Description

The Weenen Massacre, also known as the Bloukrans Massacre, was a series of coordinated attacks by Zulu forces under King Dingane on Voortrekker encampments in Natal, present-day South Africa, on 17–18 February 1838. Following the killing of Voortrekker leader Piet Retief and his delegation at Dingane’s royal kraal, uMgungundlovu, on 6 February 1838, approximately 500 Voortrekkers and their servants, including 185 children and 56 women, were killed across sites at Doringkop, Bloukrans, Moordspruit, Rensburgspruit, and Weenen. A pivotal event in the Great Trek, the massacre escalated conflict between the Voortrekkers and the Zulu, leading to the Battle of Blood River in December 1838.