Selous & the Bulawayo Field Force

The struggles for Africa



There can be few more interesting and evocative periods of British imperial history than the struggles for south-eastern Africa. The empire had found itself colliding with the interests of many native powers across the globe during the decades of it's expansion. Many had fought to maintain their independence and some, like the Sikhs of the Punjab, were sufficiently well versed in the practice of warfare as to be a serious threat. This could not be said of the tribes which rose from the Zulu nation, yet the Zulu War of 1879 gave British forces a chilling and brutal lesson in what a 'primitive' African tribal army was capable of achieving on the field of battle. The Matabele, as an off-shoot of the martial Zulus, also inevitably came into conflict with the British during the closing decade of the 19th century. The First Matabele War did not decisively subjugate the tribe and in 1896 it rose again laying siege to Bulawayo with over 10,000 Ndebele warriors. This unique Leonaur edition brings together two accounts written by remarkable men who were central to these events. The first was written by the legendary Frederick Selous. Those who know anything of the man know that he was the 'great white hunter', 'Nimrod' and the character upon whom the fictional Alan Quatermain was based, and so his account of this period is nothing less than compelling. The second book, by a commander of colonial forces engaged in the conflict, brilliantly combines a history of the events with his first-hand narrative. Highly recommended.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.