Diamonds, Gold, and War: The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa
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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.”
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9781586486419
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Publication Date: 09-23-2008
Pages: 592
Product Dimensions: 5.60(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.70(d)
About the Author
Martin Meredith is a journalist, biographer, and historian who has written extensively on Africa and its recent history. His previous books include Mandela; Mugabe; Diamonds, Gold, and War; Born in Africa; and The Fate of Africa. He lives near Oxford, England.
What People are Saying
What People are Saying About This
Wilbur Smith
It] will take a prominent place upon my bookshelf . . . I know I will re-read time and again over the years.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Map xii Author's Note xv Introduction 1 Part I Diamond Fever 13 Blue Ground 22 Kimberley 33 The Diggers' Revolt 41 Enter the Magnates 50 Part II The Imperial Factor 63 Oom Paul 74 The Washing of Spears 85 Majuba 95 Part III The Diamond Bubble 107 The Stripping Clause 113 Dreams and Fantasies 125 The Road to the North 133 The German Spectre 143 The Most Powerful Company in the World 153 Part IV A Chosen People 167 Johannesburg 176 The Corner House 186 A Marriage of Convenience 194 Part V The Place of Slaughter 207 The Balance of Africa 214 To Ophir Direct 229 Kruger's Protectorate 238 Part VI Groote Schuur 247 A Bill for Africa 259 Not for Posterity 270 The Loot Committee 279 Part VII A Tale of Two Towns 291 The Randlords 302 The Rhodes Conspiracy 311 Jameson's Raid 323 Missing Telegrams 335 By Right of Conquest 354 Part VIII The Richest Spot on Earth 365 Nemesis 378 The Great Game 386 The Drumbeat for War 403 Ultimatums 416 Part IX The Fortunes of War 427 Marching to Pretoria 436 Scorched Earth 449 The Bitter End 462 Envoi 470 Part X The Sunnyside Strategy 481 Vukani Bantu! 494 The Black Ordinance 504 The Sphinx Problem 511 Epilogue 520 Chapter Notes 527 Select Bibliography 539 Index 551