|
Washing Of The Spears The Rise And Fall Of The Zulu Nation By Morris Soff Cover
Washing Of The Spears The Rise And Fall Of The Zulu Nation By Donald R. Morris
Softcover
655 Pages
Copyright 1965
CONTENTS
Foreword
Foreword to the New Edition
Prince
PART ONE
Prologue
The Bantu
The Rise of the Zulu Nation
Port Natal
Dingane
Mpande
PART Two
Confederation
The Coming of the War
Preparations
Invasion
Isandhlwana
The Defense of Rorke's Drift
The Flanking Columns
Aftermath
The Left Flank Column
The Second Invasion
The Prince Imperial
Ulundi
The Captains and the Kings Depart
Epilogue: The Ruin of Zululand
Notes on Zulu Orthography
SourcesBibliography623
Index
Maps:
Southern Africa in 1879
Zululand and Natal in 1879
The Isandhlwana Campaign
The Battle of Isandhlwana
The Defense of Rorke's Drift
a. The Mission Station
b. The Hospital
The Battle of Hlobane
Illustrationsfollowing pages
PREFACE
Man's eternal quest for political self-determination has long since reached black Africa-that last stronghold of the mixed blessings of European colonialism. Progress varies from the first quickenings to full independence, but progress of some sort can be found in every corner of the continent but one-southern Africa.
This seems strange, because the factors that give impetus to such a quest are all to be found there. The native population is large, and it outnumbers the European civilization three to one. Although it is composed of scores of divergent tribal components, it is ethnically and linguistically considerably more homogeneous than other groupings which have already achieved independence elsewhere. Because much of it is in close contact with an advanced and prosperous European civilization, it can observe firsthand the material benefits of political independence, and for the same reason it is acquainted with such political tools as the ballot, the major communications media, and the organization. It has suffered the loss of all these tools, and all weapons as well, so that the only weapon left is its own numerical superiority, and it is not yet aware that this in itself is a weapon.
There are, of course, many reasons why this particular native population has not yet tried to better its lot. For one thing, it is not really a colonial population, because the European civilization that dominates it is itself indigenous. Indeed, in the most developed part of the country, the European civilization was present for almost a century and a half before it even encountered the dominant element of the native population. The predominant native element, moreover, has no strong tradition of cohesive political activity. They are a people, one historian commented dryly, whose annals are empty because they have nothing to put in them. And, finally and decisively, the European civilization watches and controls the native population with a stern eye and a heavy hand, so that the first spark of political progress has always been snuffed out before the tinder caught.
The situation is strange for another reason, for within the memory of living man much of the predominant native element was not only independent, but a part of it was possessed of great power as well. As the Napoleonic Wars were coming to a close, a petty native chieftain, whose clan numbered less than 1,500 souls inhabiting an area perhaps ten miles on a side, started to forge a nation. When he was murdered twelve years later, he controlled 2,000,000 people inhabiting hundreds of thousands of square miles, and even larger areas had been totally depopulated by the ravages he had unwittingly initiated. So powerful was the monolithic political entity he created that it survived the mismanagements of two incompetent successors, and in 1878, fifty years after his death, its irresponsible power posed a considerable threat to the continued existence of the European civilization in its vicinity.
The European civilization, therefore, waged a preventive war against this native state and destroyed it. Even though the European civilization invoked only a fraction of the might at its disposal, it had to exert considerably more strength than it had at first thought necessary, and before the native state was broken, it had inflicted on the European civilization a defeat more grievous than modern troops have ever suffered at the hands of aborigines.
This war largely determined the place of the native population within the European civilization in southern Africa, and it freed that civilization (which was facing grave internal problems of its own) from any need to listen to the voice of black Africa while it worked out its own destiny. The war was a minor, encapsulated incident, and because it had relatively little effect on the course of the European civilization-it only removed a threatening obstacle from its path-it has had scant attention from history. It was, however, the last truly major challenge that the native population offered the European one, and for this reason alone it is worth the telling.
This, then, is the story of the Zulu nation-of its rise under Shaka and of its fall in the Zulu War of 1879.
All pictures are of the actual item. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
Shipping charges
Postage rates quoted are for shipments to the US only. Ebay Global shipping charges are shown. These items are shipped to Kentucky and then ebay ships them to you. Ebay collects the shipping and customs / import fees. For direct postage rates to these countries, send me an email. Shipping to Canada and other countries varies by weight.
Payment options
Payment must be received within 10 days. Paypal is accepted.
Terms and conditions
All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us first. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding.
Thanks for looking at our items.
| 
