[pee-ter-mar-its-burg] 
| a city in and the capital of Natal province, in the E Republic of South Africa. 158,921. |
[nuh-tal, -tahl; for 2 also Port. nuh-tawl] | 1. | a province in the E part of the Republic of South Africa. 4,236,700; 35,284 sq. mi. (91,886 sq. km). Capital: Pietermaritzburg. |
| 2. | a seaport in E Brazil. 250,787. |
natal na·tal (nāt'l)
adj.
Of, relating to, or accompanying birth.
Of or relating to the buttocks.
Pietermaritzburg
city, capital of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It lies in the Msunduzi River valley, at the base of a tree-covered escarpment inland from Durban. Boers from the Cape Colony founded it in 1838 after a victory over the Zulus at Blood River and named it to honour their dead leaders Piet Retief and Gerrit Maritz. The British took control in 1843 and built Fort Napier (now a historical monument). Pietermaritzburg was incorporated in 1854 and was the capital of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) province from 1856 to 1994. It was co-capital with Ulundi of KwaZulu-Natal from 1994 to 1995, when Ulundi was designated the capital. This was reversed in 2004, when Pietermaritzburg was once again declared the capital of the province
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tərˈmær