History of South Africa podcast
A series that seeks to tell the story of South Africa in some depth. Presented by experienced broadcaster/podcaster Des Latham and updated weekly, the episodes will take a listener through the various epochs that have made up the story of South Africa.
Episodes
Episode 290 - Africanders, Afrikaners and the Sprigg/Hofmeyr/Rhodes Voter Disenfranchisement of 1887-1892
In 1883 Joseph Moss, regarded as the wealthiest black man in Kimberley, stood before the newly formed Africander League in the diamond mining city. Africander spelled A F R I C A N D E R. It which was not what you’d imagine, the Africander League was made up of black and coloured men before whom Moss pronounced
“We are Africans — we are not like Englishmen, who return to their own land. You are
Episode 289 - Black Velvet Opskop, De Beers’ Trojan Horse, an Historic Trick and a Multi-Racial Miner Protest
It could be said that Cecil Rhodes quest for hegemony over the diamond industry of South Africa was quickened by rumours of significant gold discoveries in the Transvaal.
Others say not, because no-one was aware in these heady days of just how valuable the Motherlode of Main Reef was to become. First a quick note.
The easiest way to picture Kimberley in 1886–87 is not as a collection of neatly
Episode 288 - Squabbling Europeans Dissect Africa and the Sultan of Zanzibar gets Shafted
In the last few episodes we have tracked the miraculous discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand — the importance of which cannot really be overstated. While diamonds placed South Africa on the map, gold was going to convert the struggling region into a financial paradise for British financiers — and therein lies the imperial rub.
However, it’s time to step back a tad to provide an historical over
Episode 287 - "Not Worth Hell Room" — JB Robinson, Widow Oosthuizen, and the Witwatersrand Gold Grab
Onwards!
Or more accurately - downwards! Because we’re continuing the saga of early gold digging around the farm Langlaagte, and the other farms like Turfontein, it is 1886, hundreds of treasure hunters have descended on the empty veld just south of the Witwatersrand Ridge.
First a quick note about Kimberley, where the mining magnates were locked in a struggle for supremacy trying to secure con
Episode 286 - German Mercenary von Brandis formally Proclaims Johannesburg
Welcome back to the history of South Africa podcast with me your host, Des Latham.
This is episode 286 - Johannesburg is proclaimed but the flow of water and cash provs challenging.
We’ll start however, with the Orange Free State. Its president Johannes Brand was certainly carved from an original chunk of Boer marble — even the British empire recognized his magnificence, at least, Queen Victori
Episode 285 - The Three Georges Gold Saga and a Bottle of Mampoer Vignette
Farming dominated the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek economy in the 1880s, even after gold was discovered in the eastern Transvaal but that was about to change. Last episode we heard about the early gold finds around Rustenburg which was part of the Witwatersrand Ward back in the late 1800s.
Farms along the Ridge of White Waters had a fairly steady supply of water courtesy of the many springs that co
Episode 284 - Australians and the Struben Brothers Hunt Gold on the Ridge of White Waters
Gold sends a shiver through the spine of the adventurer, the merest hint drives men to acts of extreme bravery, or stupidity. Moderate men and women throw off their cloaks of social anonymity and travel thousands of kilometers in arduous conditions just to lay their hands on a Gramm or two of the yellow treasure.
Gold fever is a pandemic even in the modern world, although the price of gold fluct
Episode 283 - Warren’s Great North Road Balloon and Telegraph Escapade
Welcome back to the History of South Africa podcast with me your host, Des Latham. Episode 283 and it’s 1885.
And boy! Do we have a plethora of happenings to report.
This is a year before the discovery of gold in the Transvaal, and global events are full of war, innovation, ethnic carnage, economic ups and downs, world firsts, medicine, and a dose of snot and trauma.
The year 1885 opened wit
Episode 282 - The Scramble for Africa Berlin Conference of 1884/5 and Lüderitz becomes German
There are many correlations and connections in this episode, so hang on tight as we toboggan down the slippery slopes of history bumping into all manner of bizarre and simultaneously heinous characters. Keeping in mind that we’re dealing with men and women of their age, nevertheless, the tale is one of intrigue, ego, treasure hunting, not to mention, madness.
Belgium by 1882 was barely half a ce
Episode 281 - The Boers anoint Dinizulu King of the Zulus
Cetshwayo had sought refuge in Nkandla as his arch enemy, Zibhebhu, turned his attention to the royalists living along the Zululand Coastal plain. Soon Somkhele of the Mphukunyoni and the emaNgweni people were hiding in the swamps and reed-beds of the sub-tropical bush along the Indian Ocean.
Melmoth Osborne was the resident commissioner of Zululand and a committed foe of Cetshwayo’s royal line,
Episode 280 - Zibhebhu’s Mandlakazi shatter Cetshwayo’s uSuthu setting off a Zulu Civil War
On the afternoon of 10th January 1883, King Cetshwayo kaMpande climbed off a skiff and onto the beach at Port Dunford, surviving the heavy and powerful surf. The British had been using this stretch of desolate sand as their transport hub into Zululand, which is south of the modern harbour of Richard’s Bay.
King Cetshwayo then stepped out of the wet boat onto the sand of Port Durnford, where he wa
Episode 279 - Dean Williams and Bishop Merriman compete for Anglican Souls as De Villiers Graaff Ponders
We’re up to the early 1880s where world events are intersecting in various ways with southern African events.
The mere ratification of the Pretoria Convention in 1881 failed to bring peace and prosperity to South Africa. The frenzied speculation in diamond shares reached it’s height in 1881, and war expenditure had swelled the tide of fictitious prosperity which had flowed from Table Bay to Lyden
Episode 278 - The South African Suez Canal, Stellaland and Goshen and James Honey's Murder Most Foul
In 1882, the German mathematician Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that π was transcendental: it cannot be reduced to a tidy equation, never captured inside the comfortable boundaries expected by mathematicians. For centuries mathematicians tried to “square the circle” — creating a perfect square with the same area as a circle using only classical tools. In 1882, they finally got their answer: impos
Episode 277 - Cetshwayo visits Queen Victoria and the Victorian link between Afghanistan and Zululand
When Cetshwayo kaMpande was captured after the Anglo-Zulu War, he was ferried to Cape Town and on to Robben Island. His countenance was one of dignity but that is difficult to maintain in the face of terrible sea-sickness.
The Zulu king had made it be known that he was afraid of the sea, and his nervousness compounded the queasiness.
He was also terribly sea-sick on the five day voyage from Po
Episode 276 — Okavango Khwebe Wind and a Dorsland Trekker Angolan Odyssey
Die Dorsland — the Thirstland — is part of the Kalahari that has an interesting history when it comes to pastoralists. The San didn’t call it the Thirstland, for them it wasn’t a barrier but part of a network of seasonal resource nodes. They would navigate the dry spans using sip-wells, inserting long, hollow reeds deep into the damp sand, use grass filters, and literally suck water up to store in
Episode 275 — Pilgrims Rest, French Bob’s Gold and Barberton’s Champagne Foot Baths
Thousands of miners were streaming into the Transvaal by the third quarter of the 19th Century, a horde of avuncular independent-minded treasure hunters. In volume Two of the Cambridge History of South Africa, Stanley Trapido calls them the ragbag of humanity - Stanley who sadly is no longer with us, had the right to call miners whatever he wanted — having worked in Krugersdorp gold mines in order
Episode 274 - The Pretoria Convention ends the First Anglo-Boer War, Suzerainty Unresolved
The hill of Doves — in isiZulu amaJuba means the place of many doves or pigeons. It became a place of violence and blood, and yet the catastrophic defeat of the British at Majuba was indeed to lead to peace.
The doves would fly again albeit fleetingly.
As you heard last episode, British commander General George Colley had been one of the casualties of the battle — Sir Evelyn Wood was now in ch
Episode 273 - The Mountain of Destiny: Majuba and the Birth of a Nation
It is not a stretch to say that the defeat by the British at Majuba was also the political birth of the Afrikaner people. While the Great Trek provided the origin story, Majuba provided the validation—the sense that their culture was not only distinct but divinely protected and militarily capable of standing against the greatest empire of the age.
Before the main event, there was the small matter
Episode 272 - The Boers wring Major General Colley’s Column at Laing’s Nek
Weather, some say, is fickle. Of course nature is just nature but when you’re on high ground, the mountains, and the weather moves in, the temperature drops in minutes and wind shifts. It is a dangerous place and that’s during mid-summer.
Perhaps summer is the most dangerous time to be caught in a mountain storm, particularly in South Africa because there’s more moisture and freezing sleet and s
Episode 271 - Basutoland Gun War, Gold Coast and Ottoman Empire
The British had instigated a war in the Transvaal which fired off in early 1881, but they had already ignited another flashpoint - in Basutoland. This was a fascinating conflict, and it has modern overtones. For the new British government of Sir William Gladstone, the fact they had stimulated a simultaneous slew of conflicts in South Africa was more than irksome, it was expensive and ill-timed.
Episode 270 - Kruger vs Black Michael and Courageous Women at the Battle of Bronkhorstspruit
The approach by the English political parties of the time to the young Boer Republics was confused, and even contradictory. William Gladstone, a liberal, had succeeded in ousting the Tory’s under Benjamin Disraeli in his famous Midlothian Campaign of 1879 and 1880. In 1880 Gladstone formed his second ministry and almost immediately, the promises he’d made about foreswearing foreign wars were broke
Episode 269 - Bapedi Chief Sekhukhune’s Cruel Fate and the Afrikaner Paradox
The Bapedi have a rich and textured history, as with most of South Africa’s past, where religion and tradition are entwined to create a consciousness of life that is attractive to the naturally curious.
Today, part of Limpopo Province bushveld contains private game parks with Bapedi and other African names — including Moya which has three meanings. It is used for wind, or breath, or the soul, ro
Episode 268 - The Theodolite and the Hardepad: Thomas Bain’s Silent Mountain Pass Artisans
There is something magical about mountain passes, weaving through majesty, each corner beckoning a driver like a formidable and compelling saga, muffled in mist or bright in the sunshine. Imaginations are fired and children go quiet as the ravines plunge beside the vehicle, timeless in their elegance, conquered only by the blast of dynamite or the steady chipping of picks.
There is an old Chines
Episode 267 - Betrayal at the End: Mnyamana, Cetshwayo’s Dutchman, and the Crushing of the Zulu Kingdom
Cornelius Vijn had made a few bad decisions in his life as we all do at some point. Born in Holland in 1856, he made his way to Natal in 1874 where he rapidly learned both English and isiZulu. That wasn’t necessarily a bad decision. During his childhood, however, he’d suffered an accident, he was run over by a wagon — the wheel shattered his leg, it healed badly and from then on he walked with a l
Episode 266: The Wakkerstroom Boer-Zulu Alliance and the death of Prince Napoleon
As the British tried to wrap up their war against the Zulu in South Africa, further afield the happy sound of a baby being born could be heard in Germany. Not just any baby.
Albert Einstein was born at 11.30 in the morning on March 14, 1879 in Ulm. His birth was not without drama; his family initially worried about his development because the back of his head was unusually large, and his grandmot
Episode 265 – John Dunn’s MI5 Connection, Gingindlovu, and the Relief of Eshowe
The last quarter of the 19th Century was in some ways, like the first quarter of the 21st Century - full of tone-deaf business barons gambling building vast riches — financing politicians and in accelerating the planet towards world wars.
There are ripples in the timeverse, all the way to now, because the latest empire has started a war that it cannot end. The infinite rule of war is do not star
Episode 264 - The Forgotten Battle of Khambula (1879): The Turning Point of the Anglo-Zulu War
The twenty thousand strong Zulu army was camped near Nseka Mountain south of the British camp at Khambula hill — north west of modern day Vryheid. After defeating Lieutenant Colonel Evelyn Wood’s Number 4 column at Hlobane, Zulu commanders Ntshingwayo and Mnyamana stopped to rest their men on the banks of the White Mfolozi. about twenty kilometers from the British camp.
Wood’s column had retreat
Episode 263 - How Black Voters Helped Elect Cecil Rhodes: Kimberley and the Cape Franchise, 1879
The battles are coming thick and fast because this is the end of the seventh decade of the 19th Century - the British have just been defeated at the Battle of Hlobane mountain on the 28th March.
There’s been so much skop skiet and Donner it’s time to reflect on matters further south west Before we buzz back to Zululand next episode.
n the Transvaal, resistance to British rule was slowly setting
Episode 262 - The Battle of Hlobane – Cowardice, Confusion and the Reckoning at Devil’s Pass
By mid-March 1879, Cetshwayo kaMpande made another attempt to open talks with Chelmsford, sending his indunas to negotiate for peace — but the British had no appetite for compromise.
On the 22nd March two emissaries arrived at Middle Drift, a central crossing between Natal and Zululand, but Chelmsford had already laid out rules that any Zulu representatives should communicate directly with him. C
Episode 261 - Zulu War: Ntombe River Massacre & Prince Hamu’s Defection
Colonel Rowland’s number five column had been sent to guard the roads and garrison the Boer towns in the north eastern Transvaal — part to police the Zulu across the border, but also to overawe the more volatile Boers who wanted to take advantage of the war in Zululand by rebelling against British rule.
The German village of Luneberg was vulnerable, within striking distance of Mbilini, who was C
Episode 260 - Touring South Africa pre-1880, the Tangled Tale of Woolworths and Disraeli Gears
We’re touring the sub-continent today, choose your mode of transport — Cape Cart, ox-wagon, horse, mule, on foot? Before the arrival of steam locomotion, roads in South Africa were little more than rutted tracks created by repeated passage of wagons and animal teams rather than purpose-built carriageways. There was no formal road network in the early 19th century: routes developed organically wher
-DELETED- Episode 260 - Touring South Africa pre-1880, How Woolworths started and Rowlands Folly
We’re touring the sub-continent today, choose your mode of transport — Cape Cart, ox-wagon, horse, mule, on foot? Before the arrival of steam locomotion, roads in South Africa were little more than rutted tracks created by repeated passage of wagons and animal teams rather than purpose-built carriageways. There was no formal road network in the early 19th century: routes developed organically wher
Episode 259 - After Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift: Ghost Armies and a Unique Truce During a Savage War
It’s the 23rd January 1879, one of the most momentous days in South African history has passed, and the ripple effect will be felt across the world.
For missionary Otto Witt it was a time of particular terror. He had fled his mission station, Rorke’s Drift, and now it was smashed to bits, the house which had doubled up as a hospital burned to the ground, the main warehouse which had been his chur
Episode 258 - Rorke’s Drift, Part Two: Dabulamanzi’s Gamble and Chard’s Night of Horrors
Episode 258 Rorke’s Drift part two. It’s important to listen to Episode 257 because that sets everything up for this episode - there’s too much to repeat particularly in the layout of the buildings which were fully described in Episode 257.
There were around 330 British and Natal Native Contingement troops marooned at Rorke’s Drift, about to be attacked by 4000 Zulu warriors. Approaching rapidly
Episode 257 - Rorke’s Drift Part I: Defiance, Disobedience and the Aftermath of Isandlwana
Rorke’s Drift was a battle that Cetshwayo kaMpande did not want, because it took place on the western bank of the Mzinyathi or Buffalo River — inside Natal.
The British had been routed at Isandlwana by the main Zulu army, regiments who’s names are still venerated by oral historians today, the uKhandempemvu, uNokhenke, uDududu, iMbube, iSanqu, the uMbonambi, iNgobamakhosi. The men of the uThulwan
Episode 256 - The Lightning of Heaven Release Spirits as Rorke’s Drift Comes into Play
Lord Chelmsford who had scurried off to the east in support of Major Dartnell only made it back to the slopes of Isandlwana at dusk on the day of 22nd January 1879. As the nervous British soldiers advanced, they could see dense masses of the Zulus retiring with herds of cattle and their wagons up on the skyline to their right. About 800 metres from the Isandlwana battle site, they stopped and form
Episode 255 - A Partial Eclipse of the Sun Spreads a Dark Veil Over Bloody Isandlwana
When we ended last episode a mounted patrol had stumbled on the main Zulu army of twenty thousand men which had which had hunkered down in the Ngwebeni Valley north east of Isandlwana. The British had been conducting patrols both north and south of the sphinx shaped mountain, and had been following a group of Zulu who were foraging mielies and cattle for the huge army. Looking down on this huge fo
Episode 254 - Skop, Skiet and Donner on the Day of the Dead Moon
The morning of January 22, 1879, dawned with a deceptive, stillness across Zululand masking the fact that over 45,000 men were in motion across a 200 kilometer front, each group operating in a vacuum of information that would, by sunset, shatter the British Victorian ego.
At the coast, Colonel Charles Pearson’s Column No. 1 represented the textbook invasion. His force was a heavy, industrial machi
Episode 253 - The order of Battle Before Isandlwana and Nyezane and ‘ukhuni’ Wood Heads North
Episode 253 - The order of Battle for Isandlwana and Nyezane as ‘ukuni’ Wood Heads North
Three separate British columns are inside Zululand and things are hotting up — and not just because of the steamy summer temperatures.
In the last few episodes I’ve concentrated on General Chelmsford’ and Colonel Glynn’s operations in the centre, second Column, as they made their way over the Mzinyathi Riv
Episode 252 — Chelmsford’s Fatal Confidence: The Day Before Isandlwana
This is episode 252, it is January 19th 1879, and we’re standing alongside Lord Chelmsford at the British camp based at Rorke’s Drift — and nearby is Henry Francis Fynn Junior.
Chelmsford had grown frustrated by the rain which had slowed the crossing of the Mzinyathi at Rorke’s Drift. He had also been frustrated by Henry Francis Fynn Junior who had been negotiating with Zulu chiefs without his p
Episode 251 - The Grey Vultures of Ondini Gather Before a March to Isandhlwana where Pride Met Prophecy
Episode 251 and the British Invasion of Zululand is into it’s first week.
King Cetshwayo kaMpande had prepared his people for war, and here it was, courtesy of Governor Sir Bartle Frere and led by Lord Chelmsford. After overrunning kwaSogetle the home of Sihayo he was on the move.
It was therefore a sort of rough justice then that Cetshwayo had decided to send the bulk of his army to operate i
Episode 250 - Nqutu's Rocky Mountains: British officers bicker then Zulu Snipers target an entomologist hunting beetles
First a quick note which the marketing weasel ordered me to announce. This week I received an email from Apple which read:
"We’re thrilled to share some incredible news: History of South Africa podcast has been selected by our editors as one of Apple Podcasts' Best Shows of 2025! Congratulations on this fantastic achievement and for creating one of the most compelling shows of the year. We’re so
Episode 249 - Three Columns and a Thousand Secrets: Chelmsford’s 1879 Invasion of Zululand
The invasion of Zululand did not arrive suddenly. It had been constructed brick by brick over the preceding months, through decisions made in distant offices and on dusty border farms. By early January 1879 the machinery of British imperial confidence was fully wound, and the commanders in Natal believed they were about to conduct a short, sharp campaign to correct what they regarded as a troubles
Episode 248 - The Eagle and Four Hawks: The Making of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879
Sir Bartle Frere’s ultimatum to Cetshwayo kaMpande of 11 January 1879 was about to expire.
Last episode I explained the reasons behind Frere’s fevered decision, egged on as he was by Sir Theophilus Shepstone whose shadow looms large over the history of Natal - and South Africa. Cetshwayo’s diplomacy had relied on the British supporting him against the claims of the Boers to his territory to the
Episode 247 - A Ball of Sand Fallacy and Frere Demonizes Cetshwayo
Episode 247 launches us into an intense period. We’re going to travel to the border between the Zulu kingdom and the Transvaal because there’s trouble brewing.
When you hear what shenanigans were planned by British Governor Sir Bartle Frere, you probably won’t believe it. His partner in crime was Sir Theophilus Shepstone who in 1877, had just completed thirty years service as Secretary for Nativ
Episode 246 - Black Bricks, Armed Maids, and the Bloody Marriage of the Ngcugce
The year is1878 - and Cape Governor Sir Sir Bartle Frere is throwing the empire’s weight around South Africa. Let’s put ourselves in his shoes because some historians say he had a formidable Machiavellian personality, full of fatal overconfidence, too used to having his own way and to ignoring the magnitude of obstacles confronting him.
One of those perceived obstacles was Zulu king, Cetshwayo k
Episode 245 - Sir Bartle Frere’s Excellent Adventure: A Gentleman’s Guide to Igniting Wars
Sir Bartle Frere had sailed into South Africa in March 1877 - lauded as a great British administrator in India. He arrived just in time to witness Sir Theophilus Shepstone seize, sorry, annex the Transvaal under the noses of the incredulous and in equal amounts, contemptuous Boers.
Frere was another of Carnarvon’s boys, determined to enforce confederation onto south Africa. He was regarded as on
Episode 244 - Twitters' Transvaal Annexation, Rider Haggard’s Role and Railways
Episode 244 and Victorian popular fiction author H Rider Haggard features as one of the main characters of this tale. Rider Haggards’ creation called Allan Quartermain appeared in 18 novels - the first in what has become known as is the Lost World genre. George Lucas and Philip Kaufman copied the Allan Quartermain template for Indiana Jones character - as well as the basic storylines for movies li
Episode 243 - Guns, Germans and Steal: The Pedi War of 1876
By 1876 the Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Pedi, the amaXhosa had all managed to secure for themselves a fairly easy access to firearms. The Griqualand Diamond fields ignited what could be called a small arms race on the veld. There was supposedly an arms embargo on blacks instituted by the British government two decades before, but this was frequently broken. In the Cape colony and Griqualand west diamond
Episode 242 - Merchant Traders, Natal plantations, African farmers and the Harrismith Sour Veld Land Swindler
Episode 242 is about putting ploughs into the ground, how the rural areas of much of the country was experiencing something of an agricultural revolution. It’s rather a fascinating tale, because there are tremendous contradictions in what we’re going to talk about this episode. As usual, there we will need to combine a global story with our local story —without doing so would be to stunt our aware
Episode 241 - Yankee Babies, Monstrous Cobwebs, the Devil’s Cauldron and Rhodes’ Steam Engine
Episode 241 and we’re back with the diamond miners and their Kaias and Cocopans. More about this in a minute.
A big thank you to Donald Paterson who’s great-great-great grandfather founded Standard Bank, he’s sent a couple of pictures I’m going to use in my next newsletter. And to Rob Bernstein who’s producing a photo-book and who’s asked me to write an epilogue, thanks for the coffee chat and t
Episode 240 - Carnarvon’s Confederation, a Pre-scramble for Africa Geopolitical Mashup & Free State Ships
This is episode 240 and our swivels to the north - a Great Apostle for Confederation and the pre-Scramble for Africa Geopolitical Omlette.
Part of this story is a continuation of the Langalibalele Affair in Natal which had created the perception that the authorities there were unable to cope. This provided an opportunity for Colonial office back in England to consider radical moves like forcing
Episode 239 - The Central South African Powder Magazine and How Chief Langalibalele Ended up on Robben Island
When we left off last episode amaHlubi chief Langalibalele and a few hundred warriors had sought shelter inside Basotholand, crossing the Drakensberg Mountains through Bushmans Pass in November 1873. When the British tried to send columns to corner him, one of the columns had been stopped by amaHlubi at the pass where five of the British troops had been killed, three young Natal Carbineers, a Baso
Episode 238 - ‘Another Little War’ at Bushman’s River Pass and the British Blow up Bits of the Drakensberg
This is episode 238 and it’s going to be full of legal back and forth, all about the Langalibalele Rebellion, another little war as the London times called it — it’s action at Bushman’s River Pass after which British engineers will be sent to blow up bits of the Drakensberg.
In 1873 Benjamin Chilly Campbell Pine was reappointed as Lieutenant-Governor of Natal. Pine was a career officer in the Br
Episode 237 - Going Native, Coconuts, Hindu immigrants and Church and State in Natal
Although responsible government had come comparatively late for the Cape Colony, the transition in many ways was still too early. It had come twenty years after New Zealand and the state of Victoria in what was to become Australia.
The easterners were only partly reconciled to the rule by a Cape Town elite, widely differing personalities made cooperation difficult. The staunchly liberal William
Episode 236 - The Twelve Apostles, Rhodes buys Roodepoort, Sticky-Fingered Diamond Thieves and a New Pass System
The sound of mining —
And the sound of money —
All across Griqualand West, tent towns mushroomed overnight, teeming with fortune seekers from around the world. Tens of thousands by 1873, all descending on a patch of dusty ground that was soon to become a beacon of development on the landscape.
Kimberley.
In the modern world, industrial diamonds have hammered the industry business model,
Ch
Episode 235 - Cetshwayo Glamped and Crowned, Shepstone Stalled, Masiphula Poisoned
This is episode 235, and it’s back to high drama circa 1873.
Before that just some news .. unbelievable as it may appear, Apple Podcasts has named The History of South Africa pod as one of their top ten Best so Far podcasts of 2025. They have asked me to say so, so this is saying so.
An irregular musket salute is in order!!
Thanks to my fantastic listeners for helping make this podcast resonate
Episode 234: Babbage’s Final Calculation, the Cape Charts Its Own Course, and the End of Mpande’s Reign
I have to say a big thank you to Adi and Janice who hosted me at their farm Kalmoesfontein this week as part of the Swartland Revolution events they’re running— I was invited to give a little talk about Jan Smuts of the Swartland and relished the opportunity to delve deeply into a Great South African’s early life.
And to the folks that came to ask questions and be part of the event, thank you to
Episode 233 - Stafford Parker’s Unique Digger’s Republic and Free State/FNB Links
This is an episode packed with odd resonances, echoes, large whiskers, many presidents and the origin of a modern bank.
Now that the diamond fields were being exploited, this being1870, a plethora of politicians lined up to claim ownership — the ever-ambitious and unrealistic President Pretorius of the Transvaal among these, who as you heard last episode, had been chased away by the diggers. The
Episode 232 - Diamond Geology as an Art, Dinosaur Veldskoene and Waterboer’s Claim
This is episode 232 - Diamond Geology as an Art, Dinosaur Veldskoene and Waterboer’s claim
Just a quick note about that amazing podcaster Nicole Engelbrecht —She is the host & creator of True Crime South Africa and the author of Samurai Sword Murder, Sizzlers, and co-author of Killer Stories. Well now there’s another book in her growing body of work called Bare Bones, Cold Cases from True Crime
Episode 231 - Protestants and Catholics Struggle for Moshoeshoe’s Soul in 1870
Moshoeshoe, the Basotho king who’d outwitted, outfought and outlived most of his enemies, was nearing his end. He had managed to ensure his chiefdom survived in signing the Treaty of Aliwal North with the British, who then annexed his territory. Or at least were about to but there were some loose ends to tie up before the Colonial Office signed off on the deal.
One of the loose ends was the oppo
Episode 230 - From Knysna’s Burning Forests to Tolstoy’s War and Peace: The World in 1869
This is episode 230, From Knysna’s Burning Forests to Tolstoy’s War and Peace: The World in 1869.
Globally, the end of the sixth decade of the 19th Century was full of fire and brimbstone, and some technology, social change, significant moments. The construction of the the Port Nolloth-O'okiep railway line is one notable tech development, but on the down side, the Southern Cape experienced a deva
Episode 229 - Moshoeshoe and the Red Dust: How War and Famine Led to British Rule in Lesotho
Episode 229 - Moshoeshoe and the Red Dust, How War and famine led to British rule in Lesotho - we’re speeding up on the trek along history’s trail.
First, a word about the Boer Basotho War of 1865-1868. The 1850s and 1860s marked a period of profound demographic disruption for the Basotho as the borders of Moshoeshoe the First’s kingdom shifted repeatedly under pressure from colonial conflict an
Episode 228 - From Skepticism to Stampede: The Diamond Rush Awakens
A quick shout out, this being the modern equivalent of a tip of the hat to Richard, who has made a significant donation to help me host this series.
I was flabbergasted when receiving the Paypal payment. We have communicated over the years so this is just to say, thank you from the bottom of my heart Richard. When I’m next in Ireland, I promise to buy you a couple of rounds of St James’ Blessing.
Episode 227 - Diamonds, War, and Destiny: Moshoeshoe, the Boers, and the Stone That Changed South Africa
Episode 227 — a turning point not just in our nation’s past, but in the arc of 19th-century global history.
For soon, the earth will yield its glittering secret — the diamond — and with it, fortunes will rise, empires will stir, and the southern tip of Africa will be irrevocably transformed.
But before we reach that seismic revelation, we journey first into the twilight of a king’s life — to the
Episode 226 – The Estate Agent of the Transvaal: Paul Kruger, Mokgatle, the amaMfengu Crossing, and the Battle for Land
The years between 1865 and 1870 would bring a tangle of new challenges for the people of the south. Drought gripped the land with merciless fingers in 1865 and 1866, only to return with cruel insistence between 1868 and 1869. Livelihoods withered, landscapes turned brittle. And yet, amid the dust and desolation, there was a glint of promise on the horizon, a hint of glitter in the forecast.
Briti
Episode 225 - Between Diamonds and Desolation: The Griqua's Journey to East Griqualand
This is episode 225, and the Griqua have trekked from Philippolis near modern day Kimberley, to the Maluti Mountains, a place called Nomansland. In March 1861 Faku Ka-Ngqungqushe of the amaMpondo had ceded the territory to the British, ostensibly so that Theopholis Shepstone could plant the refugees of the Zulu Civil War there, but that idea was scotched, and the Cape Governor gave the territory o
Episode 224 - El Niño’s and Al Nina’s and the Griqua Great Trek to Nomansland
This is episode 224 — the sound in the background is the weather - the other sound is the creaking of wagons as another great trek begins.
We’re going to trace the arc of Southern Africa’s climate, beginning in the early 19th century, before turning to the decade under review — the 1860s — and following the path of the Griqua Great Trek into Nomansland.
First let’s get our heads around the cycl
Episode 223 - The Calliper and the Lens: Gustav Fritsch in the Southern Light (1863–1865)
This is episode 223, the calliper and the lens Gustav Fritsch in the southern Light.
A very quick thank you to Professor Johan Fourie at Stellenbosch Department of Economics who invited me to be part of a workshop about improving the visibility of economic history. What an amazing experience.
This episode of our series is following on from 1863, into 1864, where the movement of people became a
Episode 222 - Global events 1863, Namaqualand Copper and Gunny Sack Shacks
This is episode 222 - Zooming out to peer at 1863, and a bit of Namaqualand Copper and Gunny Bags.
We’ve just entered the period of 1863 to 1865.
It’s also time to take a quick tour of 1863 as is our usual way. While the Transvaal Civil War has ended, the American Civil War is still going gangbusters. In the last 12 months, momentous events have shaped world history. Abraham Lincoln signed the t
Episode 221 - Free State Judges, the Transvaal Civil War and the Architecture of Deliberation
This is episode 221, 1863, the midst of the Transvaal Civil War.
As you heard in episode 220, this was the making of a new president and one who’d take the Trekker Republics into the 20th Century, albeit in the midst of the Anglo-Boer War.
There had been a rapid and real effect — as the farmers took up arms against each other, the Transvaal’s economy collapsed. This weakened the government’s a
Episode 220 - The Transvaal Civil War of 1862-1864 and Paul Kruger’s Dopping Doppers
All manner of things are going on — thanks to those folks out there who’ve been sending me notes and support, much appreciated.
Episode 220 deals with the start of the Transvaal Civil War, and quite a bit about Paul Kruger’s early life.
The American civil war was raging in 1862, and there’s nothing like a war to trigger innovation — if you excuse the pun. Richard Jordan Gatling patented his te
Episode 219 - The Snarled Chronicle of John Orr, Wodehouse Blues and Mercantile Matters
This is episode 219 — a new Governor has sailed into Table Bay.
Sir Philip Edmond Wodehouse, born in 1811, eldest child of Edmond Wodehouse who married his first cousin Lucy, daughter of Philip Wodehouse, uncle Philip to Sir Philip Edmond.
How very Victorian. Queen Victoria herself, who married her first cousin Prince Albert—did allow and even encourage cousin marriage, particularly among royal
Episode 218 - Lifestyle Update 1861 and an Ode to Landscape Motion Intensity and Physiology
We’re doing a little different thing today, having wondered our way through a few thousand years its time to reflect on a few things.
How did people go about their day to day lives, and what was life really like by the mid-19th Century South Africa? This period was dominated by agriculture, it was before the discoveries of most of the valuable minerals that turned the region from a sleepy agrari
Episode 217 - Lovedale, amaXhosa Chiefs Languish on Robben Island and the American Civil War
A quick thank you to all those who’ve been donating towards the upkeep of this series, particularly Chereen and Gerhard, your continued support is making a difference. And Adi the winemaker, dankie meneer, and Seyi who’s trying to get Paypal sorted, thanks!
Not to mention Chris whose significant support means I can host the series long term on iono.fm - and also a shout out, very modern that, a s
Episode 216 - Mpande and Cetshwayo’s Shakespearean Drama Continues, it’s all King Lear, Richard III and Macbeth
It’s episode 216 and we are lurching back to the north east, to Zululand.
The heat is building up, and the conflicted relationship between King Mpande kaSenzanghakhona and his son, Cetshwayo kaMpande, is growing more complex by the minute.
But this being Zululand, that wasn’t the only competition in town.
There was an older son of Mpande, called Hamu, who was his first-born son by Nozibhuku,
Episode 215 – Ostriches Trump Elephants in 1860 and John Dunn: Musket Trader Extraordinaire
Episode 215 has a rather grandiose title but let us stop for a second and take stock.
This southern land, swept by thunderstorms that appear as if by magic, and lash the landscape, rumble across the stubby veld, slinging lightning like a million volt silver sjambok, shaking rocks with their deep growls, bring everything back to life. The air before this denizens of the blue sky pass by is sullen,
Episode 214 - Booming Port Elizabeth, Cunning Cape Town, Indentured Indians and Quarrelling Republics
This is episode 214 and we’re going to probe the fascinating and these days, hidden history of Port Elizabeth or Gqeberha, a bit about indentured Indians arriving in South Africa, and a spot of Boer Republic rebellion.
It’s hardly ever a quiet day in sunny South Africa.
In the eyes of most folks of the south, the Windy City features as a minor point on the urban map and in popular consciousness.
Episode 213 - Grey Mediates, Boshof Fulminates and Moshoeshoe Vacillates before the Treaty of Aliwal North
This is episode 213, and Sir George Grey, the Cape Governor was peering intensely at the Boer Republics to the north.
The Free Staters under Boshof had failed in their mission to drive Moshoeshoe out of the disputed territory south of the Caledon River and many of the burghers changed their tune when it came to possible amalgamation with the Transvaal. They were now considering this a viable opt
Episode 212 - The Basotho-Boer War of 1858 leads to a Burgher Backfire
Episode 212 it is - we’re cruising into 1858 but wait!
The sounds of gunfire!
Yes, it’s that old South African tune, war, set to the music of the guns.
Our society is steeped in action, movement, confrontation. This is not a place for the insipid, the weak, the fearful.
Whatever our belief system or our personal politics, what cannot be disputed is that the country and our ways are those of
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