colony · Central and Southern Africa
Natal Colony
Origins
Britain annexed the Natalia Republic in 1843 to keep the Boers from a port of their own. Natal was first run as a district of the Cape Colony and became a separate colony in 1856, governed from Pietermaritzburg with Durban as its port.
Rule and society
Theophilus Shepstone, Secretary for Native Affairs, set up reserves ruled by chiefs under customary law, a model for later segregation. Sugar plantations on the coast relied on indentured labourers from India from 1860; Gandhi began his political career in Natal's Indian community. Responsible government came in 1893, and Zululand was incorporated in 1897. The Bambatha rebellion against a poll tax was crushed in 1906.
Decline and legacy
Natal's English-speaking voters were wary of Afrikaner dominance, but in 1910 the colony joined the Union of South Africa as Natal Province. Merged with the KwaZulu homeland in 1994, it is now the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Natal Colony was a colony of British Empire1843 CE – 1910 CE
- Natal Colony was part of Cape Colony1844 CE – 1856 CE
- Hlubi Chiefdom was conquered by Natal Colony1873 CE
More states of Central and Southern Africa →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Natal Colony. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/natal-colony
- MLA
- “Natal Colony.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/natal-colony. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Natal Colony.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/natal-colony.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Natal Colony’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/natal-colony (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻