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Title details for Diamonds, Gold, and War by Martin Meredith - Available

Diamonds, Gold, and War

The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa

by Martin Meredith
ebook
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1 of 2 copies available
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.”

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 23, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781586486778

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781586486778
      • File size: 857 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from September 15, 2007
      Meredith ("The Fate of Africa") continues his superb accounts of Africa, here centering on the period from the discovery of the first diamond field in 1870 to the formation of the modern state in 1910. South Africa in the early 1800s was a hodgepodge of British colonies, Boer republics, and African chiefdoms until the discovery of rich diamond and gold deposits. Raw power, corruption, racism, and the debacle of the Anglo-Boer War (18991902) are well covered in this distinguished account. Throughout, Meredith intertwines and exposes the roles of diamond titan Cecil Rhodes and Boer leader Paul Kruger, who defied the British for nearly a quarter of a century. Underlying this story is the horrible cost to Africas native peoples and the rise of the virulent Afrikaner nationalism that lasted nearly a century. Meredith thoroughly involves us in this gripping history. Highly recommended for all libraries.Mary C. Allen, Everett P.L., WA

      Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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