Bambatha Rebellion

Bambatha rebellion
Part of the aftermath of the Anglo-Zulu War
Zulu warriors
Date 1906 Location Natal, South Africa Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom India	amaZondi and amaCube clans of the Zulu people
Commanders and leaders
Colonel Duncan McKenzie	Chief Bambatha kaMancinza
Strength
4,316 soldiers (including 2,978 Militia)
Casualties and losses
36 (including 6 levies)	3,000 to 4,000 killed

United Kingdom

The Bambatha rebellion was a Zulu revolt against British rule and taxation in Natal, South Africa, in 1906. The revolt was led by Bambatha kaMancinza (c. 1860–1906?), leader of the amaZondi clan of the Zulu people, who lived in the Mpanza Valley, a district near Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal.

In the years following the Anglo-Boer War British employers in Natal had difficulty recruiting black farm workers because of increased competition from the gold mines of the Witwatersrand. The colonial authorities introduced a £1 poll tax in addition to the existing hut tax to pressure Zulu men to enter the labour market. Bambatha, who ruled about 5,500 people living in about 1,100 households, was one of the chiefs who resisted the introduction and collection of the new tax.

The government of Natal sent police officers to collect the tax from recalcitrant districts, and in February 1906 two British officers were killed near Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal. In the resulting introduction of martial law, Bambatha fled north to consult King Dinuzulu, who gave tacit support to Bambatha and invited him and his family to stay at the royal homestead.

Bambatha returned to the Mpanza Valley to discover that the Natal government had deposed him as chief. He gathered together a small force of supporters and began launching a series of guerrilla attacks, using the Nkandla forest as a base. Following a series of initial successes, colonial troops under the command of Colonel Duncan McKenzie set out on an expedition in late April 1906.

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