MATABELELAND: THE WAR, AND OUR POSITION IN SOUTH AFRICA [1893]

Original wraps laid down on modern hardcover.

iv + 167pp. + 13pp publisher's catalogue at rear. Lacks the map. Internally clean. A fair only copy of an important and scarce book.

'It is stated that the author's position in Mashonaland gave him an intimate acquaintance with all the circumstances leading up to the Pioneer Expedition of 1890, and he was present during the period of friction existing between the Portuguese and British, and fully conversant with the possessions and claims of the former in the disputed territories of this portion of Africa. The volume commences with a short sketch, which, while referring to South African expansion and partition, deals with the early history of the country. Among interesting documents recorded is the treaty between Lobengula and Mr. J. S. Moffat, Assistant Commissioner of Bechuanaland, in which the Matabele king engages "not to enter into correspondence or treaty with any foreign state or power, &c. &c. . . . without the previous knowledge and sanction of Her Majesty's High Commissioner for South Africa." The author asserts that the Matabele nation is more a military organisation than a tribe, and has greatly degenerated from the original Zulu stock.  . . . The number of fighting men is estimated at 15,000 to 20,000, and the whole fabric may be easily shaken or broken.' - Mendelssohn Vol.I, page 368-369