The South African State Of The Zulu

Nations constantly get put through tests and challenges. They can be as small and unaffecting, or they can be enormous and have physical and emotional injuries on the nation’s citizens. However, no matter the size, problems have consequences. The Boer War, a trifling affair that spans over a course of twenty-two years, 1880-1902, also known as the Transvaal War and the South African War, has good and bad everlasting effects on the people of South Africa by the deterioration of the Boers and Afrikaners and the forcefully implied English rule.

Thesis Statement: Apartheid may have been a horrible era in South African history, but only so because the whites were forced to take action against the outrageous and threatening deeds of the blacks in order to sustain their power.

Working as a professor of anthropology and psychiatry at UCLA, Robert B. Edgerton is the author of Like Lions They Fought: The Zulu War and the Last Black Empire in South Africa and several other historical works about lesser known periods of history, including Death or Glory: The Legacy of the Crimean War and The Fall of the Asante Empire: The Hundred Year War for Africa's Gold Coast. Edgerton's desire in writing this book is clear from the beginning: to make a clear narrative of the Anglo-Zulu War as well as the circumstances that led up to it. Previously, there were very few accounts of the war available to the American audience: the only one was The Washing of the Spears by Donald T. Morris. However, Edgerton claims that Morris's book "contained some errors" and that it was framed "almost entirely through the eyes of the British". Furthermore, more primary sources, such as letters and diary entries had become available to the public, changing historian's interpretation of the war. Edgerton wanted to both remove the "mysticism" surrounding this war and provide an encompassing view of both sides of the conflict using the new resources available to him. The result is a fascinating analysis of this five-month war between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.

Regarding Anglo-Zulu relations, the British felt that the Zulu nation posed a great military threat against the White Natal Colony and the Transvaal. The British sought to set up a “Federation of White colonies and states in South Africa in 1879”, however they felt vulnerable due to the fear caused by the very near Zulu menace (Source D). This specific fear of the Zulu nation was dominant because at the time Cetshwayo had transformed the Zulus into a stronger and

Considering the social trauma associated with colonialism and apartheid the Zulu responded by clinging more tenaciously to their heritage as a means of psychological survival in a society which systematically degraded and disrespected them as a people. Berglund (1976) points out that it is the rituals and symbols of a society which express the relationships between members of that society and makes living in that society a meaningful experience.

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

Have you ever imagined a white South African begging for money from a black man on the street? Can you believe this black man throwing few coins at him? That is what I saw when I traveled in South Africa in 1998. In fact, South Africa has undergone a rapid and fundamental change. In four years - from 1990 to 1994 - the country succeeded in getting past a painful transition from an autocratic white minority rule to a black majority rule. Its political and economic institutions have been restructured, its society transformed. Despite the fact that the racially-based segregationist policy, Apartheid, has been smashed, the battle between the whites and the blacks has just begun.

In South Africa between 4.9 and 6.6 million people are infected with AIDS and HIV. The total population in South Africa is 45 million people. That mean that it’s more than 10% of the population, there are infected with this disease.

“Mandela did not merely oppose white domination; he opposed domination by any racial group, including Africans. By standing firm in his principles and enduring extraordinary sacrifices that robbed him of most of his adult life, he helped force change, while proving beyond any doubt that he was a leader who could be trusted to keep his word” (Kent). Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was a human rights activist as well as the first black President of South Africa. Referred to as the living embodiment of black liberation, Mandela specifically fought against the government system of South Africa known as apartheid (Lacayo, Washington, Monroe, & Simpson). Apartheid is an Afrikaan word meaning apartness and was a system of racial segregation for the

Nelson Mandela helped bring an end to Apartheid in South Africa because he was a believer in basic human rights, leading both peaceful and violent protests against the white South African Government. His beliefs landed him in prison for twenty-seven years, almost three decades. In doing so, he became the face of the apartheid movement both in his country and around the world. When released from prison in 1990, he continued to honor his commitment to fight for justice and equality for all people in South Africa. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected to become the first black president of South Africa and formed a government that represented the people of South Africa.

KwaZulu-Natal is the smallest province in South Africa, yet it contains the remnants of the once powerful Zulu tribe. The history of the Zulu people is rather short in comparison to other tribes in Africa. In this essay I hope to briefly discuss the Zulu history, what makes them unique, the Zulu religion, the interaction with the British colonial groups, how the Zulu nation came to come into power, and where the present day Zulu people stand in society today.

I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.

In 1828 Shaka, leader of the Zulu tribe prophesied that ‘the swallows’, white men building mud houses, would come to conquer his people. By the end of the century his prophecy was reality. The extraordinary expansion drift of all major industrialised countries in Europe led to an unparalleled division of the African in the last two decades of the nineteenth century.

Apartheid in South Africa was the main cause of the 1981 Springbok Tour Protests causing international resentment. The Apartheid soon became a major controversy within New Zealand, as many people prefered boycotting in opposition to it, instead of continued sporting contact. Following the Sharpeville Massacre, the international opposition towards apartheid increased dramatically, as the United Nations conservative stance changed to strongly oppose it. The massacre and the system itself caused many nations to institute sporting and trade boycotts onto the South African government. In 1968, the United Nations called for a sporting boycott against South African teams as a way to put pressure in the government there to ease apartheid laws. Many New Zealanders were opposed on a brobdingnagian scale towards apartheid, and the arrival of the Springbok Team in 1981 forced the nation to confront apartheid head on, as the government has been previously reluctant to impose sanctions. Apartheid had a lasting effect on New Zealand, and was the major cause of the Springbok Tour Protests and the debate still rages on today as people question the most effective way to end regimes around the world, through isolation, or providing governments political, economic and social incentives to end systems.

Shaka was the center of the Zulu nation and was the leader of the Zulu expansion which could never have happened without his influence and the way he constructed his military force. "Great nation of Zulu, you have shown courage against a superior enemy. The nations that spoke of you with contempt are chilled by your songs. Kings and princes shiver in their little thrones. Enemies flee to hide in the mountain caves." (http://www.bbc.co.uk) This is an excerpt from Shaka which show's the fear that he was able to envoke to his enemies through his militarian style. At this particular moment Shaka was showing how proud he was of his army after their victorious battle against Ndwandwe. The Zulu's prominence was growing throughout Africa and they knew how popular their fight was against Ndwandwe. "Shaka created a standing army of 40,000 warriors, made up of regiments separated out into age groups." (http://www.bbc.co.uk) Shaka's system was basically having the soldier's go into communities to plunder for cattle and grain, under highly organized raids