The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

ZULLXAXD. 191the Boers descending from the inland plateaux and seizing one camping-groundafter another. A " Xew Republic " was thus constituted, with the obvious intentionof soon forming it into a maritime province of Transvaal. But this open violationof their conventions with the suzerain power compelled the interference of GreatBritain, which by extending its protectorate over the southern part of Zululandarrested the aggressive advance of the Transvaal Boers, who were instinctivelyseeking an independent outlet for their trade on the nearest seaboard to theirdomain.Owing to this action of the stronger power all the coastlands from the mouth ofthe Tugela to the river Maputa, which flows to Dclagoa Bay, belong henceforth toEngland. But the upland valleys of the border ranges draining to the IndianOcean have become an integral part of the South African Republic. The superficialarea of the now partitioned land, where predominate the three nations of theZulus, Swazis, and Tongas, is estimated at 20,000 square miles, with a total populationof about two hundx-ed thousand souls. The fragment attached to the Transvaalunder the name of the Xew '• Rejjublic " comprises a space of nearly 3,000 squaremiles, while British Zululand, henceforth placed under the administration of theGovernor of Xatal, has an area of 8,500 square miles.The Zulus (Ama-Zulus) are far less numerous in the land where thov wore tillrecently masters than in the colony of Natal, where they are kept under strictcontrol, but where they have every opportunity of gaining a livelihood by manuallabour. In the territory limited southwards by the Tugela thej' are at presentestimated at scarcely more than a hundred thousand. But the land has beenfor generations wasted by sanguinary wars of succession, followed by foreigninvasions by which whole provinces were depopulated. In 1879 occurred thefinal struggle in which the Zulus ventured to make a stand against the English.Despite their inferior discipline and defective armaments they were victorious insome engagements, notably at Isandhlwana, a spot lying near the left bank of theBuffalo (Upper Tugela), to the east of its confluence with the Blood River. Hereis situated the ford of Rorke's Drift, the possession of which was frequently disputedas one of the most important strategic points in the whole territorv. TheEnglish after seizing it had occupied the eastern terraces of the Buffalo valley,were surprised by an overwhelming force of Zulus, and one wing of the invadin