Shaka Zulu - a Great Warrior

Alex Rosario Global History

Shaka Zulu was man who was ruthless, fearless, and a great warrior. The Zulu tribe still takes

pride in their past leader Shaka Zulu. By the end of his reign he had killed thousands from war to

executions.

Shaka was born to a king and a mother considered lower class. He was tormented and treated

horribly for this. He would be considered a bastard in today's day and age, giving him the name Shaka

which means beetle or parasite. His aggressive nature was noticed first when he would fight other boys.

Out of suffering, Shaka and his mother moved to another tribe called the Mthetwa tribe lead by Chief

Dingiswayo. Here Shaka trained for six years as a warrior.

At 16 Shaka already began exhibiting extreme ambition, keen intelligence and a general

disregard for humans By 21 Shaka stood 6 feet 3 inches tall and built of purely muscle. He was called up

by Dingiswayo as a new recruit he was given an oval shield that was 5 feet 9 inches high and 3 feet wide.

He was also issued 3 light throwing spears or assegais. Dingiswayo noticed Shakas potential at 23 and

gave him a position as an officer in the army because his father had died and he was issued to take over

the Zulus. Shaka asked for the strictest discipline and perfection in his army any disobedience to this

would be punishable by death. Shakas success was reflective of the training he put his warriors through.

He made them wear no shoes or sandals when training to make them tougher. The zulu king was also a

strong believer in honor. He believed if you were stabbed in the back you had run away from the enemy

and for that you were killed on the spot. Shaka Zulus first target was the Elangeni tribe, the tribe that

treated him and his mother badly. Nothing was left of that tribe except for some who showed they

were worth living. Shaka began with only 350 warriors but by 1818 he had about 2000. He was moving

to support his mentor and King Dngiswayo when he got caught in the Battle of Gqokli hill. There he

faced one of the only defensive battles of his career. Dinsigwayo died