This important new book tells the harrowing story of the Eighth Frontier War against the Xhosa people of the Eastern Cape, often from the viewpoint of those actually doing the fighting. It was the longest of those wars and it was to be followed by the Ninth, and last, in 1877-1878. By that time there remained little of the Xhosa lands which they had once called their own, the extent of which had been eroded after almost every war. This desperate struggle for land invoked an increasingly brutal style of warfare. The Xhosa ...
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This important new book tells the harrowing story of the Eighth Frontier War against the Xhosa people of the Eastern Cape, often from the viewpoint of those actually doing the fighting. It was the longest of those wars and it was to be followed by the Ninth, and last, in 1877-1878. By that time there remained little of the Xhosa lands which they had once called their own, the extent of which had been eroded after almost every war. This desperate struggle for land invoked an increasingly brutal style of warfare. The Xhosa had previously fought with some chivalry, refusing to make war on women and children, just as they had in their own internecine wars. The Eighth War changed all that and vicious killings were perpetrated by both sides - black and white.The 'Harry Smith' of the title is the famous 19th century British soldier, Sir Henry George Wakelyn Smith, who served at the Cape of Good Hope on two occasions. The first was in the years 1828-1835, during which he was second-in-command to Sir Benjamin D'Urban. This ended with Smith departing the Cape under a cloud after his involvement in the murder of the Xhosa paramount chief Hintsa. His second period of service, between 1847 and 1853, was as Sir Harry Smith, baronet, the hero of Aliwal. His appointment then was as Governor and High Commissioner. Although Smith claimed to have ended the Seventh Frontier War in 1847, shortly after his arrival, his greater claim to fame was his management of the Eighth War, which he himself did much to foster.Harry Smith's Last Throw endeavours to re-evaluate Smith's role as one of the prime causes of the war, and provides a full and engaging account of this important, yet often overlooked, episode in history.
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New in New dust jacket. 1848326467. 9.29 X 6.30 X 1.34 inches; 288 pages; The War of Mlanjeni was the longest conflict in South African history until the second Anglo-Boer War. The loss of life was substantially heavier than that of the Zulu War of 1879 and the political after-effects of it were significantly greater than those that followed the Zulu War. The Zulu War has been the subject of numerous accounts but the silence surrounding the Eighth Frontier War is deafening. Harry Smith's Last Throw fills this gap: a moving history, vividly drawn out using eye-witness accounts. The narrative is not limited to the British perspective. Xhosa accounts have been translated (many for the first time) to avoid an Anglo-centric bias. For both sides by the 8th War there was a great deal of blood to avenge and brutal killings were perpetrated by many combatants. The author provides a colorful backdrop, explaining how the Dutch East India Company came to the Cape to establish a provision station for ships on the way to its East Indies empire. Dutch Burghers settled there but the Company had no interest in Africa itself. In order to be viable farms had to be large and this created a class of independent-minded who looked increasingly to the interior of Africa, pushing the Colonyıs borders. The wars with the Xhosa were the result of the eventual expansion of these boundaries into Xhosa territory.
