Anglo-Zulu War · 1879

Isandlwana 1879: the Zulu kingdom fights back

In January 1879 Britain invaded the Zulu kingdom, and at Isandlwana a Zulu army defeated a British force armed with rifles and cannon. Students follow King Cetshwayo's war from the ultimatum to the fall of Ulundi.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1879 to AD 1914
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In January 1879 Britain invaded the Zulu kingdom, and at Isandlwana a Zulu army defeated a British force armed with rifles and cannon. Students follow King Cetshwayo's war from the ultimatum to the fall of Ulundi.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Zululand, the Buffalo river border, Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift and Ulundi.
  • Explain why Britain invaded the Zulu kingdom in 1879.
  • Describe why the Zulu army won at Isandlwana and why it lost the war.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1879

Zululand

Open the map in 1879 and find Zululand. Which British colony borders it to the south-west? Which river forms part of the border?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1879

The border river

Zoom in on the Buffalo river on the border of Natal and Zululand. British troops crossed here at Rorke's Drift in January 1879. The hill of Isandlwana lies about 10 km to the east.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The British demanded that Cetshwayo disband his army within weeks. Could any king accept that? Why did the British make that demand?
  2. At Isandlwana a Zulu army armed mostly with spears and shields defeated a British army with rifles and cannon. How was that possible?
  3. Britain won the war six months later at Ulundi. Why do people remember Isandlwana more than Ulundi?
  4. Cetshwayo travelled to London in 1882 to plead for his kingdom. What does that tell us about him?
  5. How should a battlefield where thousands died on both sides be remembered today?
4

Game round

9 min

No ruler of 1879 is in Rule History. Play one round as Abraham Lincoln, the closest ruler in time, then compare with King Cetshwayo: each led a nation through a war he had hoped to avoid. Which choices did each make?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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