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| 1820–30 |
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| Basotho kingdom arose under the leadership of Moshoeshoe in a defensive reaction to raiding by the Hlubi and Ngwane offshoots of Mfecane. | 1 |
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| 1822 |
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| A proclamation provided for the gradual establishment of English in place of Dutch as the official language. | 2 |
| Mzilikazi, chief of the Khumalo and one of Shaka's generals, defied Shaka by refusing to turn over captured cattle and fled with 200 followers into high veld, leading to the formation of Ndebele state. | 3 |
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| 1824 |
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| British traders established a post at Port Natal (present-day Durban) under Shaka's goodwill. The Zulu kingdom traded there and through the Portuguese at Delagoa Bay. | 4 |
| Moshoeshoe established a mountain fortress at Thaba Bosiu, which was virtually impregnable, allowing consolidation of a kingdom from various Sotho-Tswana groups straddling the Caledon River. | 5 |
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| 1825 |
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| Ndebele established themselves through raiding and conquest as the dominant kingdom on the high veld. | 6 |
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| 1828 |
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| Shaka was assassinated in a conspiracy by his brothers, including Dingane, who became king. | 7 |
| Following the efforts of John Philip, the Cape passed the Fiftieth Ordinance, permitting Khoikhoi to hold and to purchase land. The legal system was overhauled, and the court system was replaced by a British judiciary. | 8 |
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| 1834 |
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| Abolition of slavery was gradually introduced and led to the freedom of 35,000 slaves. Dutch slaveholders in particular complained bitterly about the lack of adequate compensation. | 9 |
| Twelve thousand Xhosa attacked Cape Colony outposts. | 10 |
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| 1836–38 |
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| Antislavery legislation and labor regulation under the colorblind British legal system, as well as shortage of land in the Cape for the Boer system of extensive pastoralism, sparked migration of Dutch-speaking pastoralists into the South African interior beginning in 1836. This movement was later designated the Great Trek, and its participants, the Voortrekkers. About 10,000 moved northward. Under Andries H. Potgeiter, a group passed beyond the Vaal River and settled in what became known as the Transvaal. Another group under Piet Retief crossed the Drakensberg and began to occupy parts of Zululand and Natal in regions depopulated by the Mfecane. | 11 |
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| 1837, Dec |
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| Contingent of Boer Voortrekkers under Retief sought concession of land from Dingane, king of the Zulu. At a meeting with Dingane, Retief and 60 followers were murdered. Zulu forces also attacked trekker encampments. Other Boer Voortrekkers, allied with Tswana and Griqua armies, defeated Ndebele, who relocated at Bulawayo in southwestern Zimbabwe. | 12 |
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| 1838, Dec. 16 |
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| Boers under Andreas Pretorius defeated the Zulu army at the Battle of Blood River at the Ncome River. The Boers thereupon settled in Natal, calling it the Republic of Natal, and founded Pietmaritzburg (1839). | 13 |
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| 1839 |
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| Dingane's half-brother Mpande allied himself with the Boers and defeated Dingane, becoming king. As a result, Mpande became a vassal of the Boer republic of Natalia. | 14 |
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| 1842–43 |
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| War between the British and the Boers in Natal. Pretorius defeated a British column under Capt. T. Smith in June 1842. By July, the Republic began to collapse, and by May 1843, the British had annexed Natal. | 15 |
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| 1843, Dec |
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| A treaty with Moshoeshoe, powerful leader of the Basuto, led to the recognition of Basutoland under British protection. A similar treaty was made with Adam Kok, a leader of the Griqua. | 16 |
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