Diamonds, Gold, and War: The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa

The history of what became South Africa, from the beginnings of colonial consolidation in the late 19th century to the founding of the apartheid state. It’s a story of colonial greed and betrayal of native populations again and again, as well as a fascinating account of how Boers etc. managed to see themselves as deserving natives compared to the whites back in Europe. Also, the repeated assumption of British and Boer planners that military conflicts would be quick and easily won, and the resulting brutal, extended, devastating wars that followed make me think that very few people learn much from history.

I’ve been to Johannesburg, Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia), Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) and Botswana (Bechuanaland), but had only a vague understanding of how these countries came into existence and evolved. I was familiar with the Boers and their “trek” into the South African interior. I had heard of the Orange Free State, Transvaal and Natal, but knew nothing of their boundaries. I knew of the Kimberley diamond mines and the Johannesburg gold fields, but wasn’t aware of their political significance. I was passingly familiar with Paul Kruger and Cecil Rhodes, and of course the Boer War, but none of the particulars.

Having traveled to this area, I was curious about its evolution and I chose this book in order to be better educated on show more the subject. I had previously read another history by this author which covered the more recent history of sub-Saharan Africa and the independence movements in those countries. I recently read Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, which is what compelled me to seek his history.

I can say that the book served its purpose. While not outstanding, it covered the period in question (from settlement of the Cape Colony until 1910) in a very satisfactory manner. From settlement of the Cape Colony, to the founding of Natal and the subsequent push of the Boers into the interior. From the founding of the Boer Republics, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, to the British conquest, Boer independence and subsequent Boer War. The economic and political machinations of Cecil Rhodes and finally the formation of what would become the modern South African state.

If you are curious about the political and economic history of the region, you could do worse than this history. show less

Fascinating, compelling and horrifying history. Martin Meredith covers a lot of ground - in this highly readable history of a period that continues to shape South Africa.

good overview of the transition to the Apartied world from Cape Colony Imperial colonisation/possession after the Napoleonic wars. The English imperialists and the Frontier Boers impacts and later that of the gold, diamoinds and Randlords.. well worth the read. Intersting asides with Gandhi and the colored, and the black perspectives given. A broad perspective book more than an indepth treatise on circumstance.

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." (Google books)