All times in UTC ·
Dashed edge = started before, or continues beyond, this day
Events on Sunday 16 December 1838 1
1838Battle of Blood RiverVoortrekkers defeat a much larger Zulu army in NatalA Voortrekker commando under Andries Pretorius defeated a Zulu army several times its size at the Ncome River in Natal, suffering no fatalities while inflicting heavy Zulu casualties. The victory, attributed by the Voortrekkers to a religious vow made before the battle, became a foundational event in Afrikaner nationalist memory as the Day of the Vow. It followed months of conflict sparked by the killing of Piet Retief's party earlier that year.