The Zulus at War

The History, Rise, and Fall of the Tribe That Washed Its Spears

Adrian Greaves, Xolani Mkhize

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781510722835
• eBook ISBN: 9781510722859
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

By tracing the long and turbulent history of the Zulus from their arrival in South Africa and the establishment of Zululand, The Zulus at War is an important and readable addition to this popular subject area. It describes the violent rise of King Shaka and his colorful successors under whose leadership the warrior nation built a fearsome fighting reputation without equal among the native tribes of South Africa. It also examines the tactics and weapons employed during the numerous intertribal battles over this period. They then became victims of their own success in that their defeat of the Boers in 1877 and 1878 in the Sekunini War prompted the well-documented British intervention.

Initially the might of the British empire was humbled as never before by the shock Zulu victory at Isandlwana but the 1879 war ended with the brutal crushing of the Zulu Nation. But, as Adrian Greaves reveals, this was by no means the end of the story. The little known consequences of the division of Zululand, the Boer War, and the 1906 Zulu Rebellion are analyzed in fascinating detail. An added attraction for readers is that this long-awaited history is written not just by a leading authority but, thanks to the coauthor’s contribution, from the Zulu perspective using much completely fresh material.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Maps
• Foreword
• Zulu Names
• Timeline of Events Significant to the Zulu People
• Glossary of Terms
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The Emergence of the Zulus
• Chapter 2 Shaka and the Second Mfecane
• Chapter 3 Zulu Rituals and Customs
• Chapter 4 White Expansionism in South Africa and the Eight Frontier Wars
• Chapter 5 Passing the Crown: From Kings Shaka, Dingane and Mpande to King Cetshwayo
• Chapter 6 The Emergence of King Cetshwayo
• Chapter 7 Defending their Nation
• Chapter 8 Isandlwana
• Chapter 9 To Rorke’s Drift
• Chapter 10 Nyezane and Gingindlovu
• Chapter 11 Ntombe, Hlobane and Khambula
• Chapter 12 The Zulu Defence of Ulundi, and the Prince Imperial Louis Napoleon
• Chapter 13 The Battle of kwaNodwengu–Ulundi, 4 July 1879
• Chapter 14 Beginning of the End
• Chapter 15 Closure of the Zulu War
• Chapter 16 Long Live the King
• Appendices
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Photos