The Boer Wars (1): 1836-98

Osprey Men at Arms #301

by Ian Knight

Over the space of two centuries, the original Dutch settlers of South Africa, augmented by a trickle of refugees from a succession of religious wars in France and Germany, grew into a hardy breed. In time, these people came to think of themselves as white Africans or 'Afrikaners' though they were generally known to one another, and outsiders, as 'Boers', meaning farmers. This book details the fascinating history of the Boers from the 'Great Trek' of 1836-40, through their many wars with such peoples as the Zulus and the Pedi, to their final defeat of the Venda in 1898.

Genres: Africa, South Africa, Military History, Nonfiction, History

48 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 1996

About the author

Ian Knight, BA, FRGS is a historian, author, battlefield guide and artifacts specialist internationally regarded as a leading authority on the nineteenth-century history of the Zulu kingdom, and in particular the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. He has a degree in Afro-Caribbean Studies from the University of Kent and has been researching and writing for more than thirty years. He has published over forty books and monographs, the majority of them on Zulu history and the rest on other nineteenth-century British colonial campaigns. He has appeared on-screen in a number of television documentaries. He is an Honorary Research Associate of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg.