The southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Republic before the British took over control in 1843, renaming it as the Colony of Natal in 1843.

KwaZulu-Natal is the birthplace of many notable figures in South Africa's history, such as Albert Luthuli, the first non-white and the first person from outside Europe and the Americas to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1960); Pixley ka Isaka Seme, the founder of the African National Congress (ANC) and South Africa's first black lawyer; John Langalibalele Dube, the ANC's founding president; Harry Gwala, ANC member and anti-apartheid activist; Mac Maharaj, Grammy award-winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Grammy award-winning DJ Black Coffee, ANC member, anti-apartheid activist and Little Rivonia Trial defendant; Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP); Anton Lembede, the founding president of the ANC Youth League; Jacob Zuma, the former President of South Africa; Bhambatha, a 19th-century Zulu chief who became an anti-apartheid icon; and Shaka Zulu.

The lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province, while the central Natal Midlands consists of an undulating hilly plateau rising toward the west.

The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines; steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest.

The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland.

The former Eastern Cape enclave of the town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa.

The northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at Hibberdene (30°34′35″S 30°34′35″E / 30.57639°S 30.57639°E / -30.57639; 30.57639) to northeast Lesotho.

The province became the first to include a portion of road that is made of partial plastic, the equivalent of nearly 40,000 recycled milk cartons.

Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings.

The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, supporting many sugar cane farms around Pongola.

The climate of the coastal areas is humid and subtropical, comparable to southern Florida in the United States, but not quite as hot and rainy in the summer.

Some visitors come for the annual late autumn or early winter phenomenon on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of the "sardine run".

Alan Paton, in the novel Cry, the Beloved Country, wrote: There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills.

The Nguni branch of the Bantu occupied this area from the early 1300s[9] The first European settlers, mostly British, established Port Natal, a trading post.

They failed to build on their initial advantage and for three months the line between the opposing forces followed the course of the Tugela River.

The base of the crown element is a type of headdress traditionally worn by Zulu elders, that represents wisdom and maturity.

The foundation stone of the new legislative building was laid on 21 June 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

On 25 April 1889, the Governor of Natal, Sir Arthur Havelock, opened the first Legislative Council session in the new building.

The African National Congress (ANC), which had won a majority in the province in every election since 2004, saw its vote collapse by nearly two-thirds, down to 17% and in third place.

As of 2015[update], the King of the Zulu Nation is provided a stipend of 54 million South African rands by the provincial government.

Sheep, cattle, dairy, citrus fruits, corn, sorghum, cotton, bananas, and pineapples are also raised.

Other industries, located mainly in and around Durban, include textile, clothing, chemicals, rubber, fertiliser, paper, vehicle assembly and food-processing plants, tanneries, and oil refineries.

To the north, Newcastle is the province's industrial powerhouse, with Mittal Steel South Africa (previously ISPAT/ISCOR) and the Karbochem synthetic rubber plant dominating the economy.

In 2002, Newcastle became the largest producer of chrome chemicals in Africa with the completion of a chrome-chemical plant, a joint-venture project between Karbochem and German manufacturing giant Bayer.

The textile industry is a major employer in the Newcastle area, with over 100 factories belonging to ethnic Taiwanese and Chinese industrialists.

[26] There are various game reserves found in the province; one notable example is Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, where the southern white rhinoceros was saved from extinction.

In many of these larger reserves, large animals ranging from several antelope species to elephant, Cape buffalo and hippopotamus can be found.

The scaly yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis) is a fish found in the Tugela River system as well as in the Umzimkulu, Umfolozi and the Mgeni.

It is a common endemic species in KwaZulu-Natal Province and it lives in different habitats between the Drakensberg foothills and the coastal lowlands.

[27] Carissa macrocarpa (Natal plum) is a shrub native to South Africa, where it is commonly called the "large num-num".