In the first half of the nineteenth century, Southern Africa was a jumble of British colonies, Boer republics and African chiefdoms, a troublesome region of little interest to the outside world. Into this frontier world came the Reitz family, Afrikaner gentry from the Cape, who settled in Bloemfontein and played a key role in the building of the Orange Free State.

Frank Reitz, successively chief justice and modernising president of the young republic, went on to serve as State Secretary of the Transvaal Republic. In 1899, he stood shoulder to shoulder with President Paul Kruger to resist Britain’s war of conquest in Southern Africa. At the heart of this tale is the extraordinary life of Deneys Reitz, third son of Frank Reitz and Bianca Thesen. The young Reitz’s account of his adventures in the field during the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), published as Commando, became a classic of irregular warfare. After a period of exile in Madagascar, he went on become one of South Africa’s most distinguished lawyers, statesmen and soldiers. Martin Meredith interweaves Reitz’s experiences, taken from his unpublished notebooks, with the wider story of Britain’s brutal suppression of Boer resistance.

Concise and readable, Afrikaner Odyssey is a wide-ranging portrait of an aristocratic Afrikaner family whose achievements run like fine thread through these turbulent times, and whose presence is still marked on the South African landscape.

Reflecting on South Africa´s achievement of majority rule, these volumes take a critical and searching look at the country´s past.

With chapters contributed by the best historians of the country, the volumes elaborately weave together new data, interpretations, and perspectives on the South African past, from the Early Iron Age to the present.

Their findings incorporate new sources, methods, and concepts and represent an important reassessment of all the major historical events, developments, and records of South Africa - written, oral, and archaeological.

'Spirit of District Six' presents over 40 photographs by award winning photographer Cloete Breytenbach, which capture the atmosphere of District Six in Cape Town before 1966, when it was a vibrant, racially mixed community.

Battles of the Anglo-Boer War series provides an accessible guide to some of the major campaigns, battles and battlefields of this historic conflict in KwaZulu-Natal. The books are written for the general reader as well as for historians seeking fresh insights into the events leading up to, during and after the battles. The text is supported by contemporary accounts and photographs, some of which have never previously been published. Maps show in detail the routes and dispositions of the opposing forces for each battle. This comprehensive and accessible box set includes the 8 battle titles and a field guide: The Battle of Talana; The Battle of Elandslaagte; The Battle of Modder Spruit and Tchrengula; The Battle of Colenso; The Battle of Spioenkop; The Battle of Vaalkrans; The Siege of Ladysmith; The Relief of Ladysmith; A Guide to the Anglo-Boer War Sites of KwaZulu-Natal.

Wednesday 22 January 1879 was one of the most dramatic days in the long and distinguished history of the British Army. At noon a massive Zulu host attacked the 24th Regiment in its encampment at the foot of the mountain of Isandlwana, a distinctive feature that bore an eerie resemblance to the Sphinx badge of the outnumbered redcoats. Disaster ensued. Later that afternoon the victorious Zulus would strike the tiny British garrison at Rorke's Drift. How Can Man Die Better is a unique analysis of Isandlwana - of the weapons, tactics, ground, and the intriguing characters who made the key military decisions. Because the fatal loss was so high on the British side there is still much that is unknown about the battle. This is a work of unparalleled depth, which eschews the commonly held perception that the British collapse was sudden and that the 24th Regiment was quickly overwhelmed. Rather, there was a protracted and heroic defence against a determined and equally heroic foe. The author reconstructs the final phase of the battle in a way that has never been attempted before. It was to become the stuff of legend, which brings to life so vividly the fear and smell the blood.

Winner of the Mbokodo Award for Women in the Arts for Literature, the ATKV (Afrikaans Language and Culture Association) Award for non-fiction and the kykNet/Rapport Award for non-fiction. 'Here was Emily . . . in these diaries and scrapbooks. An unprecedented, intimate angle on the real Emily' Elsabe Brits has drawn on a treasure trove of previously private sources, including Emily Hobhouse's diaries, scrap-books and numerous letters that she discovered in Canada, to write a revealing new biography of this remarkable Englishwoman. Hobhouse has been little celebrated in her own country, but she is still revered in South Africa, where she worked so courageously, selflessly and tirelessly to save lives and ameliorate the suffering of thousands of women and children interned in camps set up by British forces during the Anglo-Boer War, in which it is estimated that over 27,000 Boer women and children died; and where her ashes are enshrined in the National Women's Monument in Bloemfontein. During the First World War, Hobhouse was an ardent pacifist. She organised the writing, signing and publishing in January 1915 of the 'Open Christmas Letter' addressed 'To the Women of Germany and Austria'. In an attempt to initiate a peace process, she also secretly metwith the German foreign minister Gottlieb von Jagow in Berlin, for which some branded her a traitor. In the war's immediate aftermath she worked for the Save the Children Fund in Leipzig and Vienna, feeding daily for over a year thousands of children, who would otherwise have starved. She later started her own feeding scheme to alleviate ongoing famine. Despite having been instrumental in saving thousands of lives during two wars, Hobhouse died alone - spurned by her country, her friends and even some of her relatives. Brits brings Emily's inspirational and often astonishing story, spanning three continents, back into the light.

In early 1900, the paths of three British writers-Rudyard Kipling, Mary Kingsley and Arthur Conan Doyle-crossed in South Africa, during what's become known as Britain's last imperial war. Each of the three had pressing personal reasons to leave England behind, but they were also motivated by notions of duty, service, patriotism and, in Kipling's case, jingoism. Sarah LeFanu compellingly opens an unexplored chapter of these writers' lives, at a turning point for Britain and its imperial ambitions. Was the South African War, as Kipling claimed, a dress rehearsal for the Armageddon of World War One? Or did it instead foreshadow the anti-colonial guerrilla wars of the later twentieth century? Weaving a rich and varied narrative, LeFanu charts the writers' paths in the theatre of war, and explores how this crucial period shaped their cultural legacies, their shifting reputations, and their influence on colonial policy.

Met die uitbreek van die Tweede Anglo-Boereoorlog in 1899 het 'n groot aantal Hollanders en Hollandse uitgewekenes by die Boere aangesluit. Hul redes het gewissel van lojaliteit teenoor hul gemeenskaplike afkoms tot sterk anti-Britse gevoelens en 'n soeke na avontuur. Broers in die stryd vertel van hierdie vrywilligers se beproewings – die meeste van hulle was ongewoond aan Suid-Afrika se ruwe landskap en strawwe klimaat. Aanhalings en persoonlike staaltjies uit hul dagboeke en memoires skilder 'n lewendige beeld van hul ontberings op kommando, die gedonder en chaos op die slagveld, en die trauma van kamerade wat rondom hulle sneuwel. Van die bekende figure in die boek is Cornelius van Gogh, broer van die skilder Vincent van Gogh; Frans Oerder, wat die Transvaal se eerste amptelike oorlogskunstenaar geword het; Jochem van Bruggen, wat die gesogte Hertzogprys vir Afrikaanse letterkunde vier keer gewen het; en ds. Herman van Broekhuizen, wat in 1896 vir Suid-Afrika rugby gespeel het en later as Suid-Afrikaanse ambassadeur in Den Haag gedien het. Broers in die stryd dek die hele spektrum van die Hollanders se rolle as soldate aan die verskillende gevegsfronte, ambulanspersoneel en militêre attaches, en hul lewe in oorsese krygsgevangenekampe.

When the Second Boer War erupted in South Africa in 1899, Great Britain was confident that victory would come quickly and decisively. Instead, the war lasted for three grueling years. To achieve final victory, the British government was forced to depend not only on its Regular Army but also on a large volunteer force. This book spotlights Britain's "citizen army" to show who these volunteers were, why they enlisted, how they were trained-and how they quickly became disillusioned when they found themselves committed not to the supposed glories of conventional battle but instead to a prolonged guerrilla war.In Volunteers on the Veld, Stephen M. Miller focuses on the connection between Britain's auxiliary forces-volunteers, militia, and yeomanry-and its imperial mission during the late Victorian era, looking especially at why the British war effort came to depend on their performance. Miller examines motivations for enlistment, the use of citizen-soldiers in guerrilla warfare, and the effects of combat on the soldiers themselves, weaving together the sense of national emergency, the influence of popular culture, and images of manhood that propelled so many Britons into the ranks of volunteers. By revisiting one of the most significant guerrilla wars of the modern age-and one of the earliest examples of the use of modern media to promote mobilization for a foreign war-Volunteers on the Veld lends fresh insight into British imperial warfare while suggesting unmistakable parallels between these citizen-soldiers and today's American volunteers in Iraq.

This authoritative, yet hugely readable, book traces the history of the Zulus from their arrival in South Africa they were not indigenous as were the Koi and San population and the establishment of Zululand. It describes the violent rise of King Shaka and his colourful successors under whose leadership the warrior nation built its fiercesome reputation. It studies the tactics and weapons employed during the numerous inter-tribal battles that occurred. The Zulus real struggle for survival, rather than supremacy, came in wars against the white settlers. In 1877/78 they defeated the Boers in the Sekunini War and this prompted British intervention. Initially the might of the British empire was humbled but the 1879 war, despite the shock Zulu victory at Isandlwana, saw the crushing of the Zulu Nation. The little known consequences of the division of Zululand, the Boer War and the 1906 Zulu Rebellion are analysed in fascinating detail.

In A Man Apart Richard Steyn once again brings to life a South African icon. Louis Botha was the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, a union he did much to create in the decade after the devastation of the Anglo-Boer War. During the war Botha was a brilliant young Boer general who through his battlefield strategy won significant victories over the British in the early stages of the war. When the weight of British arms overhelmed the Boers, Botha along with Smuts did much to encourage peace between English and Afrikaner and led the country to Union in 1910 and dominion status.

Botha was a big-hearted and generous man who showed magnanimity in his dealings with all, including former enemies. He led the South African troops to victory and the capture of German South West Africa – prior to this he had to put down a revolt of pro-German Afrikaners. At the Peace of Versailles, representing South Africa, he pleaded unsuccessfully for magnanimity towards the Germans. Botha was a globally respected figure – he and Smuts effectively operated as a double act in South Africa and on the international stage before Botha’s untimely death in August 1919 at only 57. In A Man Apart this tragically short life is illuminated in full.

Na die vernietiging van eiendom, kultuur, ekonomie en sy psige, in die afloop van die Anglo-Boereoorlog (1899 -1902) en 1e Wereldoorlog (1914 – 1918) herrys die Afrikaner as 'n gedugte gemeenskap aan die suidpunt van Afrika. Die saakmakende rol wat die Afrikaner-Broederbond gespeel het om die heropbouproses te begin en te fasiliteer is later deur die Afrikanerbond voortgesit. Werklikhede in die organisasie se 100-jarige bestaan word op ‘n nugtere wyse vir die leser aangebied en wanpersepsies word reggetrek. Openhartige en waarderende kritiek word in enkele onderhoude blootgele. Niemand moet twyfel oor die doelstellings van die organisasie en sy lede se lojaliteit en verbintenis teenoor Suid Afrika nie.

Daar is nie ’n grondpad te sinkplaat, plaasdraad te hoog of aanwysings te gebrekkig om Jackie Grobler te keer nie. As hy eers ’n monument in sy visier het, sal hy dit vind.

In hierdie boek reis hy oor berge en dale van Lichtenburg in Noordwes tot die heuwels van Tabankulu in die Oos-Kaap. Grobler reis onder meer op die spoor van Voortrekker Carel Trichardt deur Mpumalanga en in KwaZulu-Natal gaan hy na die slagvelde van die Anglo-Zoeloeoorlog. In Gauteng vind hy monumente ter ere van twee van Suid-Afrika se grootste leiers: Nelson Mandela en Jan Smuts. In die Vrystaat soek hy na oorblyfsels van twee konsentrasiekampe en in Limpopo kom hy af op monumente aan ’n Anglo-Boereoorlogkanon (die Long Tom). Sy reise na die Oos-Kaap neem hom na gedenkplekke vir Steve Biko en in die Wes-Kaap gaan hy op die spoor van die Portugese ontdekkingsreisigers.

Elke provinsie sal ’n kaart hê wat die monumente aandui.

Almost one hundred and twenty five years ago, a Scottish adventurer attempted to expand the British Empire in South Africa with the backing of a mere 500 men. He was part of a conspiracy of entrepreneurs, gold magnates and politicians, each of whom had different motives for supporting and encouraging his actions. Leander Starr Jameson's Raid failed miserably. It almost brought down the British Government, destroyed the career of one of the most eminent South African Statesmen, nearly caused a war with the South African Republic and exposed Britain to international ridicule. It was a failed attempt to expand the Empire on the cheap. This book, using a number of contemporary sources, examines the motives for Jameson's actions, the reasons for the Raid's failure and its consequences for those involved. It attempts to answer the extent of the involvement of the British Colonial Office and its Secretary of State, Joseph Chamberlain and how he, Cecil Rhodes, Paul Kruger and Jameson worked for their own and their countries best interests which were not necessarily one in the same.It also considers the part played by the dignitaries in Johannesburg and the consequences of their lukewarm support of Dr Jameson. The book contains a detailed examination of the two Inquiries which were held as a result of the Raid and a blow by blow account of the evidence given by their many witnesses. Reactions in the British Parliament and the fate of the Raiders are particular features of this work,as is how the actions of those swept up in the plans of the key players were to affect their future careers.

Meer as ’n honderd jaar na die laaste skote in die Anglo-Boereoorlog geklap het, word genl. Christiaan de Wet steeds bewonder as onverbiddelike bittereinder, die held wat tot die einde toe volhard het. Sy jonger broer, Piet, word onthou as die joiner. In Broedertwis probeer Albert Blake verstaan waarom hulle lynreg in stryd met mekaar gekom het. Wie was reg? Christiaan, wat ten alle koste die vryheidstryd wou voer, of Piet, wat ’n einde aan die smart en lyding van die oorlog wou bring?

Dutch historian Martin Bossenbroek won the National Dutch History Prize 2013 for this new chronicle of the war that shaped South Africa and the book was also shortlisted for the 2013 AKO Literature Prize, both preeminent Dutch literary prizes. This English paperback edition follows the Afrikaans paperback, published in October 2014, and will cement the critical acclaim already received by Mr Bossenbroek and offer the South African reader the chance to savour his storytelling powers. The (Anglo) Boer war (1899-1902) has been labelled many things. The originator of apartheid. An appetiser for the First and Second World Wars. The first media war (with the first instance of embedded journalists). It helped create the nation-state South Africa, and remains the cause of fiery debate more than a hundred years after its end. In the Boer war, Martin Bossenbroek gives the reader the full story with an in-depth insight and detail previously unmatched. Bossenbroek follows three colourful main characters: the Dutch lawyer, South African Republic state attorney, state secretary and eventual European envoy Willem Leyds; the soon-to-be-immortalised British war-reporter Winston Churchill; and the Boer commander and one-day South African politician Deneys Reitz. Mr Bossenbroek's riveting new account of the war is a must-read for all South African history buffs, for all who loved Thomas Pakenham's classic bestseller.

Memorializing the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 is a study of a group of memorials to soldiers who fought in a now nearly forgotten war, and deals with the many factors influencing why there was such an unprecedented number of memorials compared to those to previous conflicts like the Crimean War, fifty years earlier. One of the most important issues was the impact of changes in the organization of the British Army in the late 1800s, particularly the creation of locally-based regiments, heavily manned by volunteers drawn from local communities. The book includes a detailed commentary on the social conditions in England that also account for the unprecedented number of commemorations of this conflict. It discusses the variety of forms memorials took: informal - drinking fountains, 'Spion Kop" stands at football stadiums; formal - stained glass windows, statues, etc., and the numerous and diverse places where they were located: cathedrals, town squares, public schools and universities. The growth of the national press and the rise of literacy is dealt with in detail, as well as the telegraph, whose invention meant that news became available overnight. Space is given to discuss the expression of Victorian prosperity in public works. The part played by the established church is well documented and an insight is given into the contribution of Imperialism, patriotism and jingoism. All these factors explain the motivation for the memorials' creation. The book is illustrated with photographs and articles from newspapers of the day. Appendices cover those who are not commemorated, lost memorials, those who unveiled the memorials, colonial involvement and more. Memorializing the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 will appeal particularly to social historians and students of military and social history.

An Open Access edition of this book is available on the Liverpool University Press website and the OAPEN library. The experience of the South African War sharpened the desire to commemorate for a number of reasons. An increasingly literate public, a burgeoning populist press, an army reinforced by waves of volunteers and, to contemporaries at least, a shockingly high death toll embedded the war firmly in the national consciousness. In addition, with the fallen buried far from home those left behind required other forms of commemoration. For these reasons, the South African War was an important moment of transition in commemorative practice and foreshadowed the rituals of remembrance that engulfed Britain in the aftermath of the Great War. This work provides the first comprehensive survey of the memorialisation process in Britain in the aftermath of the South African War. The approach goes beyond the simple deconstruction of memorial iconography and, instead, looks at the often tortuous and lengthy gestation of remembrance sites, from the formation of committees to the raising of finance and debates over form. In the process both Edwardian Britain's sense of self and the contested memory of the conflict in South Africa are thrown into relief. In the concluding sections of the book the focus falls on other forms of remembrance sites, namely the multi-volume histories produced by the War Office and The Times, and the seminal television documentaries of Kenneth Griffith. Once again the approach goes beyond simple textual deconstruction to place the sources firmly in their wider context by exploring both production and reception. By uncovering the themes and myths that underpinned these interpretations of the war, shifting patterns in how the war was represented and conceived are revealed.

In October 1899, the twenty-four-year-old Winston Churchill set sail from Southampton Docks for South Africa, where he was to cover the Boer War for the London Morning Post. The young Churchill's exploits on the North-West Frontier of India and in the Sudan had already won him a considerable following as an intrepid war correspondent, but for sheer audacity and excitement, nothing would rival his exploits in South Africa. Scarcely two weeks after his arrival in Cape Town, Churchill found him- self on a train, carrying out a reconnaisance mission in enemy-held territory. The train was ambushed by a Boer patrol, and even though he was present only as an observer, Churchill took charge, helping many of his companions to escape before he was captured. Taken as a prisoner of war to Pretoria, he managed to escape, quickly becoming the object of a massive manhunt. Churchill hid from his pursuers in a coal mine and was subsequently spirited across the border. He returned to the fray, participating in the battle of Spion Kop and witnessing the relief of Ladysmith, while enthralling his readers with vivid first-hand accounts of the war's progress. Churchill's adventures in South Africa propelled him into the international arena, setting the stage for his political career; within three months of his return to Britain in 1900, he had become a Member of Parliament. Celia Sandys, Churchill's granddaughter, retraced his footsteps, visiting campsites and battlefields and interviewing the descendants of those who crossed her grandfather's path-both friends and foes. The fascinating new details she discovered combine with the thrilling events of her grandfather's life to make Churchill Wanted Dead or Alive both a gripping adventure story and a unique insight into the early years of a man who would go on to become one of the world's great leaders. CELIA SANDYS is a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill. Her mother was Churchill's eldest daughter, Diana, and her father was Lord Duncan Sandys, the former Cabinet Minister and member of his father-in-law's wartime government. She is married, has four children, and lives in Wiltshire, United Kingdom.