British control of the Natal/ Natalia State from 1843

British control of the Natal/ Natalia State from 1843

The British were determined to restore peace and stability on the eastern border of the Cape Colony.

The instability in the region could threaten British imperial interests.

Annexation was the only solution to bring the Boers under British control.

The British wanted to protect their missionary nationals in Natal.

Annexation would give the British the opportunity to put into force the 1836 Cape Proclamation Punishment Act by which the Boers south of Latitude 25° were still British subjects.

The British feared that the control of Port Durban might out rival the importance of the Cape Town as a commercial centre.

The Boer government in Natal was too weak and powerless to provide solid administration. The Boers failed to establish a stable form of government.

The British could not allow the existence of a strong rival European state in the interior of South Africa and on the coast of the Indian Ocean because it could interfere with their prosperous commerce and trade.

Majority of the European traders had been calling at Durban Port in Natal and many of them they were establishing trading contacts with the Boers. Thus Natal could emerge as a potential rival to the Cape Colony.

The British were determined to protect and control the entire coastline of South Africa and a sea route to India to monopolize the coastal trade.

The Boer administration was bankrupt, couldn't finance administrative security requirements and people lost confidence in it. They were to cause instability in the Cape Colony.

British fear that the Boer settlement in Natal was an encirclement of the Nguni speakers in Natal.

The Boer settlers were disunited into a number of destructive groups.

After the death of Piet Retief there was no leader to keep them together. Therefore annexation seemed the best way.