Shaka Zulu

- Season 1

(1986)

As Shaka the Zulu king rises to power in the 1820s Africa, the British Empire begins to see him and his Empire as a threat to theirs.

After being shipwrecked off the coast of Zululand, the British are escorted to Shaka's Capitol, Kwa-Bulawayo, where they meet Shaka and his mother Nandi. Shaka then demonstrates his power over his people and proves that he is not a man to be underestimated.

In a flashback to 1786, Zulu Prince Senzangakona romances Nandi, a member of the neighboring Elangeni kingdom. Their indiscretions result in two children out of wedlock, including a boy named Shaka.

Prince Senzangakona makes Nandi a royal wife but continues to abuse her, which brings a death threat from the teenage Shaka. Nandi and Shaka flee and return to her people, but are unwelcome and flee once again. Considered outcasts of two kingdoms, Shaka grows up thirsty for revenge, determined to take his father's throne by force.

Shaka has grown into a fine young man. Senzangakona invites him to return to Zululand and become the heir apparent, but upon his return he is forced to flee for his life. He is eventually taken in by another tribe and trains as a soldier.

Shaka goes deep into the Nkandla forest and has a blacksmith forge a stabbing spear, which he has empowered by "The Nameless One" and given magical powers. However, it is predicted that the weapon will possess Shaka. After a series of military victories, Shaka finally faces his father as he attempts to conquer the Zulu Kingdom.

Shaka is severely wounded during an assassination attempt and Fynn saves his life. In gratitude, Shaka gives land and permission to hunt for ivory to Farewell. However in Capetown both Shaka and Farewell are proclaimed dead.

Fynn traces the history of Shaka and the Ndwandwe king Zwide after Shaka orders the Britons to help fight Zwide, who was responsible for the death of Dingiswayo.

Shaka agrees to help build a boat to carry Farewell and a Zulu delegation to Cape Town, where they are imprisoned by Somerset; Shaka is furious that Pampata has borne him a son.

Shaka helps Farewell and a Zulu delegation to get to Cape Town, where Lord Somerset imprisons them; Nandi's death sends Shaka into a frenzy of destruction.