Colony of Natal

The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed on 4 May 1843, after the British government annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia. The territory was originally about half the size of the present KwaZulu-Natal province: the Tugela and Buffalo rivers formed its north-eastern boundary, beyond which lay the independent Zulu kingdom. Early colonial settlement was precarious; conflict with the Zulu population led to the evacuation of Durban, and the Boers accepted British annexation in 1844 under military pressure. From the 1860s the colony developed a sugar-cane industry, and the importation of Indian indentured labourers made Durban home to the largest concentration of Indians outside India. Natal was granted responsible government in the 1890s. On 31 May 1910 it was combined with the Cape, Transvaal and Orange River colonies to form the Union of South Africa, becoming one of its provinces. Pietermaritzburg served as the colonial capital, while Durban became the principal port and commercial centre.