Laws and regulations affecting the powers of chiefs in the Natal and Zululand regions, 1875-1910: a historical examination.
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Date
2000
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Abstract
This dissertation aims to examine the nature of colonial-made laws and regulations which
affected the powers of chiefs in the Natal and Zululand regions between 1875 and 1910, and the
context in which they were made. Since the establishment of colonial rule in Natal in the 1840s,
the colonial government had aimed to bring chiefs under control and to weaken their powers. In
the 1870s the pace at which chiefly authority was undermined increased. This dissertation begins
in the mid-1870s because this was when white settlers in Natal gradually began to get more
influence over native affairs because of important shifts in British policies in South Africa. It
ends in 1910 when the administration of native affairs in Natal was transferred from
Pietermaritzburg to Pretoria upon the formation of the Union of South Africa. It argues that the
making oflaws governing Africans in the Natal and Zululand regions from 1875 to 1910 had to
do mainly with the desire of colonial officials to tighten up control over Africans, and the desire
of white settlers in Natal to ensure security against Africans who greatly outnumbered them and
to obtain land and labour from African communities. The dissertation begins with a brief
examination of the colonial state and the nature of the powers of chiefs in the period before 1875.
From 1875 to 1893 the Natal settlers gradually gained more influence over native affairs, and
used it to formalize and define the powers of chiefs and izinduna. These developments are
explained in chapter two. In chapter three the laws and regulations affecting the powers of chiefs
that were passed under responsible government from 1893 to 1897 are examined in detail. This
was when white settlers in Natal gained power to directly control native affairs. The Zululand
region, i.e. to the north of the Thukela river, also experienced similar developments as Natal
from 1879 to 1897. After the Anglo-Zulu war in 1879, the powers of hereditary chiefs in
Zululand were weakened, together with the strength of Zulu royal house. The impact of colonial
rule on the powers of chiefs in Zululand is covered in chapter four. When Zululand was
incorporated into Natal in 1897, and when the white settler farmers dominated every department
in the ministry, the 'web' of chiefly authority was weakened at a faster pace than before. Some
ofthe laws that were in the Natal Code of Native Law were extended to Zululand. The way in
which chiefly authority was undermined in the enlarged colony between 1897 to 1910 is
examined in chapter five. Chapter six summarizes the findings of the dissertation.
Description
Thesis (M.A. ; School of Human and Social Studies) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.
Keywords
Chiefdoms--Natal--History--19th century., Chiefdoms--Natal--History--20th century., Zululand--Kings and rulers., Theses--History.