In December 1878, an ultimatum was sent to the Zulu king Cetshwayo, requiring him, amongst other things, to disband his army. Furthermore, Shepstone expressed concern over the increasing amount of firearms falling into Zulu hands, further fuelling the case for war.

As Shepstone’s fragile territories were bordered by Zululand, he formally outlined how regular border incursions by the Zulus were effecting the stability of the region. Knowing that London did not want a war with the Zulus (they were too preoccupied with troubles in India and Eastern Europe), Frere turned to the new British governor of Natal and the Transvaal, Sir Theophilus Shepstone, for reasons to invade. However, Frere soon realised that uniting the Boer republics, independent black states and British colonies could not be realised until the powerful Zulu kingdom on its borders had been defeated. The build up to the war started in 1877 when Sir Henry Frere, a British colonial administrator, was sent to Cape Town with the task of uniting South Africa under a single British confederation. Famous for the bloody battles of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 saw over 15,000 British troops invade the independent nation of Zululand in present-day South Africa.