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Voortrekker commando is ambushed by the Zulu army in the Battle of the White Umfolozi
EventThe possessions of Piet Retief are auctioned
Piet Retief's visit to Dingane's kraal in October 1837 was the beginning of an eventful relationship between the Zulu and the Voortrekkers. Retief was in high…
EventAndries Hendrik Potgieter establishes the town of Potchefstroom
Andries Hendrik Potgieter establishes the town of Potchefstroom after moving away from Natal and heading inland and eventually settling in the northern Free…
EventThe Battle of Blood River
On 16 December 1838 the Battle of Blood River took place near the Ncome River in KwaZulu Natal. The Battle of Blood River was between the Voortrekkers under…
EventPotgieter barters land from Chief Makwana
Commandant Andries Hendrik Potgieter, one of the leaders of the Voortrekkers, obtained the territory between the Vet and Vaal Rivers from the Bataung captain,…
EventSA sugar magnate Sir Hulett is born
Sir James Liege Hulett, Natal planter, industrialist and politician, was born in England and came to South Africa in 1857 at the age of 19. Hulett pioneered…
Robert Biggar and his force are killed
Zulu warriors ambush Piet Uys and his men at Italeni
Zulu King Dingane orders his forces to attack the unsuspecting remaining parties of Voortrekkers in Natal
EventZulu King Dingane orders the execution of Piet Retief’s men
Following the signing of Dingane and Retief's treaty, Piet Retief and his party were treated to a farewell dance by the Zulu impis at Ungungundlovu. They were…
Karl Gottlieb Mauch, purported to be the first man to discover gold in SA, is born in Stetten
EventPiet Retief’s Great Trek manifesto is completed
Piet Retief completes the manifesto that sets out the reasons why the Voortrekkers are leaving the Cape Colony. It is published in English in the Graham's Town…
Voortrekkers defeat the Ndebele at Mosega
Voortrekker leaders punish Mzilikazi
General Piet Cronje, politician, military leader and general during Anglo Boer War is born
Sir William Cornwallis Harris, traveller, hunter and renowned artist, arrives in Algoa Bay to begin a hunting expedition
EventCharles Darwin and the HMS Beagle reached the Galapagos Islands
Darwin's experience in the Galapagos would be the principle inspiration for his work, On The Origin of Species, one of those rare scientific works that…
Adam Kok II, Griqua chief, dies at the Berg River
EventPort Natal is renamed Durban in honour of Sir Benjamin D’Urban, governor of the Cape Colony from 1834 - 1837
On 23 June 1835 Port Natal was renamed Durban in honour of Sir Benjamin D'Urban, governor of the Cape Colony from 1834 - 37. It is thought that the first…
Fingo leaders gather at Peddie
Xhosa King, Hintsa ka Phalo, is killed by British troops
EventSir Benjamin D’Urban accepts the Mfengu as British subjects
The Mfengu (or Fingo in the colonial lexicon) were defeated and left landless by King Shaka's Zulu army, and slowly arrived in Xhosa territory over a period of…
Alleged date of peace treaty between D’Urban and Hintsa
Newton Adams, missionary and first medical doctor in Natal arrives with his wife and other missionaries
EventSlavery is abolished at the Cape
On 1 December 1834, slavery came to an end in the Cape Colony. The move to abolish slavery in the Colony came a year after the Slavery Abolition Bill of 1833…
Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire
The South Atlantic Island, St. Helena becomes a British crown colony.
EventSir Benjamin D’Urban, for whom the city Durban was named, assumes office as Governor of the Cape of Good Hope
Benjamin D'Urban was born in Suffolk, England and joined the British Army in 1793. He soon rose to prominence, serving in most major battles, including…