With the intelligence received at Danskraal, Pretorius became confident enough to propose a vow, which demanded the celebration, by the commando and their posterity, of the coming victory over Dingane.
In reverend Francis Owen's company he met Zulu chief Dingane, and also got acquainted with captain Allen Gardiner.
From 1834 onwards, the Voortrekkers (Dutch-speaking farmers) started to migrate from the Cape Colony in large numbers and in 1837 crossed the Drakensberg into KwaZulu-Natal where, after the murder of one of their leaders, Piet Retief, in the massacre at Weenen they defeated Shaka's successor Dingane at the Battle of Blood River, put Mpanda on the Zulu throne and established the republic of Natalia.