📅 11 December 1878
British officials demanded that Cetshwayo dismantle the Zulu military system and surrender sovereignty. The deliberately unacceptable terms provided a pretext for invasion.
📅 12 Januari 1879
British columns crossed into Zululand after Cetshwayo rejected the ultimatum. The invasion began an imperial war to destroy Zulu political independence.
📅 22 Januari 1879
Zulu forces destroyed the main British camp at Isandlwana in one of the most significant African victories over a European imperial army during the nineteenth century.
📅 4 Juli 1879
The British burned the royal capital after defeating the Zulu army. The battle destroyed the kingdom's military power and opened the way for its political fragmentation.
📅 28 Augustus 1879
Cetshwayo was captured in the Ngome forest after the defeat of the Zulu Kingdom. Colonial authorities imprisoned and exiled him.
📅 2 September 1879
British authorities divided Zululand among appointed chiefs, weakening central authority and encouraging civil conflict.
📅 8 Februari 1884
Cetshwayo died after returning to a fragmented Zululand. His final years were shaped by British intervention and civil war following the destruction of Zulu sovereignty.
