Zulu people of 1878, envoys of the British crown delivered an ultimatum to 11 chiefs representing the then-current king of the Zulu empire, Cetshwayo. Under the British terms delivered to the Zulu, Cetshwayo would have been required to disband his army and accept British sovereignty. Cetshwayo refused, and war between the Zulus and African contingents of the British crown began on January 12th, 1879. Despite an early victory for the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana on the 22nd of January, the British fought back and won the Battle at Rorke's Drift, and definitively defeated the Zulu army by July at the
Ndwandwe–Zulu War over the superior numbers of the Ndwandwe people, who failed to destroy the Zulus in their first encounter. The Ndwandwe and the Zulus met again in combat at the Battle of Mhlatuze River in 1819. By this time the Ndwandwe had adopted Zulu battle tactics and weapons so Shaka wore the invaders down with guerrilla tactics before launching his major attack when the Ndwandwe army was divided during the crossing of the Mhlatuze River. Zulu warriors arrived at Zwide's headquarters near present-day Nongoma before news of the defeat, and approached the camp singing Ndwandwe victory songs to gain entry. Zwide