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THE REPUBLIC OF NATALIA THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE BOERS AND ZULU PRINCE MPANDE Dingane was furious when Mpande refused military service and decided to assassinate him. Ndlela ka Sompisi Ntuli, Dingane’s key general and Prime Minister, who was also the inkosi of the Ntuli clan, informed Prince Mpande of Dingane’s plans to assassinate him. Ndlela also informed Mpanda of Dingane’s initiative to build stronger ties with the British for support against the Boers and he advised Mpande to go to the Boers for military assistance to overthrow Dingane. In September 1839, with 17,000 of his people and 25,000 cattle, Mpanda crossed the Tugela and established his Mahambehlula kraal on the banks of the Thongathi River, about thirty miles north of Port Natal. The first Boer he met when he entered Natalia was Hans de Lange, who was hunting hippopotamus on the banks of the Tugela River. De Lange then informed the Volksraad (Citizen Council) of Mpande’s presence in their territory and of his loyalty to the Boers. The Boers recognised the strategic advantage of friendship and an alliance with Mpande in safeguarding against potential Zulu invasions from across the Tugela River. The Volksraad met with Mpanda on 15 October 1839 and the alliance between him and the Boers was officially formed. Thereafter, on 21 October 1839, a Boer delegation under the landdrost (magistrate) of Congella, Frans Roos, visited Mpande’s temporary kraal where Roos performed a ceremony to seal the alliance when he planted the tricolour of the young Republic of Natalia and declared Mpanda as the “Reigning Prince of the emigrant Zulus”. #Boer #Boers #BoerIdentity #Boeridentiteit #BoerRepublic #BoerRepubliek #Natalia #UnitedBoerRepublic #VerenigdeBoerrepubliek #Britain #Zulus * Mpande & Pretorius