Dlomo, on taking the chieftainship paid a visit to the Zulu king Dingane at the royal kraal in UmGungundlovu
where he argued that the best course would be for him (Dlomo) to retain the chieftainship of the amaHlubi and that Dingane should return his cattle. Dingane however ordered the murder of Dlomo. Thus, in about 1836, Langalibalele became king of the amaHlubi. Under the guidance of Zimane, the great man in the amaHlubi tribe, Langalibalele was circumsised
and initiated into the rituals of the tribe. He then took his first wife - he was later to take another three wives.
, the lieutenant governor of Natal for protection and in December 1849, after negotiations in which Shepstone exhibited considerable diplomacy, the amaHlubi, now reduced to 7000 in number, were granted 364 km2 of good land on the banks of the Little Bushmans River, between newly established European settlement of Bushmans River (Estcourt) and the Drakensberg. It was hoped that the amaHlubi would provide a buffer between the bushmen and the settlers and so protect the settlers' cattle from the bushmen. This area proved too small and within a few years, the Hlubi settlement had spread to over 6000 km2.
The British Government required that the colonies be self-supporting insofar as was possible, resulting in various taxes being imposed on all residents. In the 1850s military levies and a hut taxes were imposed on the native population who lived within the limits of the Colony. In 1873 a marriage tax of £5 was imposed by the colonial government cause much resentment.
attracted thousand of workers, black and white. Many young men from the amaHlubi became labourers on the mines and some were paid in guns rather than in money, a practice that was legal in the Cape Colony. In 1873, John Macfarlance, then magistrate in Estcourt ordered that Langalibalele hand in the guns for registration. As Langlibalele did not know who held guns, he refused to enforce the order. Walker records that the government named eight men who were to be ordered to register their guns and that after some hesitation, Langalibalele sent in five of the named eight men. Pearse on the other hand records that Langalibalele himself was ordered to appear before Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs and that Langalibalele refused on grounds of ill health. In the event, Sir Benjamin Pine, who arrived in the Colony as lieutenant governor in July 1873 ordered the arrest of Langalibalele.
Meanwhile Langalibalele and his people made plan to flee to Lesotho via the Bushmans River Pass. The government proposed a three-pronged police operation with military support to arrest Langalibalele - initially Lieutenant Colonel Miles was to have overall command, but he was not happy with many details and was happy to hand command over to Major Durnford
. The plan was for Captain Allison was to cross the Drakensberg via the Champagne Castle Pass
, some 25 km to the north of the Bushmans River Pass, Captain Barter was to cross the Drakensberg via the Giants Castle Pass
, some 10 km to the south of the Bushmans River Pass while other forces would approach Langalibalele's territory from the east. Alison and Barter were to travel under cover of darkness and to meet up at the top of the Bushmans River Pass on Monday 3 November 1873 at 0600 hrs and block Langalibalele's flight. The entire force comprised 200 British troops, 300 Natal Volunteers and about 6000 Africans.
To the south, Durnford accompanied Barter and led by native guides followed the route across countryside that much more rugged than expected and they ended up to the south of Giants Castle, not to the north where the pass lay. After a consultation, the guides took the party up the Hlatimba Pass, some 20 km south of the Bushmans River Pass. After negotiating the 2867 m summit of the pass, Durnford and his force consisting of 33 carbineers and 25 Basuto proceeded to the top of the Bushmans River pass where they intercepted the amaHlubi tribesmen 24 hours later than expected. Durnford attempted to negotiate with the tribal elders while Barter and the rest of the party covered him. Some of the British forces lost their nerve and shots were fired. Durnford and his men retreated back down the Hlatimba Pass having lost five of their number in the melee. Allison had meanwhile failed to find the Champagne Castle Pass.
On 11 November martial law was declared in the colony two flying columns, one under Allison were sent to search for Langalibalele in Basutoland. They entered the protectorate via the Orange Free State and on 11 December reached a spot in the Maluti Mountains that bore evidence of Langalibalele having recently been there. In reality, Langalibalele had thrown himself at the mercy of the Basuto chief Molapo, but Molapo had already handed Langalibalele over to a local force who. on 13 December, handed him and five of his sons over to Allison.
and native law which applied to the indigenous population and which was based on traditional tribal law. Native law was administered by the indigenous chiefs and, "in so far it was not repugnant to the dictates of humanity", was upheld by colonial magistrates. Indigenous people could, after a lengthy process, apply for exemption from native law. As of 1876, no indigenous people had successfully made such an application.
The trial of Langalibalele started on 16 January 1874 and was described by Pearse as a "disgrace to British justice". Langalibalele was tried under native law with Pine and Shepstone, the chief accusers presiding over the court without the assistance of Supreme Court judge. Langalibalele was denied the right to have a counsel until the third day of the trial, the counsel was not permitted to interview the prisoner nor was he permitted to cross-examine the witnesses. Langalibalele was sentenced to banishment for life and as the Colony of Natal had no suitable place of detention, the Cape Colony
offered the use of Robben Island
.
John Colenso, first Bishop of Natal
led the outcry. He journeyed to England to plead Langalibalele's case personally and succeeded in getting the case returned to the South African courts.
Charles Rawden Maclean
(John Ross) wrote a letter to the editor of The Times
in support of Langalibalele. In 1824 Maclean had been shipwrecked at Port Natal as a boy and stranded with his companions for four years. In 1827 he walked to Lourenco Marques, some 600 km away to obtained medical supplies. In his letter, Maclean, who had spent much of his time in Southern Africa at Shaka's royal kraal, described that in traditional African society a chief, summonsed to the royal kraal in the manner in which Langalibilele had been summonsed by the Natal Government, was often executed or at the very least had his cattle and wives confiscated. He also explained that his personal interest in the case was the protection that he had received from Langalibilele's namesake during the latter stages of his journey to Lourenco Marques.
In August 1875, after Caernarvon, the Colonial Secretary
had referred the case back to the courts in the Cape Colony
, Langalibalele was allowed to return to the mainland, but was obliged to remain in the Cape Colony until 1887 when he was allowed to return to Natal. On his return to Natal, he was confined to the Swartkop location near Pietermaritzburg. He never regained his power as leader of the Hlubi; he died in 1889 and was buried at Ntabamhlope, 25 kilometres west of Estcourt. In keeping with the amaHlubi tradition, his burial place was kept secret until in October 1950 his grandson revealed the site to the Native Commissioner in Estcourt.
Security was improved by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Henry Barkly
, sending a contingent of 200 men to Natal while both the neighbourting Boer Republics
mobilised men to prevent Langalibalele seeking help for the Zulu king Cetewayo.
With most of the colonists supporting the colonial government, Colenso, who had once been a staunch believer in the expansion of the British Empire bore the brunt of the criticism - both his theological views and his liberal views towards the native population were unpopular in the Colony. To a lesser extent Durnford, although he had held his nerve during the confrontation with the amaHlubi at the top of the Bushmans River Pass was ostracised his views that were similar to Colenso's.
One of the underlying causes of the Langalibalele "rebellion" was an inconsistent policy in the various British colonies towards the native populations and in particular the ownership of guns. In the United Kingdom, Lord Carnarvon
who returned to the post of Secretary of State for the Colonies
in 1874 proposed a confederation of states in Southern Africa, but in reality this was a euphemism for a common native policy. His proposed native policy was too liberal for the Boer republics
and in the end came to naught.
The year before the rebellion, the Cape Colony had been granted responsible government and in Natal there was agitation for a similar form of government. The Colonial Office however reviewed the role of native law and in 1875 established the Native High Court which was to rule on matters pertaining to native law. Responsible government did not come to Natal until 1895, over twenty years after the rebellion.
Langalibalele's legacy continued into the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In 1990, shortly after his own release from Robben Island Nelson Mandela
laid a wreath on Langalibalele's grave in recognition of Langalibalele's own internment there. In 2005 the amaHlubi people presented a Submission to the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims under the Framework Act to recognise Ingonyama Muziwenkosi ka Tatazela ka Siyephu ka Langalibalele, otherwise known as Langalibalele II as king of the amaHlubi. However in 2010 the Nhlapo Commission found that since the amaHlubi has been dispersed before the colonial era they did not have a claim to a kingship.
Bantu
Bantu is used as a general label for 300-600 ethnic groups in Africa of speakers of Bantu languages, distributed from Cameroon east across Central Africa and Eastern Africa to Southern Africa...
tribe in what is the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He was born on the eve of the arrival of European settlers in the province. During the diamond rush, many of his young men worked on the mines in Kimberley
Kimberley
-United States:* Kimberly, Arkansas* Kimberly, Alabama* Kimberly, Idaho* Kimberly Township, Aitkin County, Minnesota* Kimberly, Oregon, unincorporated community* Kimberly, Utah, abandoned town* Kimberly, Fayette County, West Virginia, unincorporated community...
where they acquired guns. In 1873 the colonial authorities demanded that the guns be registered, Langalibalele refused and a stand-off ensured resulting in a skirmish in which European troopers were killed. Langalibalele fled across the mountains into Basutoland
Basutoland
Basutoland or officially the Territory of Basutoland, was a British Crown colony established in 1884 after the Cape Colony's inability to control the territory...
, but was captured, tried and banished to Robben Island
Robben Island
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km². It is flat and only a...
. He eventually returned to his home, but remained under house arrest.
His imprisonment split the colonial population of Natal and was a watershed in South African political history.
Context
The BushmenBushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
, a hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
people were the original inhabitants of the modern-day province of KwaZulu-Natal.If the name of a locality in this article had a legal connotation (for example a clearly demarcated border), the nineteenth century name is used, otherwise the post-Apartheid name is used.The prefix "kwa" means "The place", thus "kwaZulu" means "The place of the Zulu"
The prefix "ama" means "The people", thus "amaHlubi" means "The Hlubi people"
The prefix "isi" means "The language of", thus "isiHlubi" means "The language of the Hlubi people" Historians are divided as to when the bantu
Bantu
Bantu is used as a general label for 300-600 ethnic groups in Africa of speakers of Bantu languages, distributed from Cameroon east across Central Africa and Eastern Africa to Southern Africa...
, a pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
people first migrated into the province from the north, but they had certainly settled there by the end of the seventeenth century and displaced the bushmen who migrated into the foothills of the Drakensberg
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
. The amaHlubi, a bantu
Bantu
Bantu is used as a general label for 300-600 ethnic groups in Africa of speakers of Bantu languages, distributed from Cameroon east across Central Africa and Eastern Africa to Southern Africa...
tribe speaking an Nguni dialect had settled in the northern part of the province between the Buffalo
Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal)
The Buffalo River is the largest tributary of the Thukela River. Its source is northeast of Volksrust, close to the Mpumalanga / KwaZulu-Natal border in South Africa. It follows a southerly route into KwaZulu-Natal past Newcastle then turns southeast past Rorke's Drift, before joining the Tugela...
and Blood River
Blood River
Blood River, , is situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa- See also :* List of rivers of South Africa...
s.
Dingiswayo
Dingiswayo was a Mtetwa chief, best known for his mentorship over a young Zulu general, Shaka Zulu, who rose to become the greatest of the Zulu kings.He was born Godongwana, son of Mthethwa chief Jobe...
, a neighbour of the amaHlubi, set about consolidating the various Nguni people
Nguni people
-History:The ancient history of the Nguni people is wrapped up in their oral history. According to legend they were a people who migrated from Egypt to the Great Lakes region of sub-equatorial Central/East Africa...
under his leadership. In 1817 he was killed in battle and after a civil war, power passed into the hands of one of his lieutennants, Shaka
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
, chief of the Zulu clan. Shaka expanded the Zulu clan into a tribe, both by assimilating neighbouring clans and by the use of the policy of Mfecane
Mfecane
Mfecane , also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane or Lifaqane, was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous tribes in southern Africa during the period between 1815 to about 1840....
(genocide).
At the time of Langalibalele's birth, European settlements in Southern Africa were confined to Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
and to Portuguese fortress of Lourenço Marques
Lourenço Marques
Lourenço Marques was a 16th century Portuguese trader and explorer.-Biography:He explored the area that is now Maputo Bay in 1544. He settled permanently in present-day Mozambique, where he spent most of his life with his black wife and mixed-race children.By order of King John III the bay was...
. In 1824 Fynn established a small British settlement at Port Natal (later to become Durban) but the British Government declined to take possession of the port. From 1834 onwards, the Voortrekkers
Voortrekkers
The Voortrekkers were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony moving into the interior of what is now South Africa...
(Dutch-speaking farmers) started to migrate from the Cape Colony in large numbers and in 1837 crossed the Drakensberg
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
into KwaZulu-Natal where, after the murder of one of their leaders, Piet Retief
Piet Retief
Pieter Mauritz Retief was a South African Boer leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he assumed command of punitive expeditions in response to raiding parties from the adjacent Xhosa territory...
, the massacre at Weenen
Weenen massacre
The Weenen Massacre was the massacre of Voortrekkers by the Zulu on 17 February 1838. After the murder of Piet Retief and his delegation, the Zulu chief Dingane sent his impis to exterminate the remaining voortrekkers who were camped at Doringkop, Bloukrans The Weenen Massacre was the massacre of...
they defeated Shaka's successor Dingane
Dingane
Dingane kaSenzangakhona Zulu —commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan—was a Zulu chief who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828...
at the Battle of Blood River
Battle of Blood River
The Battle of Blood River, so called due to the colour of water in the Ncome River turning red with blood, was fought between 470 Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 10,000–15,000 Zulu attackers on the bank of the Ncome River on 16 December 1838, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal,...
, put Mpanda
Mpanda
Mpanda is one of the 4 districts of the Rukwa Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the Northwest by the Kigoma Region, to the Northeast by the Tabora Region, to the East by the Mbeya Region, to the Southeast by the Sumbawanga Urban District, to the Southwest by the Nkansi District and to the West...
on the Zulu throne and established the republic of Natalia
Natalia
Natalia is a female given name. It is the Latin form of Natalie used also in Italian, Spanish and Polish. Other spellings include Natália Nathália , Natalya , Nataliya , Natalija .-People with the given name Natalia:* Natalia ,...
. Friction between the Voortrekkers and the Pondo
Pondo
The Pondo or Phondo are an ethnic group who have given their name to Pondoland, a sub-region comprising much of the northern seaboard of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The Pondo comprises several tribal groups that are all defined as amaXhosa and speak the Xhosa language...
, a tribe whose territory lay between Natalia and the Cape Colony led to the British occupying Port Natal, the subsequent Battle of Congella
Battle of Congella
-Background:According to South African history, in the mid-1820s King Shaka swept through the countryside now known as KwaZulu-Natal, killing almost the entire native population of bushmen. Through his conquests king Shaka founded the first unified Zulu Kingdom...
followed by the siege and relief of the port. After the port had been relieved, the Voortrekkers withdrew from KwaZulu-Natal into the interior and the British established the Colony of Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
.
The following decades saw the rise of the British industrial base - emigration was used to control unemployment and thereby boost the British economy. The Colony of Natal was one of the destination of such emigrants. In 1856 the colony was granted representative government by the British GovernmentIn the context of British colonial development in the nineteenth Representative Government gave the colony had the right to elect a legislative council to advise the governor, but the governor, as chief executive was not bound to accept their advice with responsible governmentIn the context of British colonial development in the nineteenth Responsible Government gave the colony the right to have a parliament elected by the colonists headed by a prime minister and cabinet with executive responsibility, but with the governor still having the power of veto following in 1895.
The British government appointed a "Diplomatic Agent" who was to act on behalf of the nativeIn order to maintain linguistic consistency with the term "native law", this article uses the term nineteenth century term "native people" instead of the twenty-first century term "indigenous people". people who were subject to "native law" rather than "colonial law", "in so far as it was not repugnant to the dictates of humanity". From 1856 until 1877, the post of Diplomatic Agent was held by Sir Theophilus Shepstone
Theophilus Shepstone
thumb|Theophilus ShepstoneSir Theophilus Shepstone was a British South African statesman who was responsible for the annexation of the Transvaal to Britain in 1877.-Early life:...
, son of a missionary and who had been brought up at the mission station.
King of the amaHlubi
The amaHlubi oral tradition asserts that the dynastic line of Langalibalele originated from King Chibi (1300–1325) who reigned an area known to the tribe as eMbo, believed to be in the Congo basin. The tribe migrated southwards along with other bantu tribes and it is believed that they settled in KwaZulu-Natal in about 1650. When Mthimkhulu II became king of the amaHlubi in 1800, he held sway over about in the north-western corner of KwaZulu-Natal.Early years
Langalibalele (literally "the sun is boiling hot"),"langa", the sun, and "libalele" it is killing [hot] the second son of Mthimkhulu II was born in about 1814 and was originally known as Mtetwa.In 1818 Dingiswayo attacked and looted the amaNgwana clan who, to replenish their losses of cattle, attacked the amaHlubi. Mthimkhulu died in the ensuing battle and as both Langalibalele and his elder brother Dlomo were children, Mthimkhulu's brother Mahwanqa assumed the regency. Mahwanqa, rather than resolve the differences with the amaNgwana, fled northwards across the Pongola river (northern boundary of KwaZulu-Natal) to the Wakkerstroom
Wakkerstroom
Wakkerstroom, , is the second oldest town in Mpumalanga province in South Africa. It was established in 1859 and its name is an Afrikaans translation of the Zulu name for the river that flows near the town, uThaka, ...
area of Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
with the two boys where he sought sanctuary amongst the amaNgwe. Other members of the tribe fled southwards to Pondoland, or westwards to the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
and the Basutoland
Basutoland
Basutoland or officially the Territory of Basutoland, was a British Crown colony established in 1884 after the Cape Colony's inability to control the territory...
; those fleeing to Basutoland placing themselves under the protection of Chief Molapo. After the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Shaka in 1828, Mahwanqa returned to the amaHlubi's traditional lands. Since Mahwanqa was not subject to Dingane, Shaka's successor, he set about rebuilding his army.
Once Dlomo came of age, Mahwanqa was reluctant to relinquish the regency and wished to transfer the chieftainship to Langalibalele, but Mahwanqa's troops revolted and Mahwanqa was slain in the ensuing battle. Dlomo, on taking the chieftainship paid a visit to the Zulu king Dingane at the royal kraal in UmGungundlovu
UmGungundlovu
uMgungundlovu was the royal capital of the Zulu king Dingane and one of several military complexes which he maintained...
where he argued that the best course would be for him (Dlomo) to retain the chieftainship of the amaHlubi and that Dingane should return his cattle. Dingane however ordered the murder of Dlomo. Thus, in about 1836, Langalibalele became king of the amaHlubi. Under the guidance of Zimane, the great man in the amaHlubi tribe, Langalibalele was circumsised
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
and initiated into the rituals of the tribe. He then took his first wife - he was later to take another three wives.
Flight to the Natal Colony
In 1848 Mpande summonsed Langalibilele to the royal kraal. Langalibalele, mindful of what had happened to his brother, and Mpande, incensed by Langalibalele's refusal, launched an attack. The amaHlubi and the amaPutini fled across the Buffalo River into the Klip River country and Langalibilele appealed to the Martin WestMartin West
Sir Martin West was born in England, the son of a civil servant in the Treasury.Martin West studied at Balliol College, Oxford, before joining the British East India Company...
, the lieutenant governor of Natal for protection and in December 1849, after negotiations in which Shepstone exhibited considerable diplomacy, the amaHlubi, now reduced to 7000 in number, were granted 364 km2 of good land on the banks of the Little Bushmans River, between newly established European settlement of Bushmans River (Estcourt) and the Drakensberg. It was hoped that the amaHlubi would provide a buffer between the bushmen and the settlers and so protect the settlers' cattle from the bushmen. This area proved too small and within a few years, the Hlubi settlement had spread to over 6000 km2.
The British Government required that the colonies be self-supporting insofar as was possible, resulting in various taxes being imposed on all residents. In the 1850s military levies and a hut taxes were imposed on the native population who lived within the limits of the Colony. In 1873 a marriage tax of £5 was imposed by the colonial government cause much resentment.
The rebellion
The discovery of diamonds in the KimberleyKimberley
-United States:* Kimberly, Arkansas* Kimberly, Alabama* Kimberly, Idaho* Kimberly Township, Aitkin County, Minnesota* Kimberly, Oregon, unincorporated community* Kimberly, Utah, abandoned town* Kimberly, Fayette County, West Virginia, unincorporated community...
attracted thousand of workers, black and white. Many young men from the amaHlubi became labourers on the mines and some were paid in guns rather than in money, a practice that was legal in the Cape Colony. In 1873, John Macfarlance, then magistrate in Estcourt ordered that Langalibalele hand in the guns for registration. As Langlibalele did not know who held guns, he refused to enforce the order. Walker records that the government named eight men who were to be ordered to register their guns and that after some hesitation, Langalibalele sent in five of the named eight men. Pearse on the other hand records that Langalibalele himself was ordered to appear before Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs and that Langalibalele refused on grounds of ill health. In the event, Sir Benjamin Pine, who arrived in the Colony as lieutenant governor in July 1873 ordered the arrest of Langalibalele.
Meanwhile Langalibalele and his people made plan to flee to Lesotho via the Bushmans River Pass. The government proposed a three-pronged police operation with military support to arrest Langalibalele - initially Lieutenant Colonel Miles was to have overall command, but he was not happy with many details and was happy to hand command over to Major Durnford
Anthony Durnford
Colonel Anthony William Durnford was a career British Army officer who served in the Anglo-Zulu War. Breveted colonel, Durnford is mainly known for his presence at the defeat of the British army by the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana.-Background:Durnford was born in to a military family at Manor...
. The plan was for Captain Allison was to cross the Drakensberg via the Champagne Castle Pass
Champagne Castle
Champagne Castle is a mountain in the central Drakensberg range, and is the second highest peak in South Africa. It contains a series of subsidiary peaks, amongst them, Cathkin Peak , Sterkhorn, Mount Memory, Monk's Cowl and Dragon's Back....
, some 25 km to the north of the Bushmans River Pass, Captain Barter was to cross the Drakensberg via the Giants Castle Pass
Giant's Castle
Giant's Castle is a mountain peak in the southern African Drakensberg in KwaZulu Natal. Giants Castle offers visitors to the regions hiking opportunities with panoramic views. The Nature Reserve offers secluded accommodation, bushman rock art with easy access for everyone and about the best base to...
, some 10 km to the south of the Bushmans River Pass while other forces would approach Langalibalele's territory from the east. Alison and Barter were to travel under cover of darkness and to meet up at the top of the Bushmans River Pass on Monday 3 November 1873 at 0600 hrs and block Langalibalele's flight. The entire force comprised 200 British troops, 300 Natal Volunteers and about 6000 Africans.
To the south, Durnford accompanied Barter and led by native guides followed the route across countryside that much more rugged than expected and they ended up to the south of Giants Castle, not to the north where the pass lay. After a consultation, the guides took the party up the Hlatimba Pass, some 20 km south of the Bushmans River Pass. After negotiating the 2867 m summit of the pass, Durnford and his force consisting of 33 carbineers and 25 Basuto proceeded to the top of the Bushmans River pass where they intercepted the amaHlubi tribesmen 24 hours later than expected. Durnford attempted to negotiate with the tribal elders while Barter and the rest of the party covered him. Some of the British forces lost their nerve and shots were fired. Durnford and his men retreated back down the Hlatimba Pass having lost five of their number in the melee. Allison had meanwhile failed to find the Champagne Castle Pass.
On 11 November martial law was declared in the colony two flying columns, one under Allison were sent to search for Langalibalele in Basutoland. They entered the protectorate via the Orange Free State and on 11 December reached a spot in the Maluti Mountains that bore evidence of Langalibalele having recently been there. In reality, Langalibalele had thrown himself at the mercy of the Basuto chief Molapo, but Molapo had already handed Langalibalele over to a local force who. on 13 December, handed him and five of his sons over to Allison.
Trial and sentence
During most of the nineteenth century, the Colony of Natal had two systems of law - colonial law which applied to settlers and which was based on Roman Dutch lawRoman Dutch law
Roman Dutch law is a legal system based on Roman law as applied in the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, it is a variety of the European continental civil law or ius commune...
and native law which applied to the indigenous population and which was based on traditional tribal law. Native law was administered by the indigenous chiefs and, "in so far it was not repugnant to the dictates of humanity", was upheld by colonial magistrates. Indigenous people could, after a lengthy process, apply for exemption from native law. As of 1876, no indigenous people had successfully made such an application.
The trial of Langalibalele started on 16 January 1874 and was described by Pearse as a "disgrace to British justice". Langalibalele was tried under native law with Pine and Shepstone, the chief accusers presiding over the court without the assistance of Supreme Court judge. Langalibalele was denied the right to have a counsel until the third day of the trial, the counsel was not permitted to interview the prisoner nor was he permitted to cross-examine the witnesses. Langalibalele was sentenced to banishment for life and as the Colony of Natal had no suitable place of detention, the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
offered the use of Robben Island
Robben Island
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km². It is flat and only a...
.
Bishop of Natal
The Bishop of Natal exercises episcopal leadership over the Diocese of Natal of the Church of Southern Africa.-Succession:-See also:*Anglican Church of Southern Africa*Anglican Diocese of Natal-References:...
led the outcry. He journeyed to England to plead Langalibalele's case personally and succeeded in getting the case returned to the South African courts.
Charles Rawden Maclean
Charles Rawden Maclean
Charles Rawden Maclean, also known as "John Ross" was born on 17 August 1815 in Fraserburgh and died 13 August 1880 at sea on the RMS Larne while on route to Southampton...
(John Ross) wrote a letter to the editor of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in support of Langalibalele. In 1824 Maclean had been shipwrecked at Port Natal as a boy and stranded with his companions for four years. In 1827 he walked to Lourenco Marques, some 600 km away to obtained medical supplies. In his letter, Maclean, who had spent much of his time in Southern Africa at Shaka's royal kraal, described that in traditional African society a chief, summonsed to the royal kraal in the manner in which Langalibilele had been summonsed by the Natal Government, was often executed or at the very least had his cattle and wives confiscated. He also explained that his personal interest in the case was the protection that he had received from Langalibilele's namesake during the latter stages of his journey to Lourenco Marques.
In August 1875, after Caernarvon, the Colonial Secretary
Colonial Secretary
Colonial Secretary may refer to:* Secretary of State for the Colonies, British Cabinet minister who headed the Colonial Office, commonly referred to as Colonial Secretary...
had referred the case back to the courts in the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, Langalibalele was allowed to return to the mainland, but was obliged to remain in the Cape Colony until 1887 when he was allowed to return to Natal. On his return to Natal, he was confined to the Swartkop location near Pietermaritzburg. He never regained his power as leader of the Hlubi; he died in 1889 and was buried at Ntabamhlope, 25 kilometres west of Estcourt. In keeping with the amaHlubi tradition, his burial place was kept secret until in October 1950 his grandson revealed the site to the Native Commissioner in Estcourt.
Reactions
The immediate reaction to the failure to apprehend Langalibalele was an improvement in the colony's security and the search for a scapegoat.Security was improved by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Henry Barkly
Henry Barkly
Sir Henry Barkly, GCMG, KCB, FRS, FRGS was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences.-Early life and education:...
, sending a contingent of 200 men to Natal while both the neighbourting Boer Republics
Boer Republics
The Boer Republics were independent self-governed republics created by the northeastern frontier branch of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the north eastern Cape Province and their descendants in mainly the northern and eastern parts of what is now the country of...
mobilised men to prevent Langalibalele seeking help for the Zulu king Cetewayo.
With most of the colonists supporting the colonial government, Colenso, who had once been a staunch believer in the expansion of the British Empire bore the brunt of the criticism - both his theological views and his liberal views towards the native population were unpopular in the Colony. To a lesser extent Durnford, although he had held his nerve during the confrontation with the amaHlubi at the top of the Bushmans River Pass was ostracised his views that were similar to Colenso's.
One of the underlying causes of the Langalibalele "rebellion" was an inconsistent policy in the various British colonies towards the native populations and in particular the ownership of guns. In the United Kingdom, Lord Carnarvon
Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon
Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, PC, DL, FSA, FRS , known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party...
who returned to the post of Secretary of State for the Colonies
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
in 1874 proposed a confederation of states in Southern Africa, but in reality this was a euphemism for a common native policy. His proposed native policy was too liberal for the Boer republics
Boer Republics
The Boer Republics were independent self-governed republics created by the northeastern frontier branch of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the north eastern Cape Province and their descendants in mainly the northern and eastern parts of what is now the country of...
and in the end came to naught.
The year before the rebellion, the Cape Colony had been granted responsible government and in Natal there was agitation for a similar form of government. The Colonial Office however reviewed the role of native law and in 1875 established the Native High Court which was to rule on matters pertaining to native law. Responsible government did not come to Natal until 1895, over twenty years after the rebellion.
Langalibalele's legacy continued into the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In 1990, shortly after his own release from Robben Island Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
laid a wreath on Langalibalele's grave in recognition of Langalibalele's own internment there. In 2005 the amaHlubi people presented a Submission to the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims under the Framework Act to recognise Ingonyama Muziwenkosi ka Tatazela ka Siyephu ka Langalibalele, otherwise known as Langalibalele II as king of the amaHlubi. However in 2010 the Nhlapo Commission found that since the amaHlubi has been dispersed before the colonial era they did not have a claim to a kingship.