Short answers, pulled from the story.
A group of Voortrekkers occupied the site that would become Pietermaritzburg in April 1838. This event followed the murder of Piet Retief and his seventy-strong party at the Zulu capital Mgungundlovu on the 6th of February 1838.
On the 1st of June 1893 a young Mahatma Gandhi boarded a train bound for Pretoria while traveling through South Africa and was forcibly removed from the train at Pietermaritzburg. He spent shivering through the winter night in the waiting room of the station which catalyzed his decision to stay in South Africa and fight racial discrimination against Indians there.
During apartheid the city was segregated into various sections forcing population displacements where ninety percent of the Indian population moved to the suburb of Northdale. Most Zulu inhabitants were relocated to the neighboring township of Edendale while white inhabitants were moved out of those areas entirely.
The debate ended when the ANC came to power in the province in 2004 naming Pietermaritzburg the sole capital of KwaZulu-Natal. This resulted in relocation of several government offices to the city welcomed as positive development for the region.
Until the late 1990s the region was renowned for production of high-quality textile clothing and footwear products before these industries declined due to lower production costs in Asia. Extensive timber plantations and numerous citrus farms surround the city contributing significant output alongside Hulett's Aluminium and Willowton cooking oil.