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Primary sourceNewspaper article18 October 1879

The Capture of Cetewayo

The Graphic · 18 October 1879

An 1879 newspaper engraving showing the captured King Cetshwayo being taken by boat to a British transport ship for exile at Port Durnford.

Depicts the moment of Cetshwayo's capture and departure into exile after the Anglo-Zulu War.

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Engraving of a coastal scene: on the left, cliffs with a small building and flagpole, and people on the beach beside a boat. A small boat with figures is being pulled through surf toward a row of tall-masted ships on the right.
The Capture of Cetewayo, The Graphic, 18 October 1879.

About this source

What it is

This engraving was published in The Graphic on 18 October 1879, illustrating the capture and removal of King Cetshwayo kaMpande after his defeat in the Anglo-Zulu War. It shows the scene at Port Durnford, with the king being transported by small boat to the waiting ships HMS Forester, the Natal and the Galatea.

Why it matters

This image documents a turning point in Zulu history: the moment the king, having lost his war against Britain, was taken from his homeland into exile. Illustrated newspapers like The Graphic shaped how British readers understood colonial events, often focusing on spectacle rather than the human and political consequences for the Zulu people.

Look closer

  • What does the choice to show ships and distant figures, rather than Cetshwayo himself up close, suggest about the focus of the illustration?
  • Why would a British newspaper want to show this moment to its readers?
  • What is missing from this image about what capture and exile meant for Cetshwayo and his people?

This newspaper article is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Cetshwayo kaMpande on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Cetshwayo, King of the Zulus

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History of the Zulu War and Its Origin

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