Britain proclaims Natal a British colonial territory

British forces under Governor Sir George Napier took over Natal and proclaimed it a British Colony. A year later the colony was put under the Cape Colony administration. However, it was not until the end of 1845 that an effective administration was installed with Mr Martin West as lieutenant-governor that the power of the volksraad finally came to an end. In the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 the British defeated the Zulus under the command of chief Ntshingwayo kaMahole Khoza and Mavu-mengwana kaNdlela Ntuli. The Zululand was annexed to Natal in 1897.