At the time of Langalibalele 's birth , European settlements in Southern Africa were confined to Cape Colony and to Portuguese fortress of Lourenço Marques . In 1824 Fynn established a small British settlement at Port Natal ( later to become Durban ) but the British Government declined to take possession of the port . From 1834 onwards , the Voortrekkers ( Dutch-speaking farmers ) started to migrate from the Cape Colony in large numbers and in 1837 crossed the Drakensberg into KwaZulu-Natal where , after the murder of one of their leaders , Piet Retief , in the massacre at Weenen they defeated Shaka 's successor Dingane at the Battle of Blood River , put Mpanda on the Zulu throne and established the republic of Natalia . Friction between the Voortrekkers and the Pondo , a tribe whose territory lay between Natalia and the Cape Colony led to the British occupying Port Natal , the subsequent Battle of Congella followed by the siege and relief of the port . After the port had been relieved , the Voortrekkers withdrew from KwaZulu-Natal into the interior and the British established the Colony of Natal
massacre at Weenen
Weenen massacre
Langalibalele