Person

Theophilus Shepstone

1817–1893 · 19th century

Sir Theophilus Shepstone (1817–1893) was a British colonial official in South Africa who, as Natal's chief official for African affairs from 1845 to 1875, created a system of indirect rule through chiefs on reserved locations. In 1877 he annexed the South African Republic (Transvaal) to Britain, an act that led to the First Boer War.

Theophilus Shepstone
Image: The original uploader was Paul venter at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Natal Colony

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Theophilus Shepstone. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/theophilus-shepstone
MLA
“Theophilus Shepstone.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/theophilus-shepstone. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Theophilus Shepstone.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/theophilus-shepstone.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Theophilus Shepstone’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/theophilus-shepstone (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻