Bhambatha

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For other articles named Bhambatha, see Bhambatha (disambiguation).

Bambata or Mbata Bhambatha was a Zulu chief of the Zondi tribe in Kwazulu-Natal. He is famous for his role in an armed rebellion in 1906 when the poll tax was raised from a tax per hut to per head (£1 tax on all native men older than 18) increasing hardship during a severe economic depression. The Natal Police believed Bhambatha was going to resist the tax with force and sent about 150 men to arrest him. Instead the police were ambushed and four policemen killed. Thousands of colonial troops were then sent after him, including cavalry and heavy artillery, leading to 3,500 dead. Bhambatha himself reportedly was killed in the Battle of Mome Gorge. He is often credited as an inspiration to native South African resistance and as a precursor of the anti-apartheid movement.