Cetshwayo (born c. 1826, near Eshowe, Zululand [now South Africa] died Feb. 8, 1884, Eshowe) was the last great king of the independent Zulus (reigned 1872–79), whose strong military leadership and political acumen restored the power and prestige of the Zulu nation, which had declined during the reign of his father, Mpande (Panda). As absolute ruler of a rigidly disciplined army of 40,000 men, Cetshwayo was considered a threat to British colonial interests; the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) and subsequent destruction of Zulu power removed that threat. Cetshwayo distinguished himself early in life, taking part in the 1838 Zulu attempt to evict the invading Boers from Natal, and in the early 1850s he was involved in fighting between the Zulu and the Swazi for control of the Pongola region. By the mid-1850s Cetshwayo was head of a young Zulu group known as the Usuthu. During a Zulu civil war in 1856, Cetshwayo’s Usuthu force defeated his rival and brother Mbuyazwe’s Gqoza group in a violent encounter at the Battle of Ndondakasuka (near the lower Tugela River). After his victory, Cetshwayo was widely regarded as the de facto heir to Mpande, and from about 1861, as his father aged, Cetshwayo effectively ruled Zululand. After his father’s death in 1872, Cetshwayo’s position as ruler was formalized. His sovereignty was also recognized by the neighbouring British administration, which controlled the colony of Natal to the immediate south of the Zulu kingdom. #creatorsearchinsight #africantiktok #zulu #AfricanHistory #cetshwayo - @thestoryteller_official