Mpande's - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

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INTRODUCTION
AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
The period 1840 - 1872 forms a watershed in Zulu political history. It
was the epoch that witnessed the rule of the longest reigning monarch in
the history of the Zulu Kingdom, Mpande Ka Senzangakhona. I The
increasingly altered circumstances under which Mpande had to rule,
however, were foreshadowed by British colonial and Voortrekker
establishments and intervention. The consolidation of European
domination over most of the subcontinent and the subsequent White
settlement in Natal, exacerbated problems that Mpande had to face.
1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
In this introductory analysis of King Mpande and his relations with
colonial establishments in Natal, it is imperative to take cognisance of
the concepts "aims" and "objectives". By aims we understand a more
general, broader statement of intention. Aims fulfil an important
function in that they direct and orientate a person's thought and
C. Webb and J. Wright (Eds): lames Stuart Archives of recorded oral evidence relating
to the history ofthe Zulu and neighbouring peoples, Vol. I, pp. 46 - 47.