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Description

A Comprehensive Map of Zululand At The Outset of the Anglo-Zulu War

Rare separately published map of Zululand, prepared by the Quatermaster General's Department of the British War Office, March 21, 1879.

The map was compiled shortly after the start of the Anglo-Zulu Wars in 1879 and is without question one of the most comprehensive maps of the region issued to date.

The table at the bottom right provides a table of astronomical observations entitled "Star For Latitude, Zululand, By Meridian Altiudes, Month, May." The second reference table includes a note on the 5 Zululand Tribes, their locations by Longitude and Latitude and male population.

The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following Lord Carnarvon's successful introduction of federation in Canada, it was thought that similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might succeed with the African kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa. In 1874, Sir Henry Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to execute on the plan. Among the obstacles were the presence of the independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand and its army.

Frere, on his own initiative, without the approval of the British government and with the intent of instigating a war with the Zulu, had presented an ultimatum on December 11, 1878, to the Zulu king Cetshwayo with which the Zulu king could not comply. Bartle Frere then sent Lord Chelmsford to invade Zululand in January 1879, after this ultimatum was not met.

The war is notable for several particularly bloody battles, including an opening victory of the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana, followed by the defeat of a large Zulu army at Rorke's Drift by a small force of British troops. The war eventually resulted in a British victory and the end of the Zulu nation's dominance of the region.

Rarity

The map is apparently quite rare. We note only copies at the University of Kwazulu Natal, British Library, Cambridge and Oxford.

Condition Description
Trimmed to the neatlines, with a bit of loss.