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THE REPUBLIC OF NATALIA MPANDE JOINS PRETORIUS' COMMANDO The British government knew that the alliance between the Boers and Mpande would lead to war in Zululand. Nevertheless, in an apparent renunciation of their claim to Boer's allegiance to the British Crown, they withdrew their troops from Port Natal in December 1839. The Union Jack was lowered on Christmas Day, and the British left Port Natal, ending their blockade of essential supplies, which caused great distress and deprivation among the Boers in Natal. The Boers were finally free to establish their own Boer Republic based on their values of freedom, equality, and brotherhood. Dingane, however, continued to pose an existential threat to the Boers, and the presence of his spies around Boer settlements increased the urgency of the Boers’ preparations and the support they received from their brothers on the other side of the Drakensberg. Mpande, whose support base continued to grow, also prepared his forces for the upcoming campaign against Dingane. On 4 January 1840, the Volksraad instructed Pretorius to demand from Dingane the cattle agreed upon in their peace agreement, which now somehow doubled from 20,000 to 40,000. These instructions were given to Pretorius in a document containing twenty-two articles prescribing rules for a code of conduct, and it established, according to Boer tradition, a war council within the commando to which even Pretorius himself would be subjected to. The Boer commando, consisting of 400 men and sixty wagons, left Pietermaritzburg on 14 January 1840, heading towards Dingane's new location at the Ivuna River. Mpande accompanied Pretorius in his commando, approaching Dingane from the northwest, while his own forces, an army of 10,000 men led by NongaIaza ka Nondela Mnyandu, approached Dingane from a southeastern direction. On 21 January 1840, the commando crossed the Tugela River. #Boer #Boers #BoerIdentity #Boeridentiteit #BoerRepublic #BoerRepubliek #Natalia #UnitedBoerRepublic #VerenigdeBoerrepubliek #Britain #Zulus