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Cetshwayo ka Mpande

(circa 1826-1884), King of the Zulu

Sitter in 4 portraits
The last king of the independent Zulu nation in Southern Africa. He restored political power and prestige to his kingdom after its decline under his father's reign. His strong military prowess led a disciplined 40,000 man army, which fought against the British in the Anglo Zulu War (1879). The defeat, by Zulu soldiers armed only with spears and shields, claimed the lives of 867 white soldiers and 440 black auxiliaries in a single day. Considered a strong threat to British colonial interests, he was deposed when his capital, Ulundi, was destroyed and captured. Imprisoned in Cape Town, South Africa, he found an unexpected ally in John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley who admitted the Zulu invasion was 'unjust and unnecessary'. He took the opportunity to request a visit to Britain to negotiate his return to the throne in an effort to prevent further conflict. He was reinstated as King in 1883.

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Cetshwayo ka Mpande, by Sir Leslie Ward - NPG 2699

Cetshwayo ka Mpande

by Sir Leslie Ward
watercolour, published in Vanity Fair 26 August 1882
NPG 2699

Cetshwayo ka Mpande, by Alexander Bassano - NPG x96403

Cetshwayo ka Mpande

by Alexander Bassano
half-plate glass negative, 1882
NPG x96403

Cetshwayo ka Mpande ('Sovereign. No. 16. '), by Sir Leslie Ward - NPG D44082

Cetshwayo ka Mpande ('Sovereign. No. 16. ')

by Sir Leslie Ward
chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 26 August 1882
NPG D44082

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