History, Language & Culture Swaziland

In the colonial era, as a protectorate, and later as an independent country, Eswatini was long known as Swaziland. The name Swazi is the Anglicized name of an early king and nation builder, Mswati II, who ruled from 1840 to 1868. The country’s administrative centre is Mbabane, former capital of the British colonial administration. The national capital is the seat of King Mswati III and his mother, some 11 miles from Mbabane, at Phondvo in the vicinity of Lobamba, where the houses of parliament and other national institutions are situated. In April 2018 the king announced that he was changing the official name of the country from the Kingdom of Swaziland to the Kingdom of Eswatini. The language is siSwati, which is akin to Zulu, though it shares official status with English, which is in fact used generally for official written communication.