British forces under Governor Sir George Napier took over Natal and proclaimed it a British Colony. A year later the colony was put under the Cape Colony administration. However, it was not until the end of 1845 that an effective administration was installed with Mr Martin West as lieutenant-governor that the power of the volksraad finally came to an end. In the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 the British defeated the Zulus under the command of chief Ntshingwayo kaMahole Khoza and Mavu-mengwana kaNdlela Ntuli. The Zululand was annexed to Natal in 1897.
eventREF E-0010969Revised
28 September 1843
Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory
- Updated
- 25 Sep 2020
How we know this
- 01South African History Online, ‘Anglo-Zulu Wars 1879-1896’, [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za (Accessed: 4 September 2013)
- 02Dinge & Goete, ‘This Day in History: Sep 28, 1843: Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory’, [online], available at https://dingeengoete.blogspot.com (Accessed: 4 September 2013)
- 03Everything, (2003), ‘British empire’, 23 May [online], available at https://everything2.com (Accessed: 4 September 2013)
Last updated · 25 Sep 2020
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010969
South African History Online (2011) 'Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010969 (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
South African History Online, Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010969, (accessed 8 October 2026).
"Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010969. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
South African History Online. "Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010969.
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