Piet Retief Delegation massacre

In 1837, a group of Voortrekkers led by Piet Retief migrated into the Natal region of what is now KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Retief sought to negotiate a land treaty with the Zulu king Dingane, and in February 1838 the two parties agreed on a cession of land between the Tugela River and Port St. Johns. The deed of cession, dated 4 February 1838 and drafted by Retief's secretary Jan Gerritze Bantjes, was signed by Dingane on 6 February 1838, with three witnesses recorded from each side.

Retief had earlier been told by Dingane that negotiations depended on the return of cattle stolen by the Batlokwa chief Sekonyela. Retief recovered a portion of the cattle and brought them to Dingane before the treaty was finalized. On 6 February 1838, after signing the treaty, Dingane invited Retief's party to watch a performance by his soldiers. During this event, Dingane ordered his soldiers to seize Retief's party, which included Retief's son, other men, and their servants — approximately 100 people in total. The group was taken to a hillside known as Kwa-Matiwane, below a site called Hlomo Amabuto, where they were killed by clubbing. Retief was reportedly killed last, so that he would witness the deaths of the others. Their bodies were left exposed on the hillside.

The source describes several proposed motives for the killings, noting that historians differ on the primary cause. These include Dingane's fear that the Voortrekkers, who had recently displaced Mzilikazi from the Transvaal, posed a similar threat to his own rule; suspicion arising from Voortrekker movements around Mgungundlovu that were interpreted as reconnaissance; a belief that the cattle-retrieval task was a loyalty test that Retief failed by allegedly not returning all the cattle; and an account that Dingane had also expected horses and guns that were not delivered.

In the aftermath, Dingane's forces attacked several Voortrekker encampments, including at Bloukrans, contributing to the Weenen massacre in which the source states 534 men, women, and children were killed. These events, along with Retief's death, are described as leading to the Voortrekker victory at the Battle of Blood River. Following that battle, Andries Pretorius's commando recovered the remains of Retief's party and buried them on 21 December 1838. The undamaged treaty document was recovered from Retief's pouch and later verified by a commando member. The grave site was reportedly identified again in 1896, and a monument listing the delegation's members was erected nearby in 1922.