The Zulu and Boer wars: Britain in southern Africa 18791902
Start date
16 January 2015
Venue
Madingley Hall
End date
18 January 2015
Madingley
Cambridge
Tutor
Dr Seán Lang
Course code
1415NRX072
Director of Programmes
Emma Jennings
For further information on this
course, please contact
Linda Fisher, Academic Programme Manager on 01223 746218
To book
Liz Deacon, Programme Administrator on 01223 746227
See: www.ice.cam.ac.uk or telephone 01223 746262
Tutor biography
Dr Seán Lang is a Senior Lecturer in History at Anglia Ruskin University, where he specialises in the
history of the British Empire. He has taught widely at school, sixth form and university level and is a
regular lecturer on the University of Cambridge International Summer School. He speaks regularly
on radio and television both about history and about the way it is taught. Dr Lang is a former
Honorary Secretary of the Historical Association and is the Director of the Better History Forum,
which campaigns for change in school history. He has published on British medical work in British
India and has written textbooks on Parliamentary Reform, 1785-1928, Nazi Foreign Policy, 19331939 and Why the First World War Broke Out as well as four history titles in the popular 'For
Dummies' series, including The First World War for Dummies. His podcast giving the history of
Britain within an hour is available from BBC History magazine (www.historyextra.com).
University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ
www.ice.cam.ac.uk
Course programme
Friday 16 January 2015
Please plan to arrive between 16:30 and 18:30. You can meet other course members in the bar
which opens at 18:15. Tea and coffee making facilities are available in the study bedrooms.
19:00
Dinner
20:30 – 22:00
The Victorians in Africa
22:00
Terrace bar open for informal discussion
Saturday 17 January 2015
07:30
Breakfast
09:00 – 10:30
The Road to Isandhlwana
10:30
Coffee
11:00 – 12:30
Rorke’s Drift to Ulundi
13:00
Lunch
14:00 – 16:00
Free
16:00
Tea
16:30 – 18:00
The Randlords and the Raid
18:00 – 18:30
Free
18:30
Dinner
20:00 – 21:30
The Zulu and Boer Wars on film
21:30
Terrace bar open for informal discussion
Sunday 18 January 2015
07:30
Breakfast
09:00 – 10:30
The Boer War – sieges and defeats
10:30
Coffee
11:00 – 12:30
Camps and controversy – the end of the Boer War
12:45
Lunch
The course will disperse after lunch
University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ
www.ice.cam.ac.uk
Course syllabus
Aims:
The course aims to:



introduce students to the events and personalities relevant to the period
provide enough information to serve as a basis for discussion and for further reading
provide the opportunity for discussion and the exchange of ideas
Content:
In the last two decades of the nineteenth century the British developed an almost overpowering
desire to control the southern end of Africa, which meant conquering the Dutch-speaking
Afrikaaners and the powerful kingdom of the Zulus. In both cases the British met initially with
disaster. In 1879 British troops were slaughtered by the Zulus at Isandhlwana and two years later
the British were shot to pieces by Boer marksmen at Majuba Hill. However, Britain remained
determined to control the region, especially as its immense wealth in gold and diamonds became
clearer. In 1899 Boer forces invaded British territory and so sparked off one of the most
controversial wars in British history: the ‘Boer War’ (even the name is contentious) of 1899-1902.
The war in South Africa sparked off an outpouring of imperial enthusiasm in Britain, especially when,
in the early stages, British troops were trapped by the Boers in three small townships, until Field
Marshal Roberts lifted the sieges and carried the war to the Boer capitals. However, the end of the
formal fighting signalled the beginning of a major guerrilla campaign, which the British combated
with a range of measures, including concentration camps, which remain intensely controversial to
this day.
Presentation of the course:
This course will be based on a series of illustrated lectures and on class discussion.
Outcomes:
As a result of the course, within the constraints of the time available, students should be able
to:



have gained a detailed overview of the causes, course and consequences of Britain’s wars
with Zulus and the Boer republics
be able to engage in informed discussion on the historical questions and issues relevant to
the period raised by the course of study
be familiar with different historical interpretations of the period and have the knowledge and
confidence necessary to evaluate them
University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ
www.ice.cam.ac.uk
Reading and resources list
Listed below are a number of texts that might be of interest for future reference, but do not need to
be bought (or consulted) for the course. Texts marked with an asterisk (*) are particularly
recommended.
Author
Title
Publisher and date
*David, Saul
Zulu: the heroism and tragedy of the Zulu War
of 1879
Penguin, 2005
*Pakenham, Thomas
The Boer War
Weidenfeld and
Nicolson, 1993
Barthrop, Michael
Slogging Over Africa: the Boer Wars, 18151902
Cassell, 2002
Bartlett, W B.
Zulu: Queen Victoria’s Most Famous Little War
History Press, 2010
Farwell, Byron
The Great Boer War
Allen Lane, 1999
Greaves, Adrian
Isandhlwana: How the Zulus humbled the
British Empire
Pen and Sword, 2011
Judd, Denis and
Keith Surridge
Boer War
John Murray, 2002
Knight, Ian
Zulu Rising
Macmillan, 2010
Morris, Donald
The Washing of the Spears: the Rise and Fall
of the Great Zulu Nation
Pimlico, 1997
Nasson, Bill
The Boer War: the Struggle for South Africa
History Press, 2011
Note Students of the Institute of Continuing Education are entitled to 20% discount on books
published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) which are purchased at the Press bookshop, 1
Trinity Street, Cambridge (Mon-Sat 9am – 5:30pm, Sun 11am – 5pm). A letter or email confirming
acceptance on to a current Institute course should be taken as evidence of enrolment.
Information correct as of:
01 December 2014
University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ
www.ice.cam.ac.uk