Zulu Conquered

History.

The Anglo-Zulu War was one of many colonial campaigns in which the British Army served as the instrument of British imperialism. The conflict, fought against a native adversary the British initially under-estimated, is remarkable for battles that included perhaps the most humiliating defeat in British military history-the Battle of Isandlwana, January 22, 1879-and one of its most heroic feats of martial arms-the defense of Rorke's Drift, January 22-23, 1879. While lasting only six months, it is one of the most examined, studied, and debated conflicts in Victorian military history. Anglo-Zulu War, 1879: A Selected Bibliography is a research guide and tool for identifying obscure publications and source materials in order to encourage continued original and thought-provoking contributions to this popular field of historical study. From the student or neophyte to the study of the Anglo-Zulu War, its battles, and its opponents to the more experienced historian or scholar, this selected bibliography is a must for anyone interested in the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War.

One of the most highly regarded books on the British campaign of the nineteenth-century Anglo-Zulu War fought in southern Africa. Robust and economically self-reliant, the Zulu Kingdom—created by Shaka kaSenzangakhona—was seen as a threat to British colonialism. In December 1878, the British High Commissioner in South Africa, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, picked a quarrel with the Zulu king, Cetshwayo kaMpande, in the belief that the Zulu army—armed primarily with shields and spears—would soon collapse in the face of British Imperial might. The war began in January 1879. Three columns of British troops under the command of Lt. Gen. Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand. Almost immediately, the war went badly wrong for the British. On January 22, the Centre Column, under Lord Chelmsford’s personal command, was defeated at Isandlwana mountain. In one of the worst disasters of the colonial era, over 1,300 British troops and their African allies were killed. In the aftermath of Isandlwana, the Zulu reserves mounted a raid on the British border post at Rorke’s Drift, which was held by just 145 men. After ten hours of ferocious fighting, the Zulu were driven off. Eleven of the defenders of Rorke’s Drift were awarded the Victoria Cross. These are the best-known episodes of the war, and Rorke’s Drift went on to inspire the classic film Zulu, which established Michael Caine as a star. Drawing on new research performed since the centenary in 1979, the author delves deeply into the causes of the war, the conditions during it, and the aftermath.

Why do nations go to war? Is war an institutionalized outlet for our aggressive instincts? Or is it a cultural invention rather than a biological necessity? Originally published in 1990, Eric Carlton, looking across a number of societies investigates why men and women go to war, and how they are able to commit atrocities against their enemy. He believes that central to these issues is the perception of the enemy and the ways in which this is ‘converted’ – consciously or unconsciously – into an ideology of aggression. Military training and ideology are based upon the definition of the enemy as ‘the other’, and studies in the text reveal the importance of the stereotyped image of the enemy when soldiers carry out atrocities. Dr Carlton explores the underlying problem of how and why societies resort to war, by analysing the motivations, usually religious and ideological, which legitimize warlike policies and activities. Fascinating case studies consider the ways in which the enemy has been seen in various historical and comparative contexts: for instance, to ancient Egyptians the enemy were non-people, to Romans uncouth barbarians, to Maoists class antagonists. These studies underline the fact that perceptions of the adversary determine the nature of warfare more than any other single factor. The book is unique in its discussion of the idea of the enemy in warfare and military ideology, and in its use of an historical method to comment on situations which are still relevant to the modern world. Its historical and comparative perspective, and its extensive case studies, make it of great value and interest to students of history, sociology, and politics, as well as to those engaged in war studies.

This scholarly account traces the emergence of the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa in the early nineteenth century, under the rule of the ambitious and iconic King Shaka. In contrast to recent literary analyses of myths of Shaka, this book uses the richness of Zulu oral traditions and a comprehensive body of written sources to provide a compelling narrative and analysis of the events and people of the era of Shaka's rule. The oral traditions portray Shaka as rewarding courage and loyalty and punishing failure; as ordering the targeted killing of his own subjects, both warriors and civilians, to ensure compliance to his rule; and as arrogant and shrewd, but kind to the poor and mentally disabled. The rich and diverse oral traditions, transmitted from generation to generation, reveal the important roles and fates of men and women, royal and subject, from the perspectives of those who experienced Shaka's rule and the dramatic emergence of the Zulu Kingdom.

Volume II documents and analyses genocide and extermination throughout the early modern and modern eras. It tracks their global expansion as European and Asian imperialisms, and Euroamerican settler colonialism, spread across the globe before the Great War, forging new frontiers and impacting Indigenous communities in Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, and Australia. Twenty-five historians with expertise on specific regions explore examples on five continents, providing comparisons of nine cases of conventional imperialism with nineteen of settler colonialism, and offering a substantial basis for assessing the various factors leading to genocide. This volume also considers cases where genocide did not occur, permitting a global consideration of the role of imperialism and settler-Indigenous relations from the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries. It ends with six pre-1918 cases from Australia, China, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe that can be seen as 'premonitions' of the major twentieth-century genocides in Europe and Asia.

This scholarly account traces the emergence of the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa in the early nineteenth century, under the rule of the ambitious and iconic King Shaka. In contrast to recent literary analyses of myths of Shaka, this book uses the richness of Zulu oral traditions and a comprehensive body of written sources to provide a compelling narrative and analysis of the events and people of the era of Shaka's rule. The oral traditions portray Shaka as rewarding courage and loyalty, and punishing failure; as ordering the targeted killing of his own subjects, both warriors and civilians, to ensure compliance to his rule; and as arrogant and shrewd, but kind to the poor and the mentally disabled. The rich and diverse oral traditions, transmitted from generation to generation, reveal the important roles and fates of men and women, royal and subject, from the perspectives of those who experienced Shaka's rule and the dramatic emergence of the Zulu Kingdom.

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.