Makanda Nxele

Xhosa military leader who redefined resistance tactics against British colonial forces

Makanda Nxele (c.1770-1818) was a visionary leader of the Xhosa people in South Africa who developed innovative military strategies against British expansion. Known as the 'Black Napoleon,' he united multiple clans to oppose colonial encroachment, introducing fortification techniques and coordinated attacks that surprised British forces.

Born into the Ndlambe clan, he became a military strategist who believed in uniting all Xhosa groups against external threats. His 1818 campaign against the British involved building massive earthworks and employing guerrilla tactics - revolutionary approaches for the time. Though ultimately captured and killed, his ideas influenced later resistance movements including the 1850-1853 Cattle-killing crisis.

His legacy endures in Xhosa oral traditions and modern historiography. Scholars today recognize his strategic brilliance in adapting indigenous warfare methods. Read more at Wikipedia or South African History Online.