NATAL 



> ijii.intitirH, and in close 

 pniMiiiit v to the coal, while gold 

 and other minerals are found. 

 There are marble quarries near the 

 1 1 1. .11 ih of the I 'm/ imk ul 11 In 

 /iilul.iiid gold reefs have been din- 

 I. and there other minerals, 

 including coal, exist. Timber is 

 ii.iiiid:mi. much being out for 

 industrial purposes, and various 

 kinds of tropical fruits abound in 

 the warm regions near the coast, 

 \\licn- ulso tea, sugar, coffee, and 

 cotton are grown. 



Many of t he settlers devote their 

 s to the rearing of horses and 

 cattle, although the rinderpest has 

 proved a great drawback in this 

 connexion. There are a large num- 

 ber of sheep and goats, many of 

 these being owned by the natives, 

 while ostriches, pigs, and poultry 

 are bred. Of wild animals the 

 larger ones, elephant, buffalo, and 

 giraffe, have disappeared, and the 

 uon and rhinoceros are only found 

 in one area. Antelopes are still 

 fairly plentiful, and there are some 

 leopards and panthers. Birds and 

 snakes abound. 



The entrance to the province is 

 at Durban, where steamers of the 

 Union -Castle and other lines call 

 regularly. From there the main 

 line of rly. strikes across the 

 country, passing by Pietermaritz- 

 burg, Ladysmith, and Newcastle, 

 and after cutting the Drakensberg, 

 enters the Transvaal Two lines 

 branch off from Durban along the 

 coast, one to the N. and the other 

 to the S., while two others go from 

 Pietermaritzburg. 



Discovery by Vasco da Gama 



The country was discovered by 

 Vasco da Gama on Christmas Day, 

 1497, and was therefore named 

 Natal or Terra Natalia. Various 

 mariners, both English and Dutch, 

 put in here during the next three 

 centuries, but the few attempts to 

 make settlements were not success- 

 ful. The native tribes were left 

 almost to themselves until 1835, 

 when one of the kings made a 

 grant of land to the British and a 

 colony was formed at Durban. 

 The authorities in London, how- 

 ever, declined to proclaim the dis- 

 trict a British colony. 



In 1837 the first Boer settlers, 

 coming through the Drakensberg, 

 entered Natal. Almost at once they 

 were attacked by the Zulus, and a 

 struggle, in which some Britishers 

 took the side of the Boers, began. 

 Finally, in Dec., 1837, after 'the 

 British had been obliged to evac- 

 uate Durban, a large Zulu force 

 was destroyed on the Umslatos 

 river, and the Boers secured pos- 

 session of the country, entering 

 Durban and founding Pieterma- 

 ritzburg. They declared themselves 



5645 



NATALIE 



Natal. Map of the South African province, with an area of 35,291 sq. m. 



a republic, but soon trouble arose 

 with the British, who refused to 

 admit their request for indepen- 

 dence. There was some fighting, 

 but in the end (1843) the official 

 Boers accepted the British pro- 

 posals and Natal became a British 

 colony. Many, disliking this sub- 

 mission, returned to the Transvaal. 



In 1844 the country was added to 

 the Cape of Good Hope, but in 1856 

 it was made a separate colony In 

 1879 the Zulu war was fought out 

 in the colony, and in 1900-2 some 

 hard fighting took place on its bor- 

 ders. In 1893 it was granted respon- 

 sible government, and in 1910 it 

 joined the new union of South 

 Africa. See S. Africa ; Zululand. 



Bibliography. Natalia : Explora- 

 tion and Colonisation of Natal and 

 Zululand, J. F. Ingram, 1897 ; 

 Natal, the Land and its Story, R. 

 Russell, 6th ed. 1900 ; A Lifetime 

 in S. Africa, Sir J. Robinson, 1900 ; 

 Natal Province, Official Handbook, 

 A. H. Tatlow, pub. annually, 

 London and Durban. 



Natal. Seaport of Brazil, and 

 capital of the state of Rio Grande 

 do Norte. Situated on the Rio 

 Grande near its mouth, 138 m. N. 

 of Pernambuco, with which it is 



connected by rly., its harbour, 

 formed by the estuary, is occasion- 

 ally obstructed by sandbanks, 

 which are dredged to admit vessels 

 of 22 ft. draught. Cotton, sugar, 

 leather, rubber, wax, and timber are 

 exported. It was formerly known 

 as Cidade dos Reis. Pop. 20,000. 



Natalie (b. 1859). Queen of 

 Serbia. Born at Florence, May 14, 

 1859, daughter of a Russian 

 colonel, Kech- 

 k o, and of 

 Princess 

 Pu 1 c h er i a 

 Sturdza, a Ru- 

 manian lady, 

 she married on 

 Oct. 17, 1875, 

 King Milan 

 (q.v.)of Serbia. 

 S epa rated 

 from her hus- 

 band in 1888, she retired to Wies- 

 baden with her son Alexander. Milan 

 secured the abduction of the boy, 

 and obtained a decree of divorce. 

 After the murder of Alexander and 

 Draga in 1903, Natalie lived in re- 

 tirement. See A King's Romance : 

 the Story of Milan and Natalie, 

 Frances A. Gerard, 1903. 



Natalie, Queen of 

 Serbia 



