_ Is Shaka Zulu a Ruthless Savage King or An African Hero_
A ruthless king once ruled a kingdom in Africa down south of the Equator. Mere mentioning of his name sends shivers down the spine of his subjects as well as the white explorers. They call him Shaka Zulu and you probably may have heard of the deeds of the great African king. However, it is doubtful if you have heard that King Shaka Zulu fulfil what great historians and philosophers have observed in history and said several times; that more often than not, great men come from lowly birth. It is true that Shaka was an illegitimate child of Senzangakhona kaJama, a minor Zulu chief. Born out of wedlock, his mother became an outcast banished from the different kraal - a traditional African village made of group of huts. Later in life, Shaka and his mother finally found acceptance in a kraal belonging one of the dominant and powerful group of the region, the Mthethwa hegemony, around 1803. There he met fortune as his valour and hard work turned him into a warrior who would soon command an army of ruthless warmongers ever in history.
Shaka the Zulu monarch and his reign of terror will later earn him notoriety beyond the shores of Africa. In fact, some have equated him with the French emperor Napoleon for they were contemporaries and equally ruthless. However, Western media may present Napoleon as an enlightened despot while Shaka is presented as ruthless and bloodthirsty madman. One thing that will not go out of history is that Shaka resisted the advancement of the whites into his land.
The incursion which advised South Africans to close their eyes during prayer and by the time they open it, their land is gone. Was Great Shaka Zulu a mad king or an anti-colonialist anti-white imperialism hero? You need to know.
References:
http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/shaka-zulu-story-ruthless-ruler-004191
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/shakazulu.html
Image source: http://www.badassoftheweek.com/shakazulu.html