1838 The Weenen Massacre
The British seizure of Dutch territory in South Africa as a result of the Napoleonic Wars did not sit well with many of the long-established rural settlers. They made three major complaints about British rule: (1) they were not sufficiently protected against native raids on their farms, (2) many British laws, such as the imposition of English as the official language, were resented, and (3) the British abolition of slavery cost them their farm labour with insufficient recompense. In addition, drought conditions caused them to look favourably on lusher land elsewhere. Starting in 1833 many farmers (Boers) began what came to be known as the Great Trek, moving north out of the Cape Colony beyond British jurisdiction.
Sometimes these Voortrekkers were able to come to accommodations with local tribes; sometimes their migration was resisted violently. In 1838 a trek led by Piet Retief negotiated a land settlement with Zulu king Dingane in Natal but when a subsequent delegation met with the king he ordered them to be seized as witches and executed on the spot. Dingane then ordered his warriors to wipe out other Trekker encampments — one such camp near the present town of Weenen was attacked on this date and 500 settlers and native servants were killed.
In December 1838 a small force of Trekkers defeated the Zulu at the Battle of Blood River and made their settlements secure for a time.