Vasco Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer and navigator who was commanded by King Emanuel in 1497 to lead a new expedition to find a new route to India by sea around Africa.
Vasco Da Gama carefully studied reports written by explorer Bartholomew Dias and set sail with 4 ships in July 1497 and on Christmas day 1497 he reached what is today Durban Bay which he called “Natal” Christmas.
This became a sporadic port of call for ships, but it was only in 1824 that a real colony called Port Natal began to develop after merchants from the Cape Colony reached agreement with Shaka the Zulu king who allowed them to establish a trading station.
The town resulting from this agreement was named Durban after the then Cape Governor Sir Benjamin D’urban.
In 1836 the Voortrekkers who were leaving the Cape to avoid British rule arrived in Natal. Battles with the Zulu tribe, who regarded Natal as their property began to erupt on a very frequent basis and Durban became vulnerable to attack. Peace reigned for a while after the Battle of Blood River when the Voortrekkers defeated the Zulus, but then the conflict between the Voortrekkers and the British began to gain control of Natal. Finally the British gained control and the Crown Colony of Natal was formed in 1844 which resulted in the retreat of the Voortrekkers.
In 1879 the British caused a very serious provocation for the Zulu Nation by claiming the entire area of Zululand and resulting in the Zulu King Cetshwayo declaring war against the British. During the duration of the Anglo-Zulu war the British suffered very heavy casualties and at the battle at the Isandlwana Mountain on the 22nd January 1879 a force of 20,000 Zulu Warriors attacked the British Camp and despite their best efforts 2000 or more British Soldiers met their death.
However after Britain sent more troops and after the loss of many lives on both sides the Zulu resistance was quelled and in 1887 KwaZulu became an annexation of Natal.