Mpande's - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

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kingdom in 1857 as his adviser and trader. 56 Cetshwayo accepted Dunn
and assisted his assimilation into Zulu society by offering him a number
ofroyal wives and land at uNgoye'; Cetshwayo thus received some kind
of semi-official recognition and support from. Cetshwayo, however,
appealed to the Colonial establishments in Natal and Transvaal to
recognise his claims to the kingship.58 Maphalala described Cetshwayo's
overtures towards John Dunn and some settlers after the battle as follows:
"The lives of the whites ... were spared.
This benevolence was not unique: after
the battle of Maqongqo hills between
Mpande and his Voortrekker alliance, no
white man was interfered with. "59
Cetshwayo realised that as a future Zulu potentate, he needed John Dunn
to advise him on his relations with the two White establishments that
flanked KwaZulu, i.e. the British in Natal and the Voortrekkers in the
Transvaal.60
Although the battle of Ndondakusuka could not directly be linked to
Mpande, it clearly demonstrated his declining power and influence in
KwaZulu. This was confirmed in 1857 when the Zulu nation sought to
56
,.
58
59
60
C.C. Ballard: John Dunn - The White Chief ofZululand. pp. 61 - 62.
Ibid., pp. 63 - 65.
P. Colenbrander: "Some reflections on the kingship of Mpande·'. p. 18.
S.J. Maphalala: The participation ofWhite Senlers at the battle ofNdondakusuka.
2 December 1856, and its consequences up to 1861, p. 12.
P. Colenbrander: '-Some reflections on the kingship of Mpande", p. 19.