The region of KwaZulu-Natal has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Rock art relics were found in caves throughout the Drakensberg mountain range, where it is believed the Khoi-San people lived as hunter-gatherers for thousands of years. Vasco de Gama, the Portuguese explorer, landed along this coast in 1497 while discovering the passage from Europe to India. He named the area Natal. Trade slowly developed along the coast and marooned mariners built temporary shelters around present-day Durban.
The Birth of Durban
Durban as a city was established around 1824 when British Lieutenant FG Farewell and a party of 25 men arrived from the Cape colony and subsequently established themselves on the northern shore of the Bay of Natal. After a meeting in 1835, the white residents of this region decided to build a town which was called D’Urban, named after Sir Benjamin D’Urban, governor of the Cape at the time. 1838 saw whites of continental descent trekking from the Cape colony to escape British rule. They established the Republic of Natalia, with Pietermaritzburg as the capital. However, fierce conflict with the local Zulu tribe led to the well-known “Battle of Blood River”; this conflict even spilled over to Durban which caused the city to be evacuated. Due to military pressure, the Afrikaners had to accept British annexation in 1844. As a result of this, a lot of Afrikaners left Durban, instead opting to head north where they established Transvaal and the Orange Free State. A British governor was appointed in Durban while settlers flooded to the area in large numbers. In 1854, the municipality of Durban was set up.
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