Zulu History in South Africa

The pre-1994 apartheid system of homelands or ‘Bantusans’ denied Zulu people South African citizenship and attempted to confine them to the nominally self-governing homeland of KwaZulu, now both part of the KwaZulu-Natal Province. Many Zulu live in the urban centres of Durban, Pietermaritzburg and in the Gauteng Province. Today it is estimated that there are more than 45 million South Africans, and the Zulu people make up about approximately 22% of this number. Long ago, before the Zulu were forged as a nation, they lived as isolated family groups and partly nomadic northern Nguni groups.

Are Zulus native to South Africa?

No. Zulus are not indigenous to South Africa. However, they are part of a Bantu migration down from East Africa thousands of years ago. Also the Dutch settlers arrived in South Africa in 1652 while British settlers landed in 1820.

How long have the Zulus been in South Africa?

The word Zulu means “Sky” and according to oral history, Zulu was the name of the ancestor who founded the Zulu royal line around 1670. Today it is estimated that there are more than 45 million South Africans, and the Zulu people make up about approximately 22% of this number.

Who first came to South Africa?

According to history, the first European settlement in southern Africa was known to be established by the Dutch East India Company in Table Bay (Cape Town) in 1652. Which was created to supply passing ships with fresh produce, the colony grew rapidly as Dutch farmers settled to grow crops.

Who lived in South Africa before 1652?

Based on reports from history, before the arrival of Europeans, the area was inhabited by San and Khoikhoi. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck established a small colony on the Cape of Good Hope as a refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company.

Which is the biggest tribe in South Africa?

In South Africa, the Zulu are the single largest ethnic group and numbered about nine million in the late 20th century.

Who was in South Africa before the Dutch?

It was recorded that, the indigenous peoples with whom the Dutch first came into contact, the Khoikhoi, had been settled in the region for at least a thousand years before the Dutch arrived, and were an unwilling labour force.

Who were the first tribes of South Africa?

According to history, the first inhabitants of South Africa were the San and the Khoekhoe. The San and Khoe descended from early Stone Age people and migrated from their birthplace in East Africa to the Cape.

Who first arrived in Cape Town?

The first Europeans to reach the Cape were the Portuguese. Bartholomeu Dias arrived in 1488, after journeying south along the west coast of Africa. The next recorded European sighting of the Cape was by Vasco da Gama in 1497 while he was searching for a route that would lead directly from Europe to Asia.