ABSTRACT
Dingane had wanted to meet British officials virtually from the time he succeeded Shaka as king of the Zulu. When two Englishmen arrived at his capital in March 1829, hoping to make their way to Delagoa Bay, he made them the princely gift of twelve fat oxen. Jacob had plenty of information for the king—alarming information. On his way to Grahamstown, Jacob had met a Nwandwe man who, after living for many years among the Xhosa, had decided to offer his allegiance to Dingane. As far as that man was concerned, the king should refuse to deal with the British. A Ndwandwe man living among the Xhosa could not, of course, have been in a position to know that British authorities planned to seek further land grants as a prelude to invading Zulu territory. Most of Jacob’s information on that score came from people living in Grahamstown.
