Bambatha (1865-1906) was a Zulu chieftain who, in 1906, led the last Zulu rebellion against white settlers in the Natal region of South Africa. This region is now a part of the KwaZulu-Natal province. The rebellion was caused by heavy taxes imposed by the colonial government on the Zulu population. The relationship between European settlers and Africans in the area was already tense, because there had been previous conflicts between Zulus and the settlers.
Bambatha was chief of a minor Zulu clan, the Zondi, until he was deposed by the colonial government in early 1906 for his opposition to its taxes. He asked Dinuzulu, the chief of the entire Zulu nation, for help, but Dinuzulu tried to keep out of the conflict. Bambatha fled deeper into Zulu territory, where he set up guerrilla forces. After a series of encounters with British troops, Bambatha’s forces were defeated at Mome Gorge in June 1906, and Bambatha was killed. Dinuzulu was then tried and imprisoned for conspiring in the rebellion. He was released and his sentence rescinded when the Union of South Africa was established in 1910. He was sent into exile in Transvaal.
See also KwaZulu-Natal ; South Africa ; Zulu .
