Discovery of Diamonds Changed Zulu Clan Life Forever
Discovery of African Diamonds and the Zulu Clan Discovery of diamonds in 1867 near the Vaal River in South Africa changed African Zulu life forever. The subsequent diamond rush and the establishment of diamond mining operations brought about profound changes to the social, economic, and political landscape of the region. Before the discovery of diamonds, the Zulu people, under the leadership of their king, had a primarily agrarian lifestyle, relying on subsistence farming and cattle herding. The arrival of European diamond prospectors and the influx of migrant laborers seeking opportunities in the diamond mines disrupted traditional Zulu ways of life. The discovery of diamonds in South Africa and the Zulu Kingdom in 1879 fought the Anglo-Zulu War with the British Empire. The Zulu nation was defeated and blacks and diamond mines came under control Colony of Natal and later the Union of South Africa. Many Zulu people were forced to work in the mines as laborers, leaving behind their agr