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The Zulu war started in 1879 and ended that same year.It was between the Zulu tribe and the British army who at that time was ruled by queen victoria.The zulu war took place in South africa which was already partly owned by the British and some by the Dutch.The British High Commissioner, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, believed that the robust and economically self-reliant Zulu kingdom was a threat to this policy. In December 1878 he picked a quarrel with the Zulu king, Cetshwayo kaMpande, in the belief that the Zulu army - armed primarily with shields and spears - would soon collapse in the face of British Imperial might. The war began in January 1879. Three columns of British troops under the command of Lt. Gen. Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand. Almost immidiately, the war went badly wrong for the British.The first battle they faught was called Isandlwhana which was on the 22nd of January 1879 which was an awful defeat by the Zulus  so the British were  terribly embarressed because at that time the British empire thought they were invinsible.