Shaka Zulu

In 1823, warriors from the Zulu Empire, headed by Shaka, a brilliant but ruthless military strategist, begin to encroach on the outskirts of the British colony of Cape Town, in South Africa. In desperation, Cape Town's governor requests assistance from King George IV of Great Britain to bolster their tenuous position, but the British have no more resources to send. Instead, Lt. Francis Farewell, Dr. Henry Fynn and a volunteer cadre of mercenaries, explorers, and professionals are recruited and sent to Zululand to try to contact Shaka and assess the real threat of his storied army.

After being shipwrecked off the coast of Zululand, the British are escorted to Shaka's capital, Kwa Bulawayo, where they meet Shaka and his mother Nandi. Shaka then demonstrates his power over his people and proves to Farewell that he is not a man to be underestimated.

Dr. Fynn chronicles Shaka's life and rise to power starting with the meeting and affair between Nandi and Prince Senzangakona of the Zulu tribe. Despite Senzangakona's marriage to another and Nandi's fathers attempts to marry her off, they continue to meet, and Nandi becomes pregnant. She gives birth to a boy who she names Shaka, meaning “beetle.”