NationMaster - Encyclopedia: First Matabele War

The first Matabele War was fought in 1893 between the British and the Matabele nation. Lobengula, king of the Matabele, had worked hard to avoid confrontation with Cecil Rhodes, but a brutal Matabele attack on another tribe, the Shona, led to confrontation with the white people. The British South Africa Company consisted of only 1,100 men versus 18,000 Matabele warriors, but superior weapons gave Rhodes' forces a decisive edge. Matabeleland is a region in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. ... Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. ... National motto: Sit Nomine Digna (Latin: May she be worthy of the name) Official language English Capital Salisbury Political system Parliamentary system Form of government Constitutional monarchy (until 1970) Republic (March 2, 1970) - Last President John Wrathall - Prime Minister Ian Smith Area - Total - % water 390 580 kmÂ² 1% Population - 1978... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Flag of Southern Rhodesia, (BSA) chartered company administration. ... The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was a regimented police force which operated in Britains Southern African territories such as Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia. ... The Matabele are a branch of the Zulus who split from King Shaka in the early 1820s under the leadership of Mzilikazi, a former general in Shakas army. ... Cecil Rhodes. ... An 1895 cartoon of Jameson from Vanity Fair Sir Leander Starr Jameson, 1st Baronet, KCMG (February 9, 1853 â€“ November 26, 1917), also known as Doctor Jim, was a British colonial statesman who was best known for his involvement in the Jameson Raid. ... Lobengula (d. ... The Matabele are a branch of the Zulus who split from King Shaka in the early 1820s under the leadership of Mzilikazi, a former general in Shakas army. ... Lobengula (d. ... Cecil Rhodes. ... Shona may refer to: Shona people, a Southern African people. ... The flag of the British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC) was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company, Ltd. ...

An early battle in the war occurred on November 1, 1893 when the laager was attacked on open ground a few miles from the Impembisi River. The laager consisted of 670 British soldiers, 400 of whom were mounted along with a small force of native allies fought off the Imbezu and Ingubu regiments computed by Sir John Willoughby to number 1700 warriors in all. The laager had with it a small artillery of 5 Maxim gun, 2 seven-pounders, 1 Gardner gun, and 1 Hotchkiss. The Maxim guns took center stage and decimated the native force. Other African regiments were in the immediate vicinity, estimated at 5000 men, however this force never took part in the fighting. November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A laager is a defensive formation of vehicles. ... An early Maxim gun in operation with the Royal Navy A 1895 . ... The Gardner gun was an early type of machine gun. ... Hotchkiss may refer to one of several articles in Wikipedia: Hotchkiss (auto), a French auto manufacturer Hotchkiss, Colorado, a town in the USA, or Hotchkiss School, a preparatory school in Connecticut, USA Hotchkiss is also the generic name for office staplers in Japan and Korea, probably deriving from the brand...

In perhaps the most famous incident in the war, Lobengula decided to burn his capital Bulawayo to the ground rather than allow it to be captured by the British. Upon arriving at the remains of Bulawayo, a column of British soldiers was dispatched to find and attempt to capture Lobengula. On December 3, 1893, one of the British patrols encountered Lobengula, but it was cut-off from the rest of the column by a combination of heavy rains, causing the Shangani river to swell, and a large contingent of Matabete warriors. Efforts by the Commanding Officer of the column to re-enforce the patrol were too little and too late to make a difference. The ensuing battle and eventual loss of 34 white soldiers under the command of Major Allan Wilson became known simply as the Shangani Patrol. Remarkably, two Americans who accompanied the patrol, the lead Scout Frederick Russell Burnham, his companion Pearl "Pete" Ingram, and an Australian named Gooding, successfully escaped across the swollen Shangani under the orders of Wilson and survived this British equivalent to Custer's Last Stand. The City of Bulawayo is highlighted in this map of Zimbabwe. ... December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A panel from the Shangani Memorial at Worlds View in Zimbabwe, c1905. ... A panel from the Shangani Memorial at Worlds View in Zimbabwe, c1905. ... Major Frederick Russell Burnham (1861-1947), an American explorer from California, taught Scouting to Robert Baden-Powell, becoming one of the inspirations causing Baden-Powell to eventually found the Boy Scouts. ... Battle of the Little Bighorn Conflict Black Hills War, Indian Wars Date June 25, 1876 Place Near the Little Bighorn River, Big Horn County, Montana Result Substantial Native American victory The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Custers Last Stand, was an engagement between a Lakota-Northern Cheyenne...

Lobengula eventually died under somewhat mysterious circumstances sometime in January 1894. The Matabele wariors gradually succumbed to the superior British firepower and, by 1895, the troops of the British South Africa Company contolled most of the Matabele territory and white settlers continued to arrive. The flag of the British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC) was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company, Ltd. ...

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