Calling of the Kings essays

Calling of the Kings essays Those Zulus! Ma exclaimed angrily. Those heathen! Those Zulus are always fighting! (McCord) In 1877 the Anglo-Zulu wars began with unwarranted British aggression when the British became attracted to Zululand in search of trade and profit. (Hamilton) In the novel, The Calling of Katie Makanya the main character Katie experiences firsthand the Zulus and the destruction caused by the war with the British. The reader is also made aware of the Zulu King during this time by the name of Cetshwayo. With Cetshwayo's awesome military intelligence and strong leadership tools he was able to do considerable amounts of damage to the British troops. Although eventually losing his battle against the British Cetshwayo creates an impact on the outlook of the Zulus. Another King that was a dominant even before Cetshwayo was Shaka, who is said to be the one of the greatest rulers of all time, and one of the main reasons the Zulu were such a strong nation. The Zulus saw many kings but these two rulers w ere what made Zululand thrive and prosper. Chetshwayo threatened to drive all of the white men to sea when the British High Commissioner in South Africa, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, believed that the robust and economically self-reliant Zulu kingdom was a threat to his policy. (Hamilton) In December 1878 he picked a quarrel with Chetshwayo believing that the Zulus were no match against his men because he thought that they would only use shields and spears. On January of 1879 Bartle Frere was proven wrong after he sent three columns of British troops to invade Zululand and was greatly defeated at Isandlwana. Over 1300 British troops and African Allies were killed and it became one of the worst disasters ever encountered by the Colonial Fleet. (Gump) Chetshwayo became an instant hero in the war, and caused the most crushing defeat by any Africans in modern history. He later went on to kill Prince Napoleon, the heir to the French throne. After...