Afrikaner odyssey Martin Meredith (AFRICANA OUT OF PRINT NEW)
The odyssey of the Reitz family passes like a thread throughthe tapestry of South African history in the nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies. Originally Dutch-Afrikaner gentry from the Cape, the family moved tothe frontier settlement of Bloemfontein and played a key role in the buildingof the Orange Free State. At the heart of this tale is the extraordinary careerof Deneys Reitz, whose account of his adventures in the field during theAnglo-Boer War (1899-1902), published as Commando, became a classicof irregular warfare. Martin Meredith interweaves Reitz's experiences, takenfrom his unpublished notebooks, with the wider story of Britain's brutalsuppression of Boer resistance. Concise and readable, and featuring rarephotographs from the family archives, Afrikaner Odyssey is awide-ranging portrait of a distinguished Afrikaner family whose presence isstill marked on the South African landscape.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, southern Africawas a jumble of British colonies, Boer republics and African chiefdoms, atroublesome region of little interest to the outside world. Into this frontierworld came the Reitz family, Afrikaner gentry from the Cape, who settled inBloemfontein and played a key role in the building of the Orange Free State.Frank Reitz, successively chief justice and modernising president of the youngrepublic, went on to serve as State Secretary of the Transvaal Republic. In1899, he stood shoulder to shoulder with President Paul Kruger to resistBritain?s war of conquest in southern Africa. At the heart of this tale is theextraordinary life of Deneys Reitz, third son of Frank Reitz and Bianca Thesen.The young Reitz?s account of his adventures in the field during the Anglo-BoerWar (1899?1902), published as Commando, became a classic of irregular warfare.After a period of exile in Madagascar, he went on become one of South Africa?smost distinguished lawyers, statesmen and soldiers. Martin Meredith interweavesReitz?s experiences, taken from his unpublished notebooks, with the wider storyof Britain?s brutal suppression of Boer resistance. Concise and readable,Afrikaner Odyssey is a wide-ranging portrait of an aristocratic Afrikanerfamily whose achievements run like fine thread through these turbulent times,and whose presence is still marked on the South African landscape.
Jonathan Ball Publishers SA
EAN: 9781868427734
