The Matabele War, Part II
J.V. Woolford describes how the defeat of the Matabele in 1893 led to the direct rule of Southern Rhodesia by the British South Africa Company.
Jameson in 1893 had to find an excuse to attack the Matabele. He had to persuade Loch, the Governor in Capetown, to give him permission to go to war, and Loch had to persuade the British government. It is possible to see here the germ of later Rhodesian resentment against British interference, coupled with fierce loyalty to British expansion. To this day, if you scratch a Rhodesian you will find an Englishman- with a difference.
We know from Major Leonard that Jameson supported Irish Home Rule, as did Rhodes. There is still a suburb of Salisbury called Avondale after the Irish estate of Charles Parnell, who supported Rhodes’s quest for the charter for the British South Africa Company, and Home Rule for Ireland agreed with the Rhodes-Jameson vision of a British Empire of allied and self-governing states under the British crown.
To continue reading this article you will need to purchase access to the online archive.
Buy Online Access Buy Print & Archive Subscription
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
