Page 36 - Delcampe Collections classiques EN-004

Stamps

Item #2 - Background: Following the
defeat of the Zulu Kingdom at the
conclusion of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu
War, the British forces captured the
Zulu King Cetshwayo and imprisoned
him in the Cape Town Castle on the
other side of southern Africa. During
his captivity from September 1879
until July 1882, he received numerous
European visitors as part of a public
relations campaign to have the British
reinstate him to the throne of the Zulu
nation. This effort proved successful
and in August 1882, Cetshwayo tra-
veled to England where he met with
Queen Victoria. Upon his return, he
was reinstated to the throne of the
Zulu Kingdom. Unfortunately, the poli-
tical ground had shifted in the interve-
ning years. Cetshwayo was forced to
flee back to the British colony for pro-
tection and died a few months later.

Item description: Handwritten letter
in Gothic form of German sent within
Cape Town, Cape Colony on Monday,
February 20, 1882. The letter comes
from a party of visiting Europeans
requesting a signature from the de-
posed Zulu King Cetshwayo impri-
soned in the Cape Town Castle. The
party had received official permission
to visit with Cetshwayo the previous
Friday, February 17. This letter was
sent the week following their in-person
visit and the King obliged by signing
his name and having it sent back. The
British officer in charge of Cetshwayo
during his captivity taught him to
write his name. (Picture of the Zulu
King at Cape Town Castle included
here as well)

36 Delcampe Magazine