the mountain of aandal Wana in eastern South Africa on the 22nd of January 1879 this was the site of one of the most humiliating defeats ever suffered by the British Army in just 3 hours over 1200 British troops armed with state-of-the-art weapons were annihilated by an African Army equipped only with Spears Shields and a collection of old muskets the enemy responsible captured the British imagination and went down in history as one of the most fearsome and Powerful Kingdoms in Africa the Zulu we know less about Africa's past and almost anywhere else on Earth but the scarcity of records doesn't mean Africa lacks history in this series I'm exploring some of the richest and most vibrant histories in the world I'm traveling across South Africa through some of the country's most spectacular Landscapes to discover how a tiny ethnic group born in a period of turmoil could become one of the most famous and celebrated Kingdoms in history every February a few thousand people gathered to celebrate contemporary Zulu identity by taking part in a traditional South African Ceremony this first fruits Festival is dedicated to the small yellow marula fruit native to the country the crowds have come here to present the first harvest of the marula to their leader King Goodwill's retino according to tradition the king must be the first to taste the fruit before the people can Harvest their crops What's Happening Here is more than just a celebration of zulu culture it's an affirmation of the power of the king the king who's the EMB ment of the state and a connection to the great monarchs that founded the Zulu Nation Zulu identity was shaped by a series of powerful Kings according to oral tradition the original Zulu chiefdom was established in the 17th century by the founding patriarch Malanda it was his son Zulu who gave his name to the people Zulu means Heaven they became known as the amazulu the people of [Music] Heaven they settled in a region that would eventually become known as guazu natal bounded by the drakensburg mountains in the West and the Indian Ocean in the East it's a landscape of Rolling Hills Deep River gorges and fertile grass lands I do love this bit of South Africa guazu Nel there's something about it that feels very authentic I mean so much of South Africa is so like Europe but this feels really like Africa at the end of the 18th century the Zulu were just one of a patchwork of small Chiefs that occupied this region for over a hundred years they' lived in relative of Peace raising cattle and cultivating their fields but then everything began to change trade was the Catalyst for the transformation of the Zulu people from a small local Chief into a major regional power Europeans that been trading in southern Africa since the 16th century on the west coast the Dutch and later the British controlled the City of Cape Town while closer to zudu territory the Portuguese had a trading post at deloa Bay in exchange for iory cattle and slaves the Portuguese and other European Traders supplied Copper Brass textiles and Beads but Troubles spr by the end of the 18th century rival ethnic groups were competing more and more aggressively for access to trade routes that link to deloa Bay trade with the Portuguese was vital for local power and influence but not everyone would get access small Chieftain were in danger of being crushed by their larger rivals in the fight for goods to trade with the Europeans the small Zulu Chie was suddenly vulnerable but out of that turmoil would emerge a man who would change new history forever his name [Music] Shaka Shaka was a king and a soldier and the founder of the Zulu [Music] nation in the space of 12 Years in the early 19th century he transformed the small Zulu Chief into a large and powerful military force although he became an icon of the Zulu people shaka's Legacy remains deeply contentious something not helped by the myths that surround his biography what's really frustrating about shaka's life is that there are hardly any contemporaneous written records we have to rely on secondhand written material and oral testment is most of which is conflicting the lack of reliable evidence has left room for multiple interpretations of Shaka many of them highly [Music] romanticized respected sources suggest he was born in the 1780s the eldest son of a Zulu Chief the reasons unknown he was raised in a neighboring Chief where he learned the skills of statecraft and soldiering as inter ethnic conflict erupted he returned to the Zulus seized the chieftain sey and transformed the lives of his [Music] people one Legend portrays Shaka as a benevolent patriarch as a young man he is said to have worked as a herdsman one day he was out in the fields when he was distracted as a result he lost his herd the the shame he felt had a profound effect according to the story Shaka learned from his early experience as a herdsman that it was important to look after every single member of your flock he spent the rest of his life trying to compensate making sure that security and discipline were the central focus of zulu life to explore one view of how Shaka built the Zulu Kingdom I'm meeting mawi bellaa a descendant of Shaka himself before Shaka there was no Zulu Empire Shaka in his int through his intelligence is the one who created the Zulu Empire after he came to the throne he said okay now what I'm going to do I will go from Glen to Glen Chief I will approach each and every Chief and I will just unite people using the spear I United them in order for me to establish the Great Zulu Empire but were people scared of him or did they respect him or was it a mixture of the two mixture of the two some feared him because for those who refused to join his his faction you know you they knew very well what would happen to them yeah a spear would be put into youth there are so many other people who said no we cannot tolerated us we cannot live under your control but there must have been good reasons why people people stayed within the Zulu Nation what was so attractive about the Zulu state that Shaka was building what were the wonderful things that he was giving to the people that they didn't have before well the think that people never had they were not United they were like having small glans here and there he was emphasizing Unity no separation no isolation no quarrel nothing he is trying to unite the people he's trying to create our our identity as Zulu people many Zulu today venerate Shaka as the protector and defender of the people they give him credit for reforming an institution that shaped Zulu identity and transformed its fortunes the army [Applause] these Warriors are members of a ceremonial Zulu regiment today they perform on formal occasions but in shaka's time regiments were the backbone of zulu society when assumed the throne in 1816 he decided to build upon recent Innovations of local Chiefs he introduced a system of conscription divided his soldiers into regiments called amutu and these were to revolutionize Zulu Society under the amabo system young men left their families around the age of 14 to work and fight in regiments separating young men from the rest of Zula Society was a way of shifting their loyalty from local Chiefs to the amab and their King one of the leaders of the regiment ising for start to the military system it's actually part of the culture and the culture is part of the military system that in a way it's absolutely fundamental to Zulu culture yes under Shaka young men in the amuto were not allowed to marry and set up their own homesteads marriage rights could only be earned once soldiers had reached maturity and distinguished themselves in battle normally around the age of 35 by making marriage a reward for military service Shaker ensured the Loyalty of his [Music] men Shak is also credited with introducing new fighting techniques including a new battle formation that proved brilliantly effective it became known as the horns of the Buffalo s Simon can you tell me about the Battle formation that the Zulu used regiment leader Simon is giving me a demonstration say this is the enemy here how would the horns of the Buffalo actually work if that was the enemy that was approaching the Zulu lines how would it can I draw it down yeah please do yes uh the Buffalo PCH it's like this what they would engage with this group here is that this is the chest this is the chest of a h Warriors where the very strong and the strongest men used to standing all these young stars all this round left and right they surround an enemy and then the enemy will be in the middle now they will kill him dead to illustrate the battle technique more clearly Simon's arranging his Warriors into the attack formation P eat this is what I'm talking about so this is a strategy that Shaka actually invented that they would form the horns of a buffalo yes at the actual head are the strongest men yes and that they would hit the enemy really hard hit the enemy really hard and then whilst the enemy is trying to deal with these big guys the two horns come around come around and they enclose you yeah yes and they finish you off they finish off this how he conquered so many tribes and make it one big tribe Zulu Nation so they're actually singing We Are The Bull but we will destroy you I mean that metaphor of CLE it's obviously so deeply infused into the Zulu and it's just amazing to see it brought to life in these kinds of [Music] performances Shaka also transformed Zulu Weaponry preferring a Shor handled stabbing spear used like a dagger to the older long-handled throwing [Music] spear what is so much better about this than what went before why is this such a a good piece of Weaponry before they they' used the long the long Spears when they just throw these long Spears like that it was a waste of energy because once they throw missing an enemy the enemy will take those Spears and and face you again it was a waste now that's why Shaga invented this money where your MTH is you ready for this yes I'm ready shaka's warriors were instructed to fight their enemies to the death if they lost their Spears they weren't only vulnerable to the enemy they were treated by their own leaders as cow prot this short spear is your life if you lose your short spear you dead what you can say where is your spear you lost it running huh you must be taken to the place called wangata what would what would happen to youwang if someone have done wrong like you lost this short spear that's a serious case you'll be taken by the very strong man you'll be you'll be struck in the head dead in that place always the vultures are turning around the that place as soon as you has been killed the vultures will get into you take some ice out and you know it's how it is with the creation of his powerful Army Shakra had transformed the Zulu people from a small Chieftain into a powerful militaristic State the Army became the focus of zulu life and as Chie started fighting each other for access to the trade routs sh soldiers prepared for [Music] conflict the early Zulu Kingdom wasn't like a European Kingdom with palaces crown jewels and a civil service rather it was a web of small communities ruled by the king through a network of local Chiefs it was these communities that shaka's Army was defending they lived in clusters of small houses whose layout has changed little since King shaka's time this is the inanda valley in the heart of quaza [Music] Nal this whole area is peppered with traditional Zulu homesteads and I'm about to visit one while the designs have changed over the years years the homestead Remains the focal point of zulu Society I've been invited to meet the lady who lives here hello what a welcome it's a beautiful place you have here how how many people live in a homestead of this size oh St the layout of the homestead reflects the structure of Zulu's society as a whole how beautiful just look at this Zulu culture was patriarchal and polygamous each house in the homestead functioned like an individual room with the married man's house at the rear surrounded on both sides by those of his wives children and extended family this domestic structure was the same throughout Zulu Society making the homestead the smallest building block of shaka's Empire and at the center of the homestead is its most important feature this is a traditional Zulu cattle Corral and they were usually placed right in the center of a Zulu Village and that was partially for security but it's also a measure of the importance of cattle they are the central focus of zulu Society they were actually used as part of the Zulu economy and they were also used for paring traditionally a man who wished to marry had to provide his bride's father with a gift of cattle to compensate him for the loss of his daughter and distribution of cattle was both a source of conflict and one of the ways in which Waring factions made piece only men were allowed in the cattle pen and the pen itself had a spiritual status within the [Music] homestead the circular shape of both the cattle pen and the homestead is not an accident it's a design that's both protective and defensive embodying the promise of security and belonging upon which the Zulu kingdom was founded but for Shaka it wasn't enough just to protect his own people the Zulu were just one of a number of chiefs competing for power in a period of turmoil for many it was a case of conquer or be conquered with his powerful new Army Shaka was able to set about turning is Zulu Chie them into an empire for four years Shaka then embarked on a period of aggressive Regional expansion he annihilated his enemies and forced people off of their land it was a period that became known as ukan the [Music] crushing Shea built the Zulu Nation by conquering these Chieftain and incorporating them into the larger Zulu Kingdom those who refused to cooperate had two options death or Exile as a Zulu Kingdom expanded Southward many fled to the foothills of the drakensburg mountains on the fringes of zulu territory here in this remote landscape archaeologist Benjamin Smith has traced the impact of shaka's conquests this is on the periphery of the inan main area and what happened is that many groups were sort of fled the inan and came out into the mountains as places of Refuge to get away from sort of zulu imperialism and the the domination of the Zulu Ro family um and so Chiefs that wanted to still retain Independence or that were kicked out for some reason or another um ended up in these kind of areas and they would come here for security and safety and to get away from the things that are happening down in the the the the main sort of center of Theon activity but before the refugees of warfare came here this region was already inhabited it was home to hunter gatherers known as the sand people hardly any traces of the ukani remain but one remarkable piece of evidence survives Benjamin's taking me to see a tiny fragment of a Sandrock painting depicting a warrior perhaps a refugee from shaka's conquests okay so here we are um there is the oh the great painting of a man carrying a shield um beautiful probably painted in 1810s or reflecting on things from 1810 1820 exactly the time of the Imp Clan what are we actually seeing here in Benjamin you can see here a human figure back leg front leg in his um left arm you can see a long spear with a long metal tip in in his right arm is's holding this this slightly exaggerated shield and what's noticeable about is is not the classic Zulu shape you know sort of lozen but it's slightly indented in the middle and one of the things that we recognize now is that this is not a typical Zulu Shield it's probably someone escaping from the Zulu Kingdom and coming into No Man's Land as a place of Refuge so the person who created this may well have lived in the period of of Shaka very very likely one of these groups it's fleeing from the direct Rule and sort of Might of Shaka the ukani transformed southern Africa it was Swift and uncompromising and as a result the Zulu Nation expanded from around 3,000 people to over quar of a [Music] million for those who didn't resist Shaka offered security a collective identity and the promise of a future for their children but around the Zulu Kingdom southern Africa was [Music] changing in 1824 a group of British Traders landed in a small Lagoon on the east coast of southern Africa the day at Durban the largest city of quaza natal the Traders established a base and quickly made contact with King Shaka their arrival would have profound consequences for the Zulu Kingdom this is Francis farewell Square the location of Britain's first Trading Post in the tow from a collection of hearts on this side Britain traded with the Zulu in textiles and metals and they exchanged those goods for animal hides and ivory and those first Traders accounts would shape the reputation of Shaka for decades Shaka continues to be remembered by many Zulus as an heroic Warrior Statesman whose military conquest created a proud Nation but 19th century British accounts of Shaka offer a darker view they wrote of a brutal despot who maintained internal control by ter terrorizing his own people while these accounts of Shaka a Savage May well have been an alibi for Britain's Colonial Ambitions they cast a long Shadow over his reputation to explore that Legacy I'm visiting the KY Campbell library to meet historian siab bonga mchis in the early 20th century a British colonial official named James Stewart recorded oral testimonies from Zulu Elders many of them first or secondhand accounts of shaka's [Music] Life they provide some of the most important historical evidence of shaka's biography see aonga could you explain to me a little bit about James Stewart and his archive yeah most of the informants of James Stewart um were people who have seen Shaga or people that have seen people uh that were living during Sha's time uh for example if you can find that we go to the information that was given by Bala Bala was a man from the quab clan Shaka did many evil things to people seeing a woman who is pregnant though she had done him no harm he ordered her to be caught killed and cut open so that it could be seen in what position her child was lying gosh it's shocking I mean are there other negative accounts I me just interested in getting that to find out that side of him if you can let check through this page page 10 you find Bala here uh still talking about King Shaka Bela says that Shaka once asked a woman who was drawing water in an earthern pot at a stream for a drink of water the woman not knowing Shaka said why don't you lap up the water as the other dogs do thereby refusing him the drink Shaka marked her down he then directed that she was to be put to death in order that he might see what kind of heart so inhospitable a person had wow sounds like quite a ruthless picture of a almost a despot it might be true it might be true it might not be true because during Sha's time people were making a lot of stories about him uh those stories were constructed by different people because they wanted to find to to so that people others to believe that I've seen or have been in Sha's Court then people will tell a lot of lies but it seems like Bela is not a fan of Shaka whichever way we cut it that these are a variety of Fairly awful things that Bela feels that Shaka has done but are their views then by contrast that are very positive yes here ji he talks about Shaga is a good character or is a good King my father said Shaka was a great king and very clever because he defeated all the Chiefs in every direction yes he was very resourceful you remember that cleans were living independently all over the country then managed to defeat them and make them one nation I I found that really fascinating it there's obviously a broad range of different interpretations of of Shaka um but you I mean you know this material probably better than anyone I mean who who do you feel Shaka was and how how do you feel about him if I can say let's bring back Shaka now he can make a good uh politician for me that's how I see Shaga it was just a game of the day that he could kill other people to get what he wanted to get but he was a great politician [Music] Shaka died in 1828 in his early 40s he'd been assassinated by his half brothers who sees the Zulu Throne as happens so often with historical research when you get close to the subject they seem almost to dissolve in ambiguity I mean Shaka is a very complicated man that he's part despotic leader but at the same time he's a very charismatic individual who transforms Zulu's society and one has to think that he left huge shoes to fill the legacy of this man is enormous Z's death marked a break with the past his successor King dingan decided to build a new Royal residence in the heart of zulu territory the amini [Music] valley this is in gangang Clover the site of ding gan's Royal compound when it was built in 1829 this compound would have contained around 1500 small beehive shaped houses clustered eight deep around a central cattle pen between five and 7,000 people lived on this site when dingan seized control of the Zulu Throne he took control of a Nation at its absolute Zenith during his 12 years of rule Shaka had expanded Zulu territory from 10 square mil to over 12,000 he left a standing army of more than 40,000 men and ruled over a population of more than 250,000 people but the Zulu faced a new threat and that was to come to a head here beginning in 1836 groups of bore settlers descendants of Dutch German and French Farmers set off from the cape colony in search of new land their leader was Pete ratif in late 1837 they arrived in Zulu territory after a series of skirmishes dingan agreed to give them land in exchange for C to seal the deal some 70 bore Farmers traveled to ding gan's Royal residence the B's arrival was provocative they rode into the Royal enclosure on Horseback firing their weapons it was a display that dingan interpreted as insulting and aggressive before their departure the BS were invited to ding gan's Homestead for a final leave taking as was traditional they were asked to leave their weapons outside whilst two Zulu regiments did a ceremonial dance ding Gard stood up he shouted seize the Wizards and the boar were taken away and one by one they were clubbed to [Music] death the BS were executed on a hill just outside the Royal Zoo U compound their leader Pete R was forced to witness their deaths he was the last to Die the 70 BS were buried on this site the manner of the B's deaths only helped to reinforce their view that the Zulu were treacherous and barbaric this was an act that would be Avenged 9 months after the massacre of the BS their compatriots appointed a new leader Andreas ptus he organized a Commando of 470 BS to take the fight to the Zulu by the 15th of December 1838 the boore party had Advanced towards the banks of the enome river they halted their wagons and set up C the day commemorated by this Monument on the spot what happened next will become a turning point in Zulu history the BS developed a defensive strategy for dealing with attacks from the indigenous population that they encountered on their tracks they'd Circle wagons and place between them wooden fences and pack these spaces with straw this allowed for a large space in the center in which they could protect their families and their livestock they called this a ler the zulis attacked at dawn but the B's improvised fortification gave them a crucial tactical Advantage the circular shape of the logger meant the Zulus had no clear point of attack in their confusion the Zulus made a crucial tactical error the left Horn of the Lulu Army attacked before the chest or the right horn were ready they came under sustained bore gunfire and they were forced to retreat and many of them ended up in the [Music] river the BS Advanced and fired down onto the Zulus massing in the riverbed the Zulu were unable to engage in close combat with their short Spears around 3,000 Zulus were killed their bodies filled the riverbed and turned the water red the battle became known as blood River historian Ken Gillings has studied the impact of Blood River on the Zulu so Ken what were the consequences of the loss here at blood River for the first time the Zulu had now come up against a western method of fighting if you like uh volley fire gunfire no longer was there that close combat which they were so used to and which they were successful with uh against indigenous opponents if you like so the precedent the potential vulnerability of the Zulu strategy it was actually here yeah at blood River yeah that that was actually um found out they were found wanting that's correct because the traditional method of zulu attack was one of close combat and here it it was a 4 ifed position and it was simply impossible for them with the Weaponry at their disposal to break into a defensive position such as this the defeat at blood River split the Zulu Kingdom in two and plunged it into civil war three decades of instability [Music] followed the Zulu were only just recovering when an event 800 Mi away deep in b territory destabilized the Zulu Kingdom even [Music] further in 1871 a labor on a farm near the modern town of Kimberly discovered a small white stone that caused an international sensation within 2 years 10 tens of thousands of people had descended on the area to seek their fortunes and this is what they came for the deir brothers became the luckiest farmers in history and their land became the largest diamond mine in the [Music] world by the mid 1870s the town of kimbley the become the African equivalent of the Klondike filled with Prospectors speculators powerful European financiers together with vast amounts of gold discovered in the 1880s diamonds would transform South Africa [Music] [Music] this is the big hole the site of the original deers diamond mines before it was exhausted the mine was excavated to a depth of 1,097 M the first 240 M were dug by hand with pics and shovels making this one of the world's biggest manmade excavations it also meant to accomplish this the mine owners developed a near and sociable need for one thing labor they turned to local African men but here they encountered a problem the increasingly complex mining operations required a consistent labor force but African workers many from traditional Chiefs tended to work in the mines for short periods and then return home leaving their Employers in the Lurch to control their black labor force the Min owners introduced Barrack star compounds migrant workers had to sign up to six-month contracts during which they were forced to live in the compounds surrendering all personal freedoms the impact on the traditional way of life was devastating young men who'd only ever experienced a barter economy suddenly had cash in their pockets ancient cultures that had endured for Generations were suddenly under attack although kimbley was 800 M from Zulu territory a number of zulu men ended up working on the diamond Fields the McGregor Museum in Kimberly holds a remarkable collection of photographs of those Zulu migrant workers dating from the early 20th century they were taken by a compound guard and amateur photographer Alfred Dugen Cronin Robert Hart is the curator so here's where of uh dragon cronin's original photograph albums rather than photograph the Zuli workers in their mining clothes Doug and Cronin encouraged them to dress in their traditional costumes and pose in Tableau he took some some quite startling photographs um for example this one um which he is called a Zulu M on the March um but it it's these mind works in their traditional dress on a on a mind down okay here's here's another study this is a portrait of a Zulu Warrior man's in his traditional attire he's obviously a very good photographer they are beautiful things yes here's another one instructions from the chief and they they Z SCS so again the most startling thing is the Mind dump in the background and on the part of the the mine owners there was a curiosity for the other they used to take visitors to see them on Sundays and they used to actually ask them to Dr St and they would do these War dance sort of but it is a bit like animals in the zoo for these people who were so fiercely independent for them to then see their identity becoming something which is just worthy of being photographed or captured um by people on a Sunday afternoon as something that's exotic and wonderful and it's must have been humiliating at some level it must have because yeah to be reduced to sort of curios curiosity yes it's a sad story but um beautifully beautifully Illustrated the colonial mindset that viewed the Zulu as an exotic curiosity contributed to what happened next before the discovery of diamonds South Africa was an economic Backwater now it was a source of Untold wealth by the end of the 1870s the lands that contained such abundant mineral resources were located in a patchwork of independent bull British and African controlled territories with so much money at stake and with other European powers scrambling for a piece of the action it was a situation the British authorities were Keen to regularize so they hatched a plan by drawing the different states of South Africa into a single British controlled territory the British hope to consolidate their power develop the economy and suppress the growing resistance from African Chiefs among them the Zulu in 1878 a number of minor Zulu infringements on the border of the colony of natal was cited by the British authorities as evidence of the Zulu Kingdom's aggressive intentions the British mischievously hinted the a Zulu invasion of natal was imminent and so on the 11th of December 1878 under a fig tree on the banks of the tala river the Zulu were issued with an ultimatum the ultimatum comprised the number of key demands the end of the Zulu Army the dismantling of the old regiment system and the presence of a colonial administrator deep in the heart of zulu territory effectively these would have combined to mean the end of the Zulu Empire the new leader of the Zulu nation was keto he'd become king in 1872 during his Reign he built relationships with the British and reunified the Zulu Nation after Decades of trauma and infighting by 1878 only a small number of zulu men had gone to work on the diamond Fields the Zulu kingdom was one once again a powerful military force King keto is not about to give away his Empire without a fight on the 11th of January 1879 three columns of British soldiers led by leftenant General Lord chelsford moved into zululand The Invasion Force consisted of around 12,000 men made up of British soldiers and African support troops on the 20th of January the central column set up camp deep inside Zulu territory they chose a wide expanse of land beneath a rocky outcrop named as zandel Wana the British troops remarked that the distinctive Mountain resembled the Egyptian Sphinx Lord charford believed the Zulu would employ Guerilla tactics rather than engage in a single large battle so he decided to take the fight to them but he was mistaken in what can only be described as a catastrophic mistake Lord chelsford decided to split his troops leading the bulk of his men down through that V in the mountains right deep into Zulu territory but what he didn't know at that very moment massing on the other side of those adjacent mountains were 20,000 Zulu troops later that morning a British Patrol was out on the Hills close to his zelana they came over a ridge and saw an astonishing sight thousands of Zulu warriors sitting on the ground in complete [Music] silence with the main body of the British army many miles away the troops at the base camp were dangerously exposed when the Zulu spotted the British Patrol they launched their attack as the British started firing their weapons the Zulu took on their traditional horns of the Buffalo formation the toughest troops in the chest took on the British infantry the two horns spread out to fully surround the British positions the zudu descended in their thousands using their short stabbing Spears to attack the British in the hand-to-hand fighting style that King Shaker had favored the result was Carnage the British were complete completely overwhelmed and their Camp was totally destroyed over 1200 Britian African support troops were killed the white cans that dot the battlefield at aandal Wana marked the burial places of the British soldiers lindis inabi is the great great grandson of one of the Zulu warriors who fought at his zandel wanao yeah how does it make you feel having that personal connection to what happened here it makes me feel proud here now Zulus now they're fighting within their Kingdom and also they are now aware that the Bri now they want to do away with their Kingdom they do not want to lose it let's fight and die for it and do you feel that those people who died that they died for something which was worthwhile I think so that is the only Zulu Kingdom we've got nothing else losing this one we've got nowhere to go today were here were proud of what they did it was not nice but you know they did it for those descendants today like this we're very proud many Zulu today celebrate the Zulu military and remember zandel Wana as the Kingdom's finest Hour the Zulu Nation had been threatened with destruction but its Army had responded with focus and discipline their Victory had embarrassed and shaken the British but it was a victory that would be [Music] shortlived before the two horns of the Zulu Army met and fully enveloped the British a small band of survivors attempted to retreat they were trying to make their way to a small British Garrison and field Hospital 8 miles away it was known as rocks drift at the time it was occupied by around 150 British troops the field hospital here at rocks drift sits on the banks of the Buffalo River in what was then the British run territory of natal now katuo had expressly forbidden his troops from entering the British colony but in defiance of their King 4,000 men the men who made up the rump of the earlier battle formation at is induana entered this area with the express idea of attacking the hospital this was going to be a repeat of their earlier Victory the British realized there was no point in trying to flee they barricaded themselves in and turned their buildings into a fortification in the late afternoon the Zulu attacked they laid siege for over 5 hours and at one point actually broke through the British perimeter but remarkably the British prevailed with thousands of rounds of ammunition and state-of-the-art weapons the British were able to see off the Zulu the Zulu withdrew but not before over 500 of their men were killed rog's drift went down in history as a legendary British success 11 of the the soldiers who defended the site received Victoria crosses for bravery the highest number ever awarded to a regiment for a single battle but an event that went down in history as a Triumph for the British was a catastrophy for the Zulu come and have a seat it's a nice place to sit this and have ack Rob casy is an expert on the Battle of rock drift so Rob why did the Zulu fail here at Rock drift well there number of factors as to why they lost here at rri G the fact that it was a prepared defensive position the fact that the Zulus were overconfident and didn't really have a battle plan as to how they would attack this place and when the initial attacks were repulsed here I think a huge amount of the fight was knocked out of the Zulu and what was the Zulu's attitude to Modern Weaponry the Zulu's hither to had not really come up against sustained modern fire power from rifles like the Martin Henry or the Gatling gun and uh I don't think they really knew quite what to expect and just how devastating this weapon would be I mean at close range it it would kill three men in a line and the Zulus up to that point hadn't faced Weaponry of that power so what were the repercussions of rock drift for the Zulu obviously the repercussions continued to to fold out over over over months and years well they did the repercussions here were enormous the Zulus I think realized now that the British would be almost impossible to attack if they were behind prepared positions and the fact that they had crossed the Buffalo River into Nel gave the British reason to reinvade zululand and to smash the Zulu order [Music] forever 5 months after is andelana and rock drift the British army returned to zululand 25,000 strong this time they were determined to finish the job [Music] after a series of battles the decisive Anglo Zulu Clash came at the town of alund a few miles from keto's Royal compound this Monument marks the sight of the [Music] battle the British arranged their troops into a hollow Square firing out from all sides it was the kind of fixed fortification that had proved so successful at Rock drift the sweeping horns of the Buffalo were no match to the British block formation particularly when backed by serious artillery the Zulu lost, 1500 men the British by comparison 13 this was the end of the Zulu Empire using a well-tried divide and rule strategy the British sliced up the kingdom into 13 individual chief dances each led by an enemy of King kesa the kingdom was plunged into a bitter Civil War in which more Zulus died than in the whole of the Anglo Zulu conflict kituo was captured and imprisoned he eventually made his way to England to plead his case to Queen Victoria but he died in 1884 the Glorious Kingdom that Shaka had built had been systematically destroyed [Music] [Applause] despite the destruction of the independent Zulu Kingdom in the late 19th century the Zuli Nation lives on though it is no longer a sovereign state with a standing army the Sulu people Remain the largest ethnic group in South Africa over the years the Zula military past has been glorified interpreted and used by different factions for their own political purposes especially in South Africa's recent history sometimes the portrayal of Shaka and the Zulu past has obscured the truth but it served to maintain Zulu Pride the history of the Zulu could be read as one of defeat and disaster but there's something else there's a Triumph of against adversity there's a sense of unity things which continue to bind and [Music] endure and the lost kingdoms continues next week next tonight on BBC 4 lives changed Forever by the outbreak of AIDS San Francisco's year zero we were here I [Applause] [Music]