Zulu Kingdom under Mpande and Cetshwayo, 1840–1879

After Dingane’s defeat, Mpande became Zulu king in 1840 and ruled for more than three decades. His reign preserved the kingdom while managing internal rivalries, Boer neighbours and the growing reach of British Natal.

Cetshwayo emerged as the dominant heir before formally succeeding in 1872. Disputes over succession, military organisation, boundaries and colonial demands eventually led to the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879.

Child of Storm and Black Heart and White Heart use this political world of royal rivalry, military age regiments and court patronage, while Finished carries the sequence into the war that destroyed the kingdom’s independence.