Nathaniel Isaacs
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Isaacs was an English
adventurer who played a part in the history of Natal, South Africa
. He wrote a book spread over two volumes (whose accuracy is now disputed) called "Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa". This book subsequently became one of the principal sources quoted by writers of the History of Natal including Morris (The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation
),
Ritter (Shaka Zulu: The Rise of the Zulu Empire) and Bulpin
(Natal and the Zulu Country).
, England
into a Jewish family. His father was a merchant and resident of Chatham and his mother was Lenie Solomon, daughter of Nathaniel Solomon of Margate
and Phoebe Mitz who came from the Netherlands. After his father died in 1822, he joined his maternal uncle, Saul Solomon, a merchant based on the island of St. Helena. In June 1825 he persuaded his uncle to allow him to accompany Lieutenant King, captain of the brig The Mary to South Africa in the capacity of the captain's "companion". After the brig had discharged its cargoes in Cape Town
, King sailed for Port Natal to search for the adventurers Francis Farewell
, an East India merchant, and Francis Fynn
, a physician, from whom nothing had been heard for eighteen months.
On reaching shore, the party found Farewell's camp, but Farewell and his party were on a hunting expedition. Once Farewell returned, Isaacs accompanied King on a courtesy visit to Dingane, brother of the Zulu
king Shaka
. Once Shaka heard of King's arrival, King and his entire party were summoned to his kraal
.
He records his impressions of the Zulu people and their customs which are particularly interesting as they are an account of the Zulu people before they came under European influence. He lived in daily contact with the powerful King Shaka
of the Zulus, at the time the Zulu Empire was at its peak influence in Southern Africa. He was treated on the whole with favour, having rank and honours conferred upon him, as well as a large tract of land.
Most of what has been written about Shaka comes from the accounts of Henry Francis Fynn
and Isaacs who learned to speak the Zulu language fluently.
Lt Farewell, Fynn and Isaacs established the town of Port Natal, later renamed Durban
, which became the second largest city in South Africa in modern times. In 1828 King Shaka made Isaacs "Induna Incoola
", or Principal Chief of Natal, and granted him great areas of land.
had prepared to massacre the few whites living there;
In 1844 Isaacs abandoned his claim on the land granted him by Shaka and settled in Sierra Leone where he built up a thriving business. However in 1854 he was accused of slave-trading by the governor, Sir Arthur Kennedy. He got wind of his impending arrest and left for Liverpool where he was to spend the last years of his life. Kennedy was appointed Governor of New South Wales and took the papers relating to the slave-trading charges with him when returning to England before taking up his post in Australia. The papers were lost when the ship in which he was travelling, the Forerunner was wrecked off Maderia in October 1854. In the absence of the papers, the English courts refused to proceed with the prosecution.
Isaacs died in 1872.
has asserted that Isaacs deliberately exaggerated the extent of Shaka's brutality in order to boost the sales of his and of Flynn's books.
Another historian, Stephen Gray, also questioned the accuracy of Isaac's writings. In his commentary on the writings of Charles Rawden Maclean
in The Nautical Magazine
, he notes that Maclean made no mention of Isaacs at all. He also conjectures that it was Isaacs who gave Maclean the name "John Ross" because he could not remember Maclean's real name. Gray is scathing of Isaacs to the extent that when comparing the writings of the two men he wrote "The differences between Maclean's and Isaac's accounts [of Shaka's brutality] are so glaring that one is forced to ask which of the two is plain lying."
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
adventurer who played a part in the history of Natal, 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 wrote a book spread over two volumes (whose accuracy is now disputed) called "Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa". This book subsequently became one of the principal sources quoted by writers of the History of Natal including Morris (The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation
Washing of the Spears
The Washing of the Spears is a classic book about the "Zulu Nation under Shaka" and the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, written by Donald R. Morris in the 1960s. It includes a wealth of some of the earliest wartime photography....
),
Ritter (Shaka Zulu: The Rise of the Zulu Empire) and Bulpin
T. V. Bulpin
Thomas Victor Bulpin was a South African writer.He was a man of enormous talent and intellect, and a prolific writer. During his lifetime, he produced 29 books and over 2000 booklets, pamphlets, newspapers and magazine features, and travel videos, becoming the Doyen of African travel writers and a...
(Natal and the Zulu Country).
Early life
Isaac was born in CanterburyCanterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
into a Jewish family. His father was a merchant and resident of Chatham and his mother was Lenie Solomon, daughter of Nathaniel Solomon of Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
and Phoebe Mitz who came from the Netherlands. After his father died in 1822, he joined his maternal uncle, Saul Solomon, a merchant based on the island of St. Helena. In June 1825 he persuaded his uncle to allow him to accompany Lieutenant King, captain of the brig The Mary to South Africa in the capacity of the captain's "companion". After the brig had discharged its cargoes in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, King sailed for Port Natal to search for the adventurers Francis Farewell
Francis Farewell
Lieutenant Francis George Farewell , the father of the Port Natal Colony in South Africa, was born at Holbrook House near Wincanton in the Vale of Blackmore in 1784. His father was Reverend Samuel Farewell, who died when Francis was young....
, an East India merchant, and Francis Fynn
Henry Francis Fynn
Henry Francis Fynn was an English traveler and trader. His diary covers the period from 1824 to 1836 and is the story of the first white settler in Natal, the earliest account of life in Natal...
, a physician, from whom nothing had been heard for eighteen months.
Stranded in Natal
Leaving Cape Town on 26 August 1825, The Mary the party made several stops along the Southern African coast, anchoring off Port Natal on 1 October. On entry to the port, The Mary floundered when she struck a sandbank.On reaching shore, the party found Farewell's camp, but Farewell and his party were on a hunting expedition. Once Farewell returned, Isaacs accompanied King on a courtesy visit to Dingane, brother of the Zulu
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
king Shaka
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
. Once Shaka heard of King's arrival, King and his entire party were summoned to his kraal
Kraal
Kraal is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African settlement or village surrounded by a palisade, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form.In the Dutch language a kraal is a term derived from the Portuguese word , cognate...
.
He records his impressions of the Zulu people and their customs which are particularly interesting as they are an account of the Zulu people before they came under European influence. He lived in daily contact with the powerful King Shaka
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
of the Zulus, at the time the Zulu Empire was at its peak influence in Southern Africa. He was treated on the whole with favour, having rank and honours conferred upon him, as well as a large tract of land.
Most of what has been written about Shaka comes from the accounts of Henry Francis Fynn
Henry Francis Fynn
Henry Francis Fynn was an English traveler and trader. His diary covers the period from 1824 to 1836 and is the story of the first white settler in Natal, the earliest account of life in Natal...
and Isaacs who learned to speak the Zulu language fluently.
Lt Farewell, Fynn and Isaacs established the town of Port Natal, later renamed Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, which became the second largest city in South Africa in modern times. In 1828 King Shaka made Isaacs "Induna Incoola
InDuna
InDuna is a Zulu title meaning advisor, great leader, ambassador, headman, or commander of group of warriors. It can also mean spokesperson or mediator as the izinDuna often acted as a bridge between the people and the king...
", or Principal Chief of Natal, and granted him great areas of land.
Subsequent career
Isaacs left Natal in 1831, when Shaka's successor DinganeDingane
Dingane kaSenzangakhona Zulu —commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan—was a Zulu chief who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828...
had prepared to massacre the few whites living there;
In 1844 Isaacs abandoned his claim on the land granted him by Shaka and settled in Sierra Leone where he built up a thriving business. However in 1854 he was accused of slave-trading by the governor, Sir Arthur Kennedy. He got wind of his impending arrest and left for Liverpool where he was to spend the last years of his life. Kennedy was appointed Governor of New South Wales and took the papers relating to the slave-trading charges with him when returning to England before taking up his post in Australia. The papers were lost when the ship in which he was travelling, the Forerunner was wrecked off Maderia in October 1854. In the absence of the papers, the English courts refused to proceed with the prosecution.
Isaacs died in 1872.
Historian's Commentary
In recent years many academics have questioned the accuracy of Isaac's writings. Dan Wylie, an academic at Rhodes UniversityRhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...
has asserted that Isaacs deliberately exaggerated the extent of Shaka's brutality in order to boost the sales of his and of Flynn's books.
Another historian, Stephen Gray, also questioned the accuracy of Isaac's writings. In his commentary on the writings of 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...
in The Nautical Magazine
The Nautical Magazine
The Nautical Magazine is a monthly magazine published by Brown Son & Ferguson containing articles of general interest to seafarers. The magazine was first published in 1832 and has variously been known as The Nautical magazine and naval chronicle for ... and Nautical magazine and journal of the...
, he notes that Maclean made no mention of Isaacs at all. He also conjectures that it was Isaacs who gave Maclean the name "John Ross" because he could not remember Maclean's real name. Gray is scathing of Isaacs to the extent that when comparing the writings of the two men he wrote "The differences between Maclean's and Isaac's accounts [of Shaka's brutality] are so glaring that one is forced to ask which of the two is plain lying."