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| 1845 |
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| British annexation of Natal led to renewed emigration of most of the Voortrekkers. | 1 |
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| 1846–47 |
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| Theophilus Shepstone, diplomatic agent to the native tribes (later secretary for native affairs), established native reserves in Natal and a system of rule by chiefs under colonial supervision. The “Shepstone system” foreshadowed the British colonial policy of indirect rule. | 2 |
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| 1848 |
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| Sir Harry Smith, British high commissioner, annexed the area between the Fish and Kei Rivers as British Kaffraria; he also annexed the Orange River Sovereignty—the area between the Orange and Vaal Rivers, populated by Sotho and Boer groups. Boers resisted Smith's annexations, but they were defeated at the Battle of Boomplaats. | 3 |
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| 1849–52 |
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| Sponsored immigration brought British settlers to Natal. | 4 |
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| 1851–76 |
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| Pedi migrants worked in the Cape on farms and, from 1867, diamond fields in order to purchase firearms, under the encouragement of Paramount Chief Sekukhune. | 5 |
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| 1852 |
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| The British renounced claims north of the Vaal River in the Sand River Convention with Transvaal Boers. | 6 |
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| 1853, July |
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| A new constitution was introduced in the Cape Colony. It provided for an elected Legislative Council and an elected House of Assembly. | 7 |
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| 1854, Feb |
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| Britain paved the way for formation of the Orange Free State by abandoning sovereignty in the Bloemfontein Convention. Boer settlers organized a republic with a president and a volksraad. | 8 |
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| 1854–60 |
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| Missionary Robert Moffat visited Bulawayo, opening a path for Europeans in Zimbabwe, but made no converts. | 9 |
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| 1856, July 12 |
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| Natal was established as a British colony, separate from the Cape, with a legislative council for the settlers. Civil war in Zulu kingdom established the supremacy of the Usuthu faction and the right to succession of Cetshwayo, while Mpande remained king. | 10 |
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| 1857 |
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| In a self-defeating effort to resist European incursions, the Xhosa killed cattle in response to a millennial prophecy. Perhaps as many as two-thirds of the population died as a result of the killing of cattle and the livelihood they represented. | 11 |
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| 1859 |
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| The first indentured Indian servant arrived in Natal to work especially on sugar plantations, because of shortages of willing African labor. By the end of the 19th century, numbers of indentured and voluntary Indian immigrants equaled the white population in the colony. | 12 |
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