Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory

Date: 28 Sep 1843
Updated: 25 Sep 2020

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.

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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

Cite this entry

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: 21 August 2026).

South African History Online, Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010969, (accessed 21 August 2026).

"Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010969. Accessed 21 Aug. 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.