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The Natal Native Contingent in the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879. By P. S. Thompson. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: University of Natal Press, 1997. ISBN 0-620-21524-0. Maps. Notes. Sources. Pp. vii, 394. Rands 140.
The war fought between the British and the Zulus one hundred years ago is usually portrayed as a conflict between black Africans and white Europeans, but as Mr. Thompson correctly notes, "About half of the British army which invaded Zululand in 1879 consisted of African soldiers." He feels that, while the deeds of the British regular troops have been well described and those of the colonists at least adequately, "Only the African soldiers of the Queen have been slighted." Using official documents, contemporary accounts, newspapers, diaries, letters, memoirs, and private manuscripts, he has produced a scholarly, well-documented account of the black African units formed from the warriors of dozens of tribes and known collectively as the Natal Native Contingent (NNC).
The war, which lasted nine months in 1879, was a human drama in four acts: The British under Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand, but quickly retreated after disaster overtook a significant portion of the force at the Battle of Isandhlwana on 22 January;...