Product Description

Donald Morris delivers an account of the rise of the Zulu nation in southern Africa, and its fall under Cetshwayo in the Zulu war of 1879. For more than a century after the European landing at Cape Town in the 17th century, the Boers had advanced unopposed into the vast interior of Africa. It was not until 1824 that Europeans came face to face with another expanding and imperial power, the Zulus, the most formidable nation in black Africa. That confrontation culminated in a bitter war between the Zulu warriors and Victoria's British Army. It was the last despairing effort of Africans to stem the tide of white civilization. The result was a dramatic, legendary and bloody defeat at Isandhlwana for the British; the aftermath was the defeat and fall of the Zulu nation. This work sets out to be not only a history of the Zulus but also a full-scale study of the British colonial and military policy in relation to southern Africa, and of those involved.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45191 in Books
• Published on: 1994-11-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 672 pages

Customer Reviews

A fine account of the rise and fall of a proud nation.
From the early pages to the very end, Donald Morris gives a detailed yet enthralling account of the rise and fall of the Zulus as a nation. In the beginning, they , as the white man, were invaders in Southern Africa, and the early chapters evoke little sympathy for the rise of the nation under Shaka, its unifying leader. The real losers at this time were the Bushmen and Hottentots. But as the book progresses, there is a gradually developing air of despair about the descriptions of Shaka's royal successors trying to come to terms with the power and ambition of the British. The incomprehension which marked the relationship is at times truly pathetic, and in the end it became shameful how the nation was destroyed by imperial insecurity and the ambition of ruthless individuals.

When Cetshwayo, then king, was captured at the end of the war of 1879, he was taken to Cape Town en route to London. It was the first modern town he had seen. "I am a very old man", he whispered as he gazed at the shipping in the bay. He was only 52, but he had seen his nation, little removed from the Iron Age, destroyed by men from a country where steamships, railways and cities were commonplace. They never had a chance.

There were acts of bravery and devotion to duty on both sides, but in the end, no winners in any human sense. This is a marvellous and moving book for anyone interested in people and their histories.

Magnificent
This is in exceptional work of history, both meticulous and vividly rendered. Anyone unfamiliar (as I was) with the detailed history of southern Africa in the colonial age, and the at once glorious and tragic history of the Zulu nation, will find themselves both educated, moved, and enthralled by Morris' account.

In a three-way power play, British, Boer, and Zulu nations stuggled mightily in the mid and late 19th century for dominance in a wild but bountiful land. The diverse tribes of the traditional Bantu culture having been consolidated, usually in most brutal fashion, but in the first true Zulu King, Shaka, the Europeans for once had a centralized, powerful and militarily innovative native opponent. Despite half a century of confict mixed with attempts at both accomodation and "civilisation", the pressure of land, the discovery of diamonds, and the inevitable misunderstandings and prejudices of the era mean that ultimately all-out war was on its way. Cetshwayo, the last great Zulu king of that time, fought magnificently, ruthlessly, brutally, and unsuccessfully, against the modern and mighty armies of the Crown.

One of Morris' greatest achievements is that he avoids the usual stereotyping of either the "noble savage" or the ruthless european. On all sides of the conflict, Morris' South Africa is a tapestry of characters ranging from the sympathetic Bishop Colenso, through the enlightened, Zulu-speaking, yet utterly ruthless colonial administrator Shepstone, though to the sometimes naive but ultimately canny Zulu leaders like Cetshwayo. Neither side had a monopoly on either brutality or nobility, which is what makes this tale of the spectacular rise and fall of the Zulus even more compelling.

Exciting Stuff
I was surprised to see this book only has 2 reviews so I thought I'd add my 5-star rating. Possibly the best historical book I've ever read (and one I re-read every few years) - exciting, because I didn't know the story, and superbly told. The Brits are the villains, the Boers are sympathetically and fairly portrayed, and the tragedy of the Zulus, who at the end don't even know why they're fighting, is heart-breaking. It helps you to understand the mess that South Africa got into with apartheid, if that interests you. But even if it doesn't this is a great story which I can't recommend too highly.