Diamonds, Gold, and War
The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa
Nonfiction, History, Africa, South Africa, Modern, 19th Century, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory
| Author: | Martin Meredith | ISBN: | 9781586486778 |
| Publisher: | PublicAffairs | Publication: | September 23, 2008 |
| Imprint: | PublicAffairs | Language: | English |
| Author: | Martin Meredith |
| ISBN: | 9781586486778 |
| Publisher: | PublicAffairs |
| Publication: | September 23, 2008 |
| Imprint: | PublicAffairs |
| Language: | English |
Southern Africa was once regarded as a worthless jumble of British colonies, Boer republics, and African chiefdoms, a troublesome region of little interest to the outside world. But then prospectors chanced upon the world's richest deposits of diamonds and gold, setting off a titanic struggle between the British and the Boers for control of the land. The result was the costliest, bloodiest, and most humiliating war that Britain had waged in nearly a century, and the devastation of the Boer republics. The New Yorker calls this magisterial account of those years “[an] astute history.… Meredith expertly shows how the exigencies of the diamond (and then gold) rush laid the foundation for apartheid.”
Southern Africa was once regarded as a worthless jumble of British colonies, Boer republics, and African chiefdoms, a troublesome region of little interest to the outside world. But then prospectors chanced upon the world's richest deposits of diamonds and gold, setting off a titanic struggle between the British and the Boers for control of the land. The result was the costliest, bloodiest, and most humiliating war that Britain had waged in nearly a century, and the devastation of the Boer republics. The New Yorker calls this magisterial account of those years “[an] astute history.… Meredith expertly shows how the exigencies of the diamond (and then gold) rush laid the foundation for apartheid.”
