Year of the Uprising

This is a historical novel about the uprising of the Mashona and Matabele in then-Rhodesia in 1896 and 1897. Their land was taken from them forcefully by Rhodes and his gang, but the organized rebellion was a lesson to the whites that these people were not going to be treated like dogs and do nothing about it.

The uprising did not succeed in driving whites out of the country, but it was successful in shaking the thinking of many whites into the realization that another rebellion in the future may not end well for them. It probably set the pace for future liberation struggles and the eventual birth of a Zimbabwe governed by “natives.”

June 8, 2015. Review initially written in 1993. Novel first published in 1978. Picture source: booklikes.com.

On Trial for My Country

A historical novel that depicts the tricky and dubious means by which Cecil Rhodes and his agents took over land ruled by the Matabele king Lobengula, raided the king and drove him off the land, in order to establish Rhodesia.

The landmark events leading to the demise of the king were introduced in two versions, from the point of view of Lobengula, and of Cecil and his agents. By the end it was obvious the land and people that became Rhodesia was taken from the king by force through un-Christian means with no regard to the feelings of the African owners. Seems similar to the acquisition of American Indian land by European settlers to form the USA.

March 18, 2015. Review initially written in 1993. Novel first published in 1966. Picture source: Yahoo (Images).