Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu, , was one of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu Kingdom.
He was born in the lunar month of uNtulikazi in the year of 1787 near present-day Melmoth, KwaZulu-Natal Province. Due to persecution as a result of his illegitimacy, Shaka spent his childhood in his mother's settlements where he was initiated into an ibutho lempi . In his early days, Shaka served as a warrior under the sway of Dingiswayo.Shaka went on to further refine the ibutho system used by Dingiswayo and others and, with the Mthethwa empire's support over the next several years, forged alliances with his smaller neighbours, to counter the growing threat from Ndwandwe raids from the north. The initial Zulu maneuvers were primarily defensive in nature, as Shaka preferred to apply pressure diplomatically, aided by an occasional strategic assassination. His changes to local society built on existing structures. Although he preferred social and propagandistic political methods, he also engaged in a number of battles, as the Zulu sources make clear. In turn, he was ultimately assassinated by his own half brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana. Shaka's reign coincided with the start of the Mfecane , a period of widespread destruction and warfare in southern Africa between 1815 and about 1840 that depopulated the region. His role in the Mfecane is highly controversial. Wikipedia
“Women that bear children must exist in Zululand only.”
Statement advocating genocidal policies against tribes which opposed his conquests, as reported in Lessons on Leadership by Terror : Finding Shaka Zulu in the Attic (2005) by Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, p. 40
“Up! children of Zulu, your day has come. Up! And destroy them all.”
While battling the Ndwandwe, reported in Shaka Zulu : The Rise of the Zulu Empire (1955) by E. A. Ritter, p. 179
“I need no bodyguard at all, for even the bravest men who approach me get weak at the knees”
Following his mother's death, as reported in Shaka Zulu : The Rise of the Zulu Empire (1955) by E. A. Ritter, p. 319
Context: I need no bodyguard at all, for even the bravest men who approach me get weak at the knees and their hearts turn to water, whilst their heads become giddy and incapable of thinking as the sweat of fear paralyzes them. They know no other will except that of their King, who is something above, and below, this earth.
Advice to King Dingiswayo on the treatment of the defeated Ndwandwe, reported in Shaka Zulu : The Rise of the Zulu Empire (1955) by E. A. Ritter, p. 50
