south african history online 
Mzilikazi, one of Shaka's best generals, fell from favour in 1824. He fled northwards with the Khumalo clan to avoid punishment. During his flight through the southeastern Transvaal, he enslaved and ravaged smaller tribes. For a while, he lived in the Magaliesberg, near present Pretoria; but to elude capture by the Zulus, he fled westwards towards modern Zeerust, where he built a kraal between Mosega and eGabeni (Kapain). The land, which A H Potgieter had obtained by barter from Makwana in the northwestern Free State was therefore within reach of Mzilikazi's warriors. From missionaries Mzilikazi heard about the trekkers and becoming anxious lest they might attack him, he sent an impi against them. A number of people in the group led by S P Erasmus, a hunter from Aliwal North, were killed. Erasmus managed to warn Bernard Liebenberg's party camped on the bank of the Vaal River, near present day Parys, but they did not take him seriously. Further along the river, the party of Johannes Botha and Hermanus Steyn took defensive action and managed to repel the impi. Altogether about 40 trekkers were killed. Potgieter then organized a defence, concentrating his followers in two laagers. He remained at the one at Vechtkop.
On 23rd October 1836, Mzilikazi’s famous warrior, Kalipi, together with 6,000 warriors, fell upon Vechtkop. A furious battle ensued in which 40 armed men and boys successfully defended their laager. However, the retreating warriors rounded up the cattle and drove them away. Luckily, Gert Maritz came to the rescue and moved the defenceless laager to Thaba Nchu. In retaliation, on 2 January 1837, Potgieter and Maritz, each with his own followers, set off for the western Transvaal, where the Matabele were surprised at Mosega on 17th January and driven back with heavy losses. The trekkers then rounded up all the cattle in sight and returned triumphantly to their laagers.
Piet Retief and Gert Maritz then set off for Natal, while Potgieter returned to the Transvaal, to meet up with Louis Trichardt. Before he started on his journey, he felt he should make one more attack on the Matabele. With the assistance of Piet Uys, on 4th November they attacked Mosega, 40 km north of Zeerust. The campaign continued until 12th November, when the last homestead of Mzilikazi was fired and the disheartened nation fled northwards.
Potgieter then settled at Potchefstroom. Hearing of the existence of a Matabele homestead at Silkaatskop, he sent out a commando that destroyed the homestead and put all to flight. In May 1842, he again set off against Mzilikazi in the northern Transvaal. Here, Mzilikazi was defeated in various battles and fled far beyond the Limpopo River to the Matopos, where he founded his new capital, Bulawayo. Subsequently relations between the Boers and the Matabele improved to the extent that they signed treaties of friendship. In 1887, Lobengula (Mzilikazi’s successor) also signed a treaty with an envoy of Paul Kruger. The treaty gave the Transvaal Republic much control over the Ndebele, but the British blocked this.
On 29 October 1889, Cecil Rhodes was awarded a charter from the British Government and succeeded in adding the Lippert Concession to the Rudd Concession, in this way acquiring unlimited powers north of the Limpopo. Rhodes aimed to submit the Matabele to his control. Using the services of his friend, Dr L S Jameson, he ordered an occupation force to gain control of Mashonaland and then take over Matabeleland. In 1893, he originated this opportunity and the occupation forces attacked in October, destroying the might of the Matabele and killing Lobengula in the attack. In 1896 the Matabele rebelled against the Chartered Company, initially with some success, but they were later defeated and the authority of their leaders was destroyed.