Mpande's - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

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November 1859 and the union of Lydenburg and the Transvaal Republic
was approved on 4 April 1860. 303
It could be argued that while Mpande's actions towards the Voortrekkers
in Natal Colony were perturbing, he had limited resources to resist them.
The Zulu king acknowledged the military capabilities of the Voortrekkers
and, given the manner in which he ascended the Zulu throne, the only
option he had was to be diplomatic and succumb subtly to Voortrekker
terms. Any meaningful resistance would be necessitated by complete
loyalty from the influential chiefs throughout KwaZulu.
The flock of Zulu refugees into Natal gave evidence to the fact that
Mpande did not have overall control in KwaZulu. An English newspaper,
the Natal Witness (21 January 1961), branded the action of the
Voortrekkers in KwaZu1u as an act of gross imperialism. It is for this
reason that an analysis of Mpande's ties with the British colonial
establishment in Natal must now follow.
303 G.J. Reynecke: Utrecht in die Geskiedenis van die Transvaal tot 1877. (Unpublished
MA Dissertation, Pretoria 1956). p. 59.