ABSTRACT
The events of the terrible year 1823 on the central highveld were poorly understood, even by those who lived through them. The accounts written down by people who heard the tales of survivors made an incredible mish-mash of names and dates. Stories of powerful kingdoms and large armies fired the imaginations of people in British Zone, causing some to seek greener pastures and profits by moving to the heartland. One of the traders explained that in a pitched batde, soldiers would form themselves into a square three ranks deep, from which they would fire on the enemy. Shaka’s ambassadors received a less than enthusiastic welcome at Port Elizabeth, primarily because British officials had come to regard Shaka as the aggressive force who had pushed waves of ‘refugees’ into their territory. Pushing the Thembu and Ngqika’s Xhosa out with military force would have been an act of criminal folly, for they had been recognized allies in the 1819 war against Nxele.
