Podcast
History of South Africa podcast
Episodes — page 3
- Episode 257 - Rorke’s Drift Part I: Defiance, Disobedience and the Aftermath of Isandlwana
Rorke’s Drift was a battle that Cetshwayo kaMpande did not want, because it took place on the western bank of the Mzinyathi or Buffalo River — inside Natal. The British had bee…
- Episode 256 - The Lightning of Heaven Release Spirits as Rorke’s Drift Comes into Play
Lord Chelmsford who had scurried off to the east in support of Major Dartnell only made it back to the slopes of Isandlwana at dusk on the day of 22nd January 1879. As the nervous…
- Episode 255 - A Partial Eclipse of the Sun Spreads a Dark Veil Over Bloody Isandlwana
When we ended last episode a mounted patrol had stumbled on the main Zulu army of twenty thousand men which had which had hunkered down in the Ngwebeni Valley north east of Isandlw…
- Episode 254 - Skop, Skiet and Donner on the Day of the Dead Moon
The morning of January 22, 1879, dawned with a deceptive, stillness across Zululand masking the fact that over 45,000 men were in motion across a 200 kilometer front, each group op…
- Episode 253 - The order of Battle Before Isandlwana and Nyezane and ‘ukhuni’ Wood Heads North
Episode 253 - The order of Battle for Isandlwana and Nyezane as ‘ukuni’ Wood Heads North Three separate British columns are inside Zululand and things are hotting up — and not…
- Episode 252 — Chelmsford’s Fatal Confidence: The Day Before Isandlwana
This is episode 252, it is January 19th 1879, and we’re standing alongside Lord Chelmsford at the British camp based at Rorke’s Drift — and nearby is Henry Francis Fynn Junior.…
- Episode 251 - The Grey Vultures of Ondini Gather Before a March to Isandhlwana where Pride Met Prophecy
Episode 251 and the British Invasion of Zululand is into it’s first week. King Cetshwayo kaMpande had prepared his people for war, and here it was, courtesy of Governor Sir Bar…
- Episode 250 - Nqutu's Rocky Mountains: British officers bicker then Zulu Snipers target an entomologist hunting beetles
First a quick note which the marketing weasel ordered me to announce. This week I received an email from Apple which read: "We’re thrilled to share some incredible news: Histor…
- Episode 249 - Three Columns and a Thousand Secrets: Chelmsford’s 1879 Invasion of Zululand
The invasion of Zululand did not arrive suddenly. It had been constructed brick by brick over the preceding months, through decisions made in distant offices and on dusty border fa…
- Episode 248 - The Eagle and Four Hawks: The Making of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879
Sir Bartle Frere’s ultimatum to Cetshwayo kaMpande of 11 January 1879 was about to expire. Last episode I explained the reasons behind Frere’s fevered decision, egged on as he…
- Episode 247 - A Ball of Sand Fallacy and Frere Demonizes Cetshwayo
Episode 247 launches us into an intense period. We’re going to travel to the border between the Zulu kingdom and the Transvaal because there’s trouble brewing. When you hear wh…
- Episode 246 - Black Bricks, Armed Maids, and the Bloody Marriage of the Ngcugce
The year is1878 - and Cape Governor Sir Sir Bartle Frere is throwing the empire’s weight around South Africa. Let’s put ourselves in his shoes because some historians say he had a…
- Episode 245 - Sir Bartle Frere’s Excellent Adventure: A Gentleman’s Guide to Igniting Wars
Sir Bartle Frere had sailed into South Africa in March 1877 - lauded as a great British administrator in India. He arrived just in time to witness Sir Theophilus Shepstone seize, s…
- Episode 244 - Twitters' Transvaal Annexation, Rider Haggard’s Role and Railways
Episode 244 and Victorian popular fiction author H Rider Haggard features as one of the main characters of this tale. Rider Haggards’ creation called Allan Quartermain appeared in…
- Episode 243 - Guns, Germans and Steal: The Pedi War of 1876
By 1876 the Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Pedi, the amaXhosa had all managed to secure for themselves a fairly easy access to firearms. The Griqualand Diamond fields ignited what could be…
- Episode 242 - Merchant Traders, Natal plantations, African farmers and the Harrismith Sour Veld Land Swindler
Episode 242 is about putting ploughs into the ground, how the rural areas of much of the country was experiencing something of an agricultural revolution. It’s rather a fascinating…
- Episode 241 - Yankee Babies, Monstrous Cobwebs, the Devil’s Cauldron and Rhodes’ Steam Engine
Episode 241 and we’re back with the diamond miners and their Kaias and Cocopans. More about this in a minute. A big thank you to Donald Paterson who’s great-great-great grandfa…
- Episode 240 - Carnarvon’s Confederation, a Pre-scramble for Africa Geopolitical Mashup & Free State Ships
This is episode 240 and our swivels to the north - a Great Apostle for Confederation and the pre-Scramble for Africa Geopolitical Omlette. Part of this story is a continuation…
- Episode 239 - The Central South African Powder Magazine and How Chief Langalibalele Ended up on Robben Island
When we left off last episode amaHlubi chief Langalibalele and a few hundred warriors had sought shelter inside Basotholand, crossing the Drakensberg Mountains through Bushmans Pas…
- Episode 238 - ‘Another Little War’ at Bushman’s River Pass and the British Blow up Bits of the Drakensberg
This is episode 238 and it’s going to be full of legal back and forth, all about the Langalibalele Rebellion, another little war as the London times called it — it’s action at Bush…
