Natal, a British colony on the south-east coast of Africa, was discovered by Vasco da Gama on the Christmas-day (hence its name) of 1497. In the 18th century intermittent trading was carried on between the Cape Colony and Natal, which in 1800 was peopled by ninety-four distinct tribes of natives. From 1805 to 1828 the despotic Zulu chief Tyaka (Chaka) enforced his own rule and that of his own immediate tribe or family clan, the Amazulu, over the congeries of tribes reaching from the Limpopo on the north to the Kei River in the south. Tyaka was killed in 1828 by a political faction who placed his younger brother Dingaan on the throne. Predatory Boers who had left the Cape Colony to escape British rule divided into parties and settled in the territories now known as Natal and the Transvaal; and conflicts between Boers and natives were very frequent. In 1838 an embassy of Boers were massacred by Dingaan, and a force of Boers proceeded to Zululand to avenge their friends. The country was at this time divided into two factions, one supporting Dingaan, and the other his younger brother Umpande (Panda). The Boers entered into a secret treaty with the latter, and a combined attack was made on Dingaan, who fled and was killed. Panda succeeded him as king, and the Boers were recognised as lords of the soil of Natal. In December 1838 Sir George Napier, the Cape governor, had sent a detachment of Highland troops to take possession of the inland territory and Port Natal; but owing to the Cape Kaffir disturbances the Highlanders were withdrawn, and the Boers at once hoisted the flag of 'the Republic of Natalia.' Two British ships of war were sent from the Cape to force a landing at Durban. After a short struggle there the Boers gave up the port, and fell back on Pietermaritzburg, the capital, the name of which is a compound of the Christian name of Pieter Retief and the surname of Gert Maritz, two leaders of the Boers. Civil negotiations were then entered on by Mr Cloete, and many of the Boers accepted British rule and settled down in Natal, forming there, as a portion of them and their descendants still do, an important and loyal section of the Queen's subjects in that colony. Those of the malcontents who crossed the Drakensberg and struck north soon found themselves fighting against Umzilikatze (father of Lobengula of Matabeleland) in the territory now known as the Transvaal. In 1843 Natal was officially declared to be a part of the British dominions, and the colony was formally annexed to the Cape of Good Hope on the 31st of May 1844. At that time the natives numbered about 150,000, although in the previous century their total was nearly a million. But intertribal fights and the struggles for supremacy of Tyaka scattered the clans of Natal far and wide. Subsequent to the annexation by the crown and its attendant peace the aborigines of Natal gradually returned from distant places, and their numbers are now nearly half a million. In 1855 there was a great flood in the colony and Zululand, and in the following year a very sanguinary fight for the Zulu succession took place on the Natal northern border, between two sons of Umpande—viz. Cetewayo and Umbulaze. After a bloody battle on the Tugela River the forces of the former won the day and Umbulaze's beaten men took refuge in Natal. On the 15th of July 1856 Natal was declared to be a separate British colony, and it was then given a limited form of representative institutions. During the decade ending with 1860 considerable immigration from Great Britain took place, and the immigrants of that time and their descendants occupy the most of the land of the colony to-day.
In 1873 friction arose between Langalibalele, one of the chiefs on the north-west boundary, and the next magistrate. Some of the chief's young men disobeyed the mandate of the magistrate to give up their guus. Orders were issued to apprehend the chief and certain of his followers. They retreated before the crown forces, but some of the Natal volunteers and mounted police cut them off in one of the mountain-passes; bloodshed ensued, and three well-known young colonists were killed. Langalibalele escaped to Basutoland, but was captured and brought back, tried very summarily in Maritzburg, and banished to the Cape Colony. Rigorous measures were adopted by the governor against Langalibalele's tribe and a neighbouring tribe. The home government, however, interfered and ended the injustice which had been done to the natives by the colonial authorities while under a feeling of panic. Langalibalele remained in the Cape Colony till 1885, when he was allowed to return to Natal as a prisoner on parole; he died near Maritzburg in 1889.
In 1875 there being in the colony much dissatisfaction with the methods of Downing Street rule, Sir Garnet Wolseley was sent out to settle matters. He promulgated a new constitution providing for an extension of the representative system with the check of certain eminent colonists, selected by the crown, having seats in the Legislative Council as nominee members. Sir Garnet Wolseley was succeeded by Sir Henry Bulwer. During the governorship of the latter a feeling of disquiet was shown in some quarters at the strength of the colony's neighbours, the Zulus under Cetewayo. Sir Bartle Frere, Her Majesty's High Commissioner for South Africa, visited the colony and came to the conclusion that in the interests of the British colonists in South Africa it was necessary to break the power of the Zulus. Despite the protests of the Natal government and Sir Henry Bulwer, the governor, an ultimatum which in itself was calculated to precipitate hostilities was served on the Zulu king, and war ensued (see ZULUS). In this war Natal suffered severely in the lives of its young colonists, in its treasure, and in the paralysis of its trade. For several years the colony was a camping-ground for British troops, for in 1881 the Transvaal Boers invaded Natal to anticipate the advance of English soldiers being sent to support those beleaguered in the Transvaal garrisons; and the fights of Schuin's Hoogte, Ingogo, Lang's Nek, and Amajuba (see MAJUBA) were all fought on British soil. On the outbreak of the South African war in October 1899, the northern part of Natal was overrun by a large force of Boers, who did great damage to railways and private property. After severe fighting at Dundee, Elandslaagte, and Nicholson's Nek, the British forces were shut up in Ladysmith, which was besieged from 2d November till 28th February 1900, when it was relieved by General Sir Redvers Buller after much hard fighting at the river Tugela, Colenso, Spion Kop, and Vaal Krantz. The Boers were finally driven out of Natal on 11th June 1900.
Natal covers an area of 18,750 sq. m.—more than a third of that of England. Towards the coast the Drakensberg Mountains present a scarped and almost inaccessible face; they gradually die away, however, into the immense rolling plains of the interior. Many offshoots from these mountains traverse the colony, dividing it into a series of steps or plateaus.
The coast region, extending for 30 miles inland, is highly fertile, the climate being subtropical and healthy. In 1856 the cultivation of the sugar-cane was introduced on the coast, and as an industry it has thriven more or less ever since. Besides supplying all South Africa with the staple, the value of the sugar exported by the colony to England in 1894 was £75,629. The culture of the cane requiring that continuous and arduous labour which the natives did not supply, the Legislative Council had to take steps to introduce immigrants from British India. This immigration began in 1863, and in 1891 there were 35,000 coolies in the colony with their attendant traders who followed them from India. The Assam tea-plant was introduced in 1877, and steady progress has been made with the industry, the annual yield being about 150,000 lb.; this is consumed locally, and as yet the colony still imports tea largely. Coffee and tobacco have been reared, as have also indigo, arrowroot, and ginger. All tropical fruits thrive well. The mid-land terrace is more fit for the cereals and usual European crops; while on the higher plateaus along the foot of the mountains are immense tracts of the finest pasturage for cattle and sheep.
The climate is very healthy; the thermometer ranges between 90° and 38° F., but the heat even in summer is seldom oppressive. The mean annual temperature at Pietermaritzburg, the capital, is 64.71°. The winter begins in April and ends in September. In the summer season the thunderstorms are very frequent and severe in the uplands. The annual rainfall over the whole colony averages nearly 40 inches, the greatest fall being in summer.
The colony has only one harbour worthy of the name, but that is the best on the south-east coast. It is called Durban (q.v.) or Port Natal. The harbour is of great consequence not only to the colony, but to the empire, as it must one day be an important coaling station. The principal rivers are the Tugela, Buffalo, Umkomanzi, Umgeni, Umzimkulu, and Mooi. Like the majority of African rivers, they are of little use for purposes of inland navigation; but their streams are permanent and often available for irrigating purposes.
Coal is destined to play a prominent part in the future of Natal, the area of the coal-measures being estimated at 1400 sq. m. The coal is serviceable for all ordinary purposes, the government railways being worked with it. Copper has been found, and much is hoped from the iron near the coal. The colony is also believed to be rich in other minerals, such as asbestos, mica, and plumbago. Gold has been found in the south and north. Great forests of fine timber abound in the mountain-passes, while many tracts along the coast are well wooded. The chief towns are Pietermaritzburg (15,767), 54 miles inland, the seat of government and the chief military station; Durban (18,433); Verulam and Pine Town near the coast, Harding in the south, and Richmond, Weenen, Colenso, Greytown, Lady-smith, and Newcastle, up country.
The government of Natal is, since 1893, administered by a governor, assisted by a ministry, a Legislative Council of eleven members, and a Legislative Assembly of thirty-seven members. The governor appoints ministers, and with their advice the Legislative Council. The Assembly is of course elective. The parliament lasts for four years, unless dissolved before then. The colonists were offered responsible government in 1883 with guarantees for native protection, but they refused the offer. A narrow majority in the council passed in 1891 a bill providing responsible government; and this measure was finally sanctioned by the imperial authorities in 1893. About 1865 Natal was plunged into ecclesiastical warfare. Bishop Colenso (q.v.), the then head of the diocese, was declared heterodox by a party in the church, and unsuccessful efforts were made in South Africa and England to depose him. A rival church was, however, established on the voluntary system, entitled the Church of England in South Africa, whose head bears the title of Bishop of Maritzburg. The Presbyterian (Scottish and Dutch), Roman Catholic, and other churches are well represented; many stations of the Wesleyan, American, Norwegian, and Berlin Missions exist; and the order of the Trappists do good work near Pine Town. Schools are multiplying fast.
The chief passes through the Dragensberg are Van Reenen's, Oliver's Hoek, Bezuidenhout, De Beer's, and Lang's Nek. Most of the rivers have been substantially bridged, and a very energetic policy of public works is being pursued by the government. A railway runs through the colony, and will shortly connect the coast and the Free State and Transvaal. The government lines, 300 miles long, are also laid north and south of Durban for short distances along the coast. Durban and Maritzburg were connected by the railway in 1880.
Natal's chief exports are wool, sugar, ivory, and hides. The wool exported to Great Britain in 1889 was valued at £752,182, and weighed 29,489,716 lb. The clips of three seasons from Natal and Overberg were as follows: in 1886-87, 63,300 bales; in 1887-88, 76,000 bales; and in 1888-89, 78,500 bales. The total value of exports in 1889 was £1,656,318. These comprise, in addition to those named, cotton, coffee, arrowroot, feathers, molasses, rum, horns, maize, and skins. In 1856 the exports amounted to £56,562; in that year the value of the imports was £102,512. In 1889 the imports reached £4,527,015. In 1894 the exports were £1,197,611, the imports £2,316,596; and that year the revenue (mainly from railway receipts and customs) was £1,011,017, the expenditure £1,082,373. In 1857 the revenue was only £43,780. The prosperity of Natal is largely attributable to gold discoveries in the Transvaal. The bulk of the Natal trade is with the mother-country, although a considerable business is done with Australia, India, and North and South America. Certain kinds of grape thrive well in Natal, and the wine industry is now engaging the attention of the colonists. In 1876 the population numbered 326,957 (20,490 whites); in 1891, 543,913, divided as follows: 46,788 whites, 41,142 Indian coolies, and 455,983 natives. The natives possess horses, cattle, sheep, &c. They are a fine race physically, gifted with high intelligence, of frank and courteous bearing, and very easy to govern. Upwards of 2,000,000 acres of land have been set apart as locations for the natives, and over 6,000,000 acres have been acquired by grant or purchase by Europeans, the balance of land being retained for allotment to new settlers.
The common law in the colony is that prevailing in Holland during the 16th and 17th centuries, modified by statute law in the same way practically as obtains in all the South African states. The chief difference between English and Roman Dutch law rests in the laws of marriage and inheritance, but the difference is now by statute largely optional. The coolies are subject to the laws regulating Europeans, as well as to special laws controlling Indian immigration. The natives are with few civilised and exempted exceptions subject in civil matters to native law, which is quite different from colonial law. The Supreme Court consists of the chief-justice and two puisne justices; and there are stipendiary magistrates and administrators of native law in all important centres.
Eland (q.v.) and hartebeest (see ANTELOPE) are the only big game left, and these have been made royal game. There are stringent laws for the protection of deer and game-birds. Alligators are met with in a few of the central and northern rivers. Snakes, both colubrine and viperine, are in plentiful distribution throughout the colony. Many of the snakes are innocuous, and fatal bites from the poisonous species are rare. The python, which attains a large size, is to be found in the seacoast forests, and in the reeds by the river-sides. The hippopotamus is still to be met with at the mouths of some of the northern rivers.
See The Annals of Natal (1889), by John Bird; Natal Almanac; Annual Blue Book; Our Colony of Natal, by Walter Peace; The Natal Sugar Industry, by W. Y. Campbell; South Africa and how to reach it and Golden South Africa, by the writer of this article; South Africa, Past and Present (1877), by John Noble; Notes on Natal, by Sir John Robinson, F.R.G.S.; Brooks's Natal (1869), by the late Dr Mann; Laws and Ordinances of Natal, by Justice Cadiz; Code of Native Law, Civil and Penal, by W. Y. Campbell.