The Rise & Fall of the Zulu Nation

One of the great untold stories of pre-colonial Africa at last receives a chronicle worthy of its significance. Revisit exotic Zululand, once the most powerful black state in Africa. It experienced only sixty years of independence, and during that time weathered more than other countries endure in centuries. See its rebellions by discontented subjects and ambitious princes, and the intrusions by traders, missionaries, and land-hungry settlers. View the seeds of its downfall in the invasion by the Dutch Voortrekkers, and its final destruction at the hands of the British -- who, at the height of their imperial power, required a full, six-month-long military campaign to bring the kingdom down. Finally, look towards the future, and the ways in which the kingdom lives on in the dreams of the new South Africa. Dozens of black-and-white photographs, as well as sketches, capture Zululand's undulating hillsides, its proud and self-assured people and artifacts, including ceremonial staffs, shields, woven baskets, and spears.