Rope of Sand: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Kingdom in the Nineteenth Century

The Kingdom forged by Shaka was once one of the most powerful and sophisticated black states in Africa. It took the British at the height of their imperial power six months and a full military campaign to bring the kingdom down. Thereafter, Zululand was broken up, consigned to bitter civil war, and eventually annexed piecemeal, its land given over to white farmers, in a saga of humiliation and loss. This book gives an account of the dramatic emergence and tragic decline of the Zulu kingdom in the 19th century, based on research fieldwork. It ranges from themes such as Zulu social and political organization, through analysis of the vivid personalities and complex political maneuvrings of leading Zulu and their colonial opponents, to descriptions of military campaigns and battles.