RECENT DISCOVERY

21 Jan 2022

A few years ago a letter was discovered in the archives here at Downside abbey among the papers of Dom Martin Salmon, and its potential significance is now being shared.

The letter, dictated and signed by Cetywayo (or Cetshwayo), King of the Zulus, was addressed to Queen Victoria and thanks her for ‘releasing me from the cruel bondage I was recently kept in…’ and states that he is leaving South Africa to return to his homeland. The letter goes on to say, ‘I don’t want to get into trouble any more, do not think that Cetywayo will ever neglect you…’ Interestingly he calls himself ‘…the child of the “White House”.’

He ends the letter by asking Queen Victoria to watch over him and thanks her for her kindnesses to him, and says he hopes his country prospers in her name. The letter was clearly written by someone else but is signed by Cetywayo and is dated 4th January 1883, from Simonstown, on the coast of South Africa.

In 1879, Britain had fought a war with Cetywayo’s Zulu nation, which ended in defeat for the King, but not before he had won a great victory over the British at Isandlwana on 22nd January. On the same day the famous stand at Rorke’s Drift also took place, where eleven Victoria Crosses were won. After the Battle of Isandlwana Cetywayo sought to make peace with the British but ultimately the war ended with the British victory at the Battle of Ulundi on 4th July 1879 and after this Cetywayo was deposed and exiled. He went first to Cape Town and then to London, which must have been the ‘cruel bondage’ he refers to in his letter. He returned to Zululand in 1883, not long after the letter was written. Cetywayo briefly returned to his throne but this second reign was short lived and he died on 8th February 1884.

The question arises, why is the letter held within Downside Abbey Archives and was it ever sent to Queen Victoria? As mentioned, the letter was found in the archive of Dom Martin Salmon, whose grandfather was Admiral Nowell Salmon VC. Admiral Salmon was Commander-in-Chief of Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station from 1882 to 1887 and so would have been involved in the transport of Cetywayo to South Africa in 1883 or at least welcoming him to the country. It is likely that Admiral Salmon came into possession of the letter to send back to England but what is unclear is whether this was the only copy, or whether one did ever reach Queen Victoria. Research on this is still ongoing.

Admiral Salmon went on to become First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria in August 1897 and is mentioned many times in the Queen’s diaries. Salmon retired in 1905 and died in 1912.

The letter’s significance is still being ascertained but it is certain that the heritage collections at Downside have once again proven themselves to be of great importance.

You can find out more about the archive collections here.