The country town of Vryheid is located in Battlefields Region in the north of KwaZulu Natal. Vryheid meaning freedom in Afrikaans and Dutch. Vryheid had a difficult start -- after the Anglo Zulu War of 1879, the British decided to fragment the Zulu Kingdom into 13 petty states. By doing this they hoped to control the Zulu more easily by reducing the Zulu nation to smaller tribal elements.
Unfortunately for the British, they had not counted on the internal tribal bickering which took place. One of the Zulu chieftains, Dinizulu, became heavily involved in competition with Zibebu, a rival chief. In order to obtain support Dinizulu offered rewards of land to mercenaries who would come and fight on his side.
In 1884 a group of Boer volunteers formed Dinizulu’s Volunteers and after several clashes with Zibebu, defeated him at the Battle of Ghost Mountain near the Maputaland town of Mkhuze. The mercenaries then claimed payment and Dinizulu found himself confronted with demands he could not meet. 800 Mercenaries claimed to have fought for Dinzulu and Zululand was not big enough to give all the land hungry "volunteers" farms the size they wanted.
After some unpleasantness, the British Colonial Governement intervened and the mercenaries had to be content with a grant of land in the northern part of the country. On the 5 August 1884, the discontented mercenaries declared a republic, with the town of Vryheid as its capital! The republic lasted for only four years.
Today Vryheid is a centre for coal mining and crttle ranching. A museum has been created in the old Raadzaal and there is a small fort at the back of this building.
Vryheid Accommodation
Visit the Vryheid Portal [www.vryheid.co.za] for more information.
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Vryheid
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