Harriette Colenso
| Harriette Emily Colenso | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
30 June 1847 Tharston, Norfolk, England |
| Died | 2 June 1932 (aged 84) |
| Residence |
|
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Udhlwedhlwe |
| Occupation | Missionary |
| Years active | 1862–1913 |
| Parent(s) | John Colenso |
Harriette Emily Colenso (30 June 1847 – 2 June 1932) was a British Christian missionary in southern Africa. She was the eldest of five daughters of John Colenso, the Bishop of Natal, and continued his work, interceding on behalf of the Zulu before the British Government. She made representations to the Crown on behalf of Dinuzulu and his uncles, in exile on St Helena from 1890 to 1897.
Harriette Emily Colenso was born in Tharston, Norfolk, England, in 1847. She was the eldest of the five daughters of John Colenso, who would become the Bishop of Natal. As a child in Natal, she was nicknamed Udhlwedhlwe, which translates to Walking Stick, signifying her role as support and guide to her father.
During the trial of Langalibalele in 1874–5, in which her father was defending the accused, Miss Colenso served as secretary to her father.
After the death of her father in 1883, she pursued his two main aims in Natal, namely the continuation of the Church of England in Natal, and defending the rights of the native population of Natal and Zululand.
Colenso fought against the attitudes of those, such as Sir Theophilus Shepstone, whose policy it was to undermine the Zulu royal family, granting minor chiefs their own chiefdoms, and to foster intertribal strife.
She advised Dinuzulu to give himself up to the British authorities in 1888. For his defence she obtained the services of leading counsel Harry Escombe and she herself worked hard in his defence. She convinced Sir Marshal Clarke, Resident Commissioner in Zululand from 1893 to 1897, of her point of view and he in turn persuaded London that Dinuzulu be permitted to return from exile in St Helena and be given the position of induna and confidant of the Government. Colenso, however, made the error in 1894 of supporting the annexation of Zululand by Natal in return for Dinuzulu's release.
...
Wikipedia