So glad you covered this! I was aware of the confrontation when I visited Durban 22 years ago, but I never so any of that. Then again, we didn't have a local guide and we were more worried about getting mugged. When I headed up a small living history organisation called The Heilbron Commando 2002-2009, I pointed out in my talks that what we know as the 'First Boer War' (1880-81) was actually the fourth confrontation between Boers and Brits. I hope you get to cover the other small battles.
Ever since reading James A. Michener's " The Covenant" back in the '80's I have been interested in South African history. But this is one story I'd never heard. Very well put together video. Thanks !!
Thank you for covering some history about South Africa. I am n Boer of Boer decend and just want to point out a few things. First al all is the fact that there is a mis conceptiin that we, the Boers, is of Dutch decent. The majority of Boers decended from mainly Germanany. Second in line is Dutch, then French then English, Scotish, Irish and Welsh. We also have ancesters from other European countries like Denmark Finland, Sweden etc. I think the reason why most people think that we are mainly Dutch decent is because that the Cape was first rule by the Duch East company, therefore the language was Dutch in the begining. The second mistake people make is to think or believe that the Boers and Afrikaners are the same group of peoole, we are not..please do not ever call us Afrikaners! Next thing i want to point out is that the Boers bought land legaly from the Zulu king Dingane. The piece of land happen to be also the Durban area where the Brittish settlers lived. Unfortunately the Brittish setlers never bougth any land from the Zulus, therefore that when the Boers bought the land they became citizens of that land. Most of the Brittish welcomed the new republick and the Boers for safety. The teasons why the Brittish goverment in the Cape did not like the idea of the Boers in Natal and especial in Durban is as follows. One. The Brittish never liked the idea of the Boers leaving the Cape because of tax losses and the fact that the moving away out of the Cape would weaken the Eastern border of the Cape, thus leave the Cape exposed to attacks by the Xhozas. By the way,,, the reason why he Boers treked was because of the bad treatment by the Brittish coverment and not as always said, the abolishment of slavery. In fact many "freed slaves" trekked with the Boers in search of freedom. (These so called "slaves" got their own peace of land later. This they called, Nooitverwacght, translatd it mean never expected, because they said that they never expected to be free at last.) Point no 2 why the Brittish coverment did not want the Boers in Natal was that then they will be able to trade freely and not use Brittish controled harbours. They also coud then not stop the Boers from getting gun powder and amunition. When the Boers left the Cape colony, they put a ban on exporting amunition and goods to the Boers. This they thought this would force the Boers to move back to the Cape. Then the most inportant reason for the Brittish to anax Natal and later the Zulu kindom was that there was coal discovered and the time of steamships just starting to came in. That make it convenient to take caol in halfway to India witch leave more spase for cargo. NS. The Boers bought their land leagaly from the Zulus. If they wanted to steal or anaxed the rest of Natal, it was in their power to do so after the battle of Blood river. But they dit not, they respected the Zulu kingdom after the pease. Hope that people find this informasion valuable.
@@DawiePieterse-n7t I am an Afrikaner and you are a boer. I have no idea where you get the idea from that Boere/Afrikaners are mostly from German descent. The Germans came much later and then mostly as settlers to the Border area. But then we all have different ancestry, but I think you are a bit confused.
@nettahunter7058 good mornig. Yes i know what you think is what most South Africans think, that we, the Boers, are mostly of Dutch decent. It was a big surprise to me as wel when i found out tha this is not the case. I have made a good study of te Boer people over 4 years an made a lot of discoverys about their ancestry. It is tru that the Dutch East company settle first, but that is where it end. The company made use of many poeple other than the Dutch. For your own recearch you my start and look up the relation in Dutch and German surnames in SA. You wil find that German surnames are the majority. Roughtly the numers ofsetlers who came to the Cape is as follows. German 3500 the first wave. Then later another 3000. The Ducth 3000. The French 350. Late biger number of British setlers arive. My ancestry acording to my surname was Danish. 1742. Like my surname the origenal spelling was changed to a more Dutch spelling. Pederson to Pieterse. There were also the suname Pieterse from Holland and Germany, but mine came from Danish.
@nettahunter7058 onother interesing point is that the name Afrikaner as a people, does not belong to any white person or groep. That name belong to the Afrikanee stam of Jan Jonker Afrikaner.. They were the first tribe that used the name Afrikaner about 150 years before any white group was called that. Google Jan Jonker Afrikaner. In the beginning there re two groups of people in the Cape that spok Dutch. The first group was referred to as the Cape Dutch. The other group was called the Boers ( Boere, grens Boere, trek Boere of imigranten Boere) Most of the Boers treked in 1836 and established their first BOER republick. Mare or les 40 years later the Cape Dutch Leaders in the Cape start caling the Dutch Speaking people in the Cape, Afrikaners. A name they hae stolen from the coullered Afrianer tribe who by this tie lived in Suid wes ( Nanidia). So long before the white Afrikaners existed the Boer people alredy existed and lived in their Boer republicks. During the 2nd Boer (not Afrikaner) war the Cape Afrikaners (Cape Dutch it should be) fougt with the British aganst the Boers.. I have got proof of what i say.
@@DawiePieterse-n7t Het jy geweet die eerste persoon wat homself ge-identifiseer het as 'n "Afrikander", nie Hollands was nie, maar 'n vrygebore kind van 'n Maleise slaaf? Ek het al gehoor ons is afstammelinge wan die Duitse. Maar snaaks genoeg, het nog net die kakstorie gehoor by AWB lede. Sal glo jy praat nie kak nie, as jy kan vetroude bronne wys.
I've lived in Durban all my life. Know the history of your talk and it's correct. Had my wedding photo's taken at the Old Fort, across the road of Kingsmead cricket ground, which I've been to many, many times. My late great uncle "Galloping" Jack Royston's uniform is in the MOTH history museum. At 16 he ran away from home twice to fight in the Anglo Zulu war. Was at the siege of Ladysmith and took part in a raid to demolish a Boer gun. He also fought for the Australian Light Horse in WW1.
back in the day nobody treated each other fair..i'm descendent of the voortrekkers and the field marshall in the anglo-boer war. can tell you one thing about our people - they're stubborn as hell (usually to our detriment)
The South Coast of Natal was (and still is in places) an absolute nightmare to trek through. The vegetation just off the beach was very densely overgrown with thorns of all shapes and sizes. So you either hike on the beach, or cut a path through the strip of dense bush along the coast to reach easier terrain. Further inland, the vegetation is not quite as dense, and easier to traverse in comparison. I've hiked most of the Wild Coast a little further south of Natals South Coast, and stayed on the South Coast for a couple of months with family. There are HUGE snails there with shells the size of a mans fist!
@redcoathistory Hole in the Wall was spectacular, but the last time I went hiking was in the 1990's, so I don't know what's on offer at all nowadays. Further North, up the coast past Durban, is the Mziki hiking trail and the Mount Tabor hut. (which has one of the most amazing views from a toilet I've ever seen.) The hut is an old radar station that overlooks the St. Lucia Estuary where Catalinas were based during WWII. You could see the tail of one that crashed in the estuary. The ancient sand dunes are very tall and overgrown with trees and grass, and give a good view of the sea there too. The biggest danger while on one of the 3 day trails, are the hippos. It was like being in the army again, hiking along, constantly keeping an eye out for which tree I'd be scaling in the event of a hippo encounter. I'm old and disabled now, so can't even tell you what those areas are like anymore.
I hope it's a glitch on my UA-cam, but it looks like this video has only got seven views and just one like from myself here! If so that's criminal, it's a very interesting video and it covers a sadly neglected part of fascinating South African history. Great Britain's first clash with the Boers ought to be better remembered. Thank you very much for your hard work lad! It is much appreciated.
Thanks John. . . I haven't released the video yet so you are part of an elite band who have found it buried in a playlist. Will probably be publically available in two or three weeks and then I hope it will get a few more views. Thanks for watching.
Chris-one of your 🇺🇸supporters and a fan. I was just visiting some historic sites recently and then realized how has he not covered this very Redcoat conflict. I am talking about General Braddock’s epic march, major engineering undertaking, and infamous defeat to kick off the French and Indian War. Braddock’s junior officers and some enlisted are a literal whos who of the American War of Independence fought 20 years later. How have you not covered this yet. If you make it over there are dozens of preserved sites to visit!
The area from Durban to Grahamstown, where Dick King travelled by horseback to get help, has many rivers and deep gorges apart from the thick bush. I must have been an absolute nightmare of a journey.
Your presentation is super excellent . You would definitely have plenty more material at hand covering the conflict between Boer and Brit in SA going forward from this well researched and detailed point.
Super interesting story. I was not aware of this; I thought the conflict was mostly the two big wars in the late 19th century. Thanks, Chris! Regards from Canada 🇨🇦
Re your comparing MOTH with British Legion. Almost but not quite😊 The British Empire Services League (BESL) was founded in Cape Town in 1921 to assist WW1 veterans. In the same year Vic Clapham and mates in Durban ran the first Comrades Marathon in memory of their fallen comrades. The BESL went through a series of changes that ended with separation into South African Legion and British Legion. MOTH (Memorable Order of Tin Hats) began in Durban in 1927. The essential difference between MOTH and Legion is that Legion is constituted as an association to assist veterans while MOTH is constituted as a fraternal order for those who have actually been on active service. Both serve very similar purpose and cooperate in pursuit of common purpose.
My Great grandad George Burton fought in the Boer war, and I have his diary of every day account from when he sailed from Southampton to Cape Town, and every day he was over there fascinating read
Redcoat history, you should do a video on Operation Epsom WW2 where British forces faced the densest concentration of German Armour in Normandy. Eight Panzer Divisions ( 5 of which were Waffen SS) it was a hell of a fight.
I am feverishly hoping that one of you Brit historians would cover the voyage, initial experiences and subsequent actions of Dick King's persuasion, the 1820 British Settlers to South Africa. I am descended from them on my father's side, and Afrikaner on my mother's. They had a deep sense of gratitude towards the Boers at first, when they landed and had to be taken to their allotments, and a sense of cameraderie during Xhosa raids thereafter. They fought together during the Sixth Frontier War, and the bible on which Sarel Cilliers swore the Covenant prior to Blood River was a gift from the 1820 Settlers.
Well done learned a great deal. Appears that N.B. Forrest of the American Civil War would have fit right in with the Boer tactics. Forrest once captured Col. Abel Straight's much larger calvary forece at Cedar Bluff Alabama in 1863. Good thing the Brits didn't have that commander to go up against.
Ther NEVER was a Boer War!! The Boer's never went to england to fight the English. The English came to South Africa to fight the Boers. So it was an English War.
Can your next video please be Scwartkoppies? Buck Adams' The Red Dragoon is one of the best accounts of a private soldier during the 1840s though somewhat at odds with official accounts (the 7th DG amazingly went into action with their heavy dragoon helmets which were dropped for forage caps for the war of the axe). I am working on a miniature display of the action of Harry Darell, who saw action in both SA and with the 18th Foot in China. Love your work😊
It's published in the Leonaur Eyewitness to history range, just had my copy arrive here in Oz and am ploughing through it. He lived till 1910 apparently and wrote it some 40 years after Gwanga River. Mike Snooks Cape Warriors book has an illustration of him by the Perrys during the Gwanga River charge
Some great titles in that range like a Norfolk Soldier in the Sikh War, has inspired me to spend a small fortune on Empress (formerly Iron Duke) miniatures Sikh Wars and South Africa in the 1840s 50s range!
In 1842 the British was introduced to "guerilla warfare" by the Boers and got their first bloodied nose. Towards the end of the nineteenth century a couple of skirmishes between Brit and Boer took place all over Natal and Transvaal provinces, some won and some lost on both sides. Eventually, at the end of the Anglo Boer war in the early nineteen hundreds, the Afrikaner had to succumb when Britain imported some four hundred thousand soldiers, thus turning the tables on a handful of Boers. Thank you for an interesting video. South Africa was colonized by the British, got independence in the early nineteen sixties and was re colonized by the ANC in 1994.
Nope 1st fight was in a Town called Klawer. 190km north of Cape Town. The battle took place in a valley called War Valley in Afrikaans, Oorlogsvalei in Afrikaans. I stay 2km from the site, and even have access to the dumpsite used since that war. The family owning the property wil never alow anybody on the site, thus the reason why no documentary about it exists. The valley is part of a mountain with 2 local names adding to confusion in finding the exact site. The mountains are next to each other 10km apart. 1 is Poison Mountain and the other Maskam Mountain. The battle took part on Maskam mountain in Oorlogs Valley. The same family own the farm since befire that battle, the Mouton Family and like I said, they prevent access to the battlefield
Seems mad that you're a bloke born and raised in some urban area of Britain, then to find yourself in an utterly alien environment like this. Talk about trippy.
Dutch first, French and Germans and then the rest. Drommedaris, Cape of Good Hope and Reijger were all 3 Dutch ships. Van Riebeeck founded the Cape Colony and he was Dutch 1652.
Here is some text as quoted by great men surrounding the south African Afrikaners or BOERS "Give me 20 divisions American soldiers and I will breach Europe. Give me 15 consisting of Englishmen, and I will advance to the borders of Berlin. Give me two divisions of those marvellous fighting Boers (Meaning Farmer, originating from the Boer War) and I will remove Germany from the face of the earth." Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, Commander of the Allled forces during WWII. "The Americans fight for a free world, the English mostly for honour and glory and medals, the French and Canadians decide too late that they have to participate. The Italians are too scared to fight; the Russians have no choice. The Germans for the Fatherland. The Boers? Those sons of bitches fight for the hell of it." American General, George "Guts and Glory" Patton "Take a community of Dutchmen of the type of those who defended themselves for fifty years against all the power of Spain at a time when Spain was the greatest power in the world. Intermix with them a strain of those inflexible French Huguenots, who gave up their name and left their country forever at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The product must obviously be one of the most rugged, virile, unconquerable races ever seen upon the face of the earth. Take these formidable people and train them for seven generations in constant warfare against savage men and ferocious beasts, in circumstances in which no weakling could survive; place them so that they acquire skill with weapons and in horsemanship, give them a country which is eminently suited to the tactics of the huntsman, the marksman and the rider. Then, finally, put a fine temper upon their military qualities by a dour fatalistic Old Testament religion and an ardent and consuming patriotism. Combine all these qualities and all these impulses in one individual and you have the modern Boer." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
"The 23rd of May 1842…Ring a bell? Probably not…unless you are a massive military history geek like me." Well that was the year that Britain TOTALLY kneed China in the nads in the Opium War, savoured the lyrical quality of their bleatings about "UNEQUAL Treaties!!!!" (who the f*** ever said treaties have to be between EQUALS ?! When had China ever held back from treating others as inferiors when the going was good ??!!) , AND began one of the better ideas anyone ever had, the founding of Hong Kong !!
Easy to portray British Imperial armed forces as incompetent, but the reality a global empire achieved what many can only dream of is undeniable reality.
Achieved because had by luck had an advantage at the time. Had Napoleon won, and sadly he didn't, the situation would have looked different. And you're correct that many the Brits achieved a lot but unfortunately this glory will never return and Britain will only become less important as other countries overtake it given that the genie of science/technology has been released to the world.
@@Kitiwake How else could the British Empire be the only one to ever seek out and destroy the slave industry to end global slavery ?. By using tea cakes .
thats when the British took over the Gold and Diamond mines, i wonder if the soldiers who actually did the fighting actually got any of the booty, probably not.
I,was always very anry that the British took Natal from us.But,More and more Afrikaaners seeking the always on Vacation dream house by the Sea have resettled to the Coast and are a Afrilaner Comunity between the Souties as we call The English salties.Especially round Margate but even some in Durban.Natal is a,very beautifull place.Ofcourse Dick King saved to British but without him the garrison would have surrendered unfortunate to us if we had a,Sea port open to,our Allies Netherlands,Germany,France,just imagine as look in what a short time we had to build a New Country out of ash.And before the second Boer war the ZAR had a railway service power generator telephone lines to forts in Pretoria,without the 2 nd Boer war The Zar was becoming a small Belgium of prosperityso its like every time the British just came in to ruin everything again.Because want everything control everything for selfish imperialist needs.But we live in Peace in modern SA different Europeans but yeah one part British one part Western European descent but all South African.Though culturally well still have own heritage and delicacies melktert,koeksusters and Boerewors which the Brits are crazy about and our Braai,s meat Bbqs and the English took all of those things and agree that they are splendid Boer food,delicacies.
Most Boers/Voortrekkers couldn't afford a slave. The slaves were owned by the East India Company mostly. It's always better to know your history before opening your mouth.
@@peterwebb8732 The VOC owned slaves mate. I'm just tried of poms using the British ban on slavery as the only and primary reason for the Dutch undertaking the Great Trek. When in fact it was not.
@@PhansiKhongoloza I’m tired of people pretending that the British were evil and that Boer treatment of the natives had nothing to do with it. I’ve lived all my life in a former British Colony. It’s history is not perfect, but the cheap shots and the a-contextual historical revisionism is ridiculous.
Through all of these battles from the very beginning of the occupation. You have to wonder how meny true Africans lost their lives as well as their land?
@@PhansiKhongolozaShaka was still busy building a Zulu nation. The Xhosa people were further down south, many displaced by Shaka and Dingaan. I think the largest number of black lives were lost during the mFecane and by fellow black. Many tribes were displaced to Zimbabwe, the Northern and Southern parts of South Africa and many people died. Some looked for refuge with the trekkers, some with the British, some formed new tribes.
@@nettahunter7058 1842. Shaka was long dead. The Battle of Blood River was took place on 16 December 1838. The Zulu (under Dingane) were defeated. The Voortrekkers had asked Dingane for the area South of the Tugela and west of the Buffalo. An area not settled by the Zulu and not considered part of Zululand by the Zulu themselves. And are which was inhabited by very small and scattered cannibal tribes which were hostile towards the Zulu anyway. As you know Dingane had ambushed Piet Retief and his party and murdered them. And event which lead to the batte. The Zulu were defeated and the Voortrekkers took Natal. Shoshangaan had already departed for Mozambique during Shaka's time (IE Pre 1828) as has Mizilikazi already departed for the Transvaal. Where he was defeated by the Boers and had moved on to Bulawayo (Rhodesia. Called Zambizia at this point) so I'm not quite with you.
So glad you covered this! I was aware of the confrontation when I visited Durban 22 years ago, but I never so any of that. Then again, we didn't have a local guide and we were more worried about getting mugged. When I headed up a small living history organisation called The Heilbron Commando 2002-2009, I pointed out in my talks that what we know as the 'First Boer War' (1880-81) was actually the fourth confrontation between Boers and Brits. I hope you get to cover the other small battles.
I was thinking just that, he’s wondering around Umbilo, but came back with his camera, so must of had security 😝
PS we’ve renamed it Dirtbin 😉
@@Slippery_Pickle47.3 😆
Ever since reading James A. Michener's " The Covenant" back in the '80's I have been interested in South African history. But this is one story I'd never heard. Very well put together video. Thanks !!
OMG mate - you have just taught me something I didn't know, and I grew up in Durban. Thank you so much - that was VERY interesting
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks a lot.
also grew up in durban, the heroics of Dick King was part of our history class
Always love your walking the ground videos Chris, great stuff.
Absolutely. It is always something to walk the ground where these events took place.
Glad you enjoyed it thanks a lot.
Thank you for covering some history about South Africa. I am n Boer of Boer decend and just want to point out a few things.
First al all is the fact that there is a mis conceptiin that we, the Boers, is of Dutch decent.
The majority of Boers decended from mainly Germanany. Second in line is Dutch, then French then English, Scotish, Irish and Welsh. We also have ancesters from other European countries like Denmark Finland, Sweden etc.
I think the reason why most people think that we are mainly Dutch decent is because that the Cape was first rule by the Duch East company, therefore the language was Dutch in the begining.
The second mistake people make is to think or believe that the Boers and Afrikaners are the same group of peoole, we are not..please do not ever call us Afrikaners!
Next thing i want to point out is that the Boers bought land legaly from the Zulu king Dingane. The piece of land happen to be also the Durban area where the Brittish settlers lived. Unfortunately the Brittish setlers never bougth any land from the Zulus, therefore that when the Boers bought the land they became citizens of that land. Most of the Brittish welcomed the new republick and the Boers for safety.
The teasons why the Brittish goverment in the Cape did not like the idea of the Boers in Natal and especial in Durban is as follows.
One. The Brittish never liked the idea of the Boers leaving the Cape because of tax losses and the fact that the moving away out of the Cape would weaken the Eastern border of the Cape, thus leave the Cape exposed to attacks by the Xhozas. By the way,,, the reason why he Boers treked was because of the bad treatment by the Brittish coverment and not as always said, the abolishment of slavery. In fact many "freed slaves" trekked with the Boers in search of freedom. (These so called "slaves" got their own peace of land later. This they called, Nooitverwacght, translatd it mean never expected, because they said that they never expected to be free at last.)
Point no 2 why the Brittish coverment did not want the Boers in Natal was that then they will be able to trade freely and not use Brittish controled harbours. They also coud then not stop the Boers from getting gun powder and amunition. When the Boers left the Cape colony, they put a ban on exporting amunition and goods to the Boers. This they thought this would force the Boers to move back to the Cape.
Then the most inportant reason for the Brittish to anax Natal and later the Zulu kindom was that there was coal discovered and the time of steamships just starting to came in. That make it convenient to take caol in halfway to India witch leave more spase for cargo.
NS. The Boers bought their land leagaly from the Zulus. If they wanted to steal or anaxed the rest of Natal, it was in their power to do so after the battle of Blood river. But they dit not, they respected the Zulu kingdom after the pease.
Hope that people find this informasion valuable.
@@DawiePieterse-n7t I am an Afrikaner and you are a boer. I have no idea where you get the idea from that Boere/Afrikaners are mostly from German descent. The Germans came much later and then mostly as settlers to the Border area. But then we all have different ancestry, but I think you are a bit confused.
@nettahunter7058 good mornig. Yes i know what you think is what most South Africans think, that we, the Boers, are mostly of Dutch decent. It was a big surprise to me as wel when i found out tha this is not the case.
I have made a good study of te Boer people over 4 years an made a lot of discoverys about their ancestry.
It is tru that the Dutch East company settle first, but that is where it end. The company made use of many poeple other than the Dutch.
For your own recearch you my start and look up the relation in Dutch and German surnames in SA. You wil find that German surnames are the majority.
Roughtly the numers ofsetlers who came to the Cape is as follows.
German 3500 the first wave. Then later another 3000.
The Ducth 3000.
The French 350.
Late biger number of British setlers arive.
My ancestry acording to my surname was Danish. 1742.
Like my surname the origenal spelling was changed to a more Dutch spelling. Pederson to Pieterse.
There were also the suname Pieterse from Holland and Germany, but mine came from Danish.
@nettahunter7058 onother interesing point is that the name Afrikaner as a people, does not belong to any white person or groep. That name belong to the Afrikanee stam of Jan Jonker Afrikaner..
They were the first tribe that used the name Afrikaner about 150 years before any white group was called that. Google Jan Jonker Afrikaner.
In the beginning there re two groups of people in the Cape that spok Dutch.
The first group was referred to as the Cape Dutch. The other group was called the Boers ( Boere, grens Boere, trek Boere of imigranten Boere)
Most of the Boers treked in 1836 and established their first BOER republick.
Mare or les 40 years later the Cape Dutch Leaders in the Cape start caling the Dutch Speaking people in the Cape, Afrikaners. A name they hae stolen from the coullered Afrianer tribe who by this tie lived in Suid wes ( Nanidia).
So long before the white Afrikaners existed the Boer people alredy existed and lived in their Boer republicks.
During the 2nd Boer (not Afrikaner) war the Cape Afrikaners (Cape Dutch it should be) fougt with the British aganst the Boers..
I have got proof of what i say.
@@DawiePieterse-n7t Het jy geweet die eerste persoon wat homself ge-identifiseer het as 'n "Afrikander", nie Hollands was nie, maar 'n vrygebore kind van 'n Maleise slaaf?
Ek het al gehoor ons is afstammelinge wan die Duitse. Maar snaaks genoeg, het nog net die kakstorie gehoor by AWB lede. Sal glo jy praat nie kak nie, as jy kan vetroude bronne wys.
@@nettahunter7058 I do. It's a rather old yarn I've heard from the AWB.
Great info mate. Well worth a watch for any budding military historian. Thank you.
Thanks mate.
Great work Redcoat History!
Fantastic video. Many thanks! So many of those plaques and memorials are forgotten, even to residents of Durban.
Great content Chris never knew any of this before today
Fantastic as usual Chris!
Never heard of this story before, thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it
Excellent doco…you have just taught me something interesting.
Another great scoop, you nailed it again mate, I rely on you to bring us this pearls about South African military history, thanks for sharing bro.
Thanks, brother. Im glad you enjoyed it.
I've lived in Durban all my life. Know the history of your talk and it's correct. Had my wedding photo's taken at the Old Fort, across the road of Kingsmead cricket ground, which I've been to many, many times. My late great uncle "Galloping" Jack Royston's uniform is in the MOTH history museum. At 16 he ran away from home twice to fight in the Anglo Zulu war. Was at the siege of Ladysmith and took part in a raid to demolish a Boer gun. He also fought for the Australian Light Horse in WW1.
As a Brit I think the way our country treated the Voortrekkers is pretty disgusting
It's actually quite complicated to be fair.
It's really just disgusting though
@@FlipFlicks87Seems you’ve made up your mind. All the best.
Wow. Good for you. Very humble and sporting of you.
back in the day nobody treated each other fair..i'm descendent of the voortrekkers and the field marshall in the anglo-boer war. can tell you one thing about our people - they're stubborn as hell (usually to our detriment)
The South Coast of Natal was (and still is in places) an absolute nightmare to trek through.
The vegetation just off the beach was very densely overgrown with thorns of all shapes and sizes.
So you either hike on the beach, or cut a path through the strip of dense bush along the coast to reach easier terrain.
Further inland, the vegetation is not quite as dense, and easier to traverse in comparison.
I've hiked most of the Wild Coast a little further south of Natals South Coast, and stayed on the South Coast for a couple of months with family.
There are HUGE snails there with shells the size of a mans fist!
Wow snails as big as a fist - that I can't wait to see. Would love to hike that area. . . Any "must see" spots?
@redcoathistory Hole in the Wall was spectacular, but the last time I went hiking was in the 1990's, so I don't know what's on offer at all nowadays.
Further North, up the coast past Durban, is the Mziki hiking trail and the Mount Tabor hut. (which has one of the most amazing views from a toilet I've ever seen.)
The hut is an old radar station that overlooks the St. Lucia Estuary where Catalinas were based during WWII.
You could see the tail of one that crashed in the estuary.
The ancient sand dunes are very tall and overgrown with trees and grass, and give a good view of the sea there too.
The biggest danger while on one of the 3 day trails, are the hippos.
It was like being in the army again, hiking along, constantly keeping an eye out for which tree I'd be scaling in the event of a hippo encounter.
I'm old and disabled now, so can't even tell you what those areas are like anymore.
@@robert-trading-as-Bob69 Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge of the area. Appreciate it.
@@redcoathistory if you can, get a copy of “Natal and the Zulu country” by TV Bulpin.
@@robert-trading-as-Bob69 Wonderful
I hope it's a glitch on my UA-cam, but it looks like this video has only got seven views and just one like from myself here!
If so that's criminal, it's a very interesting video and it covers a sadly neglected part of fascinating South African history.
Great Britain's first clash with the Boers ought to be better remembered.
Thank you very much for your hard work lad! It is much appreciated.
Thanks John. . . I haven't released the video yet so you are part of an elite band who have found it buried in a playlist. Will probably be publically available in two or three weeks and then I hope it will get a few more views. Thanks for watching.
@@redcoathistory ah good, I was worried there.
I'll pat myself on my back for my recce work though 😂
Very cool, I never knew of this. I do know about the Boer Treks.
Good stuff, hopefully you will cover the battle of Boomplaats near the Orange River in 1848.
Chris-one of your 🇺🇸supporters and a fan. I was just visiting some historic sites recently and then realized how has he not covered this very Redcoat conflict. I am talking about General Braddock’s epic march, major engineering undertaking, and infamous defeat to kick off the French and Indian War. Braddock’s junior officers and some enlisted are a literal whos who of the American War of Independence fought 20 years later. How have you not covered this yet. If you make it over there are dozens of preserved sites to visit!
Thanks a lot - definitely one to explore. Hope to see you there one day.
Exceptional documentary …..
Very interesting indeed. I grew up in Durban but was not aware of this. Well done for this video.
This is very interesting. Thank you for making these, these are the treasures that most do not even know about.
Those red coats must have been terrible in the Durban humidity
Awesome like always
Thanks, Bill.
South Africa would have been a better country if the Brits never came here
If they didnt, we probably would never have taken up rugby and gone on to dominate the world.
Lol, better if only brits arrived from the sea and dutch never came
The area from Durban to Grahamstown, where Dick King travelled by horseback to get help, has many rivers and deep gorges apart from the thick bush. I must have been an absolute nightmare of a journey.
Your presentation is super excellent . You would definitely have plenty more material at hand covering the conflict between Boer and Brit in SA going forward from this well researched and detailed point.
Incredible vid mate
Super interesting story. I was not aware of this; I thought the conflict was mostly the two big wars in the late 19th century. Thanks, Chris! Regards from Canada 🇨🇦
Excellent history. Not only of the British soldiers holding out in the fort but their brothers in the Royal Navy who brought in their rescuers.
Loved it, thank you for all the hard work!!!
Dankie, Sir.
Very interesting indeed Chris. I loved that diorama
Cheers mate - yes, if only it had a better home and was looked after.
Brilliant as per usual chap....then home for tea and crumpets.✌️
Re your comparing MOTH with British Legion. Almost but not quite😊
The British Empire Services League (BESL) was founded in Cape Town in 1921 to assist WW1 veterans. In the same year Vic Clapham and mates in Durban ran the first Comrades Marathon in memory of their fallen comrades.
The BESL went through a series of changes that ended with separation into South African Legion and British Legion.
MOTH (Memorable Order of Tin Hats) began in Durban in 1927. The essential difference between MOTH and Legion is that Legion is constituted as an association to assist veterans while MOTH is constituted as a fraternal order for those who have actually been on active service.
Both serve very similar purpose and cooperate in pursuit of common purpose.
And till this day the Brits never paid for what they did to the woman and children
My grandfather fought against the British
My Great grandad George Burton fought in the Boer war, and I have his diary of every day account from when he sailed from Southampton to Cape Town, and every day he was over there fascinating read
That sounds awesome! You have a treasure
thats very cool..you should type it up & strike a book deal!
Redcoat history, you should do a video on Operation Epsom WW2 where British forces faced the densest concentration of German Armour in Normandy. Eight Panzer Divisions ( 5 of which were Waffen SS) it was a hell of a fight.
The Enniskillens got ragged by the Boers.
Just showing. You can't do wrong in this life and think that it won't come back.
Admit that 'apartheid' was a English thing
I am feverishly hoping that one of you Brit historians would cover the voyage, initial experiences and subsequent actions of Dick King's persuasion, the 1820 British Settlers to South Africa. I am descended from them on my father's side, and Afrikaner on my mother's.
They had a deep sense of gratitude towards the Boers at first, when they landed and had to be taken to their allotments, and a sense of cameraderie during Xhosa raids thereafter. They fought together during the Sixth Frontier War, and the bible on which Sarel Cilliers swore the Covenant prior to Blood River was a gift from the 1820 Settlers.
King Shaka my hat!
Tribal warlord who defeated the native Xhosa .
Zulu invaded SA ,they are not indigenous.
Well done learned a great deal. Appears that N.B. Forrest of the American Civil War would have fit right in with the Boer tactics. Forrest once captured Col. Abel Straight's much larger calvary forece at Cedar Bluff Alabama in 1863. Good thing the Brits didn't have that commander to go up against.
Ther NEVER was a Boer War!!
The Boer's never went to england to fight the English.
The English came to South Africa to fight the Boers.
So it was an English War.
Can your next video please be Scwartkoppies? Buck Adams' The Red Dragoon is one of the best accounts of a private soldier during the 1840s though somewhat at odds with official accounts (the 7th DG amazingly went into action with their heavy dragoon helmets which were dropped for forage caps for the war of the axe). I am working on a miniature display of the action of Harry Darell, who saw action in both SA and with the 18th Foot in China. Love your work😊
Thanks - I don't know too much about and have't read the Red Dragoon - will look it up. Thanks.
It's published in the Leonaur Eyewitness to history range, just had my copy arrive here in Oz and am ploughing through it. He lived till 1910 apparently and wrote it some 40 years after Gwanga River. Mike Snooks Cape Warriors book has an illustration of him by the Perrys during the Gwanga River charge
Some great titles in that range like a Norfolk Soldier in the Sikh War, has inspired me to spend a small fortune on Empress (formerly Iron Duke) miniatures Sikh Wars and South Africa in the 1840s 50s range!
In 1842 the British was introduced to "guerilla warfare" by the Boers and got their first bloodied nose.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century a couple of skirmishes between Brit and Boer took place all over Natal and Transvaal provinces, some won and some lost on both sides. Eventually, at the end of the Anglo Boer war in the early nineteen hundreds, the Afrikaner had to succumb when Britain imported some four hundred thousand soldiers, thus turning the tables on a handful of Boers.
Thank you for an interesting video.
South Africa was colonized by the British, got independence in the early nineteen sixties and was re colonized by the ANC in 1994.
Yes yes ... Farmers Defence Force
Nope 1st fight was in a Town called Klawer.
190km north of Cape Town.
The battle took place in a valley called War Valley in Afrikaans, Oorlogsvalei in Afrikaans.
I stay 2km from the site, and even have access to the dumpsite used since that war.
The family owning the property wil never alow anybody on the site, thus the reason why no documentary about it exists.
The valley is part of a mountain with 2 local names adding to confusion in finding the exact site.
The mountains are next to each other 10km apart. 1 is Poison Mountain and the other Maskam Mountain.
The battle took part on Maskam mountain in Oorlogs Valley.
The same family own the farm since befire that battle, the Mouton Family and like I said, they prevent access to the battlefield
nice one!
great video
You should do a video on East India Company Officer Frederick Young, founder of the British Gurkha regiments.
I didn’t know the boers and Brits fought this much. I just thought they fought in the Boer wars in 1899 and 1900
We are still fighting
Can you do a series on pual von lettow-vorbeck ww1 campaign
Alright lets go!
Seems mad that you're a bloke born and raised in some urban area of Britain, then to find yourself in an utterly alien environment like this. Talk about trippy.
Dutch first, French and Germans and then the rest.
Drommedaris, Cape of Good Hope and Reijger were all 3 Dutch ships. Van Riebeeck founded the Cape Colony and he was Dutch 1652.
Apologies. The second ship was "De Goede Hoop".
Die Boer end sy Roer
Here is some text as quoted by great men surrounding the south African Afrikaners or BOERS
"Give me 20 divisions American soldiers and I will breach Europe. Give me 15 consisting of Englishmen, and I will advance to the borders of Berlin. Give me two divisions of those marvellous fighting Boers (Meaning Farmer, originating from the Boer War) and I will remove Germany from the face of the earth." Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, Commander of the Allled forces during WWII.
"The Americans fight for a free world, the English mostly for honour and glory and medals, the French and Canadians decide too late that they have to participate. The Italians are too scared to fight; the Russians have no choice. The Germans for the Fatherland. The Boers? Those sons of bitches fight for the hell of it." American General, George "Guts and Glory" Patton
"Take a community of Dutchmen of the type of those who defended themselves for fifty years against all the power of Spain at a time when Spain was the greatest power in the world. Intermix with them a strain of those inflexible French Huguenots, who gave up their name and left their country forever at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The product must obviously be one of the most rugged, virile, unconquerable races ever seen upon the face of the earth. Take these formidable people and train them for seven generations in constant warfare against savage men and ferocious beasts, in circumstances in which no weakling could survive; place them so that they acquire skill with weapons and in horsemanship, give them a country which is eminently suited to the tactics of the huntsman, the marksman and the rider. Then, finally, put a fine temper upon their military qualities by a dour fatalistic Old Testament religion and an ardent and consuming patriotism. Combine all these qualities and all these impulses in one individual and you have the modern Boer." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The second ship was De Goede Hoop. My mistake below.
"The 23rd of May 1842…Ring a bell? Probably not…unless you are a massive military history geek like me."
Well that was the year that Britain TOTALLY kneed China in the nads in the Opium War, savoured the lyrical quality of their bleatings about "UNEQUAL Treaties!!!!" (who the f*** ever said treaties have to be between EQUALS ?! When had China ever held back from treating others as inferiors when the going was good ??!!) , AND began one of the better ideas anyone ever had, the founding of Hong Kong !!
Easy to portray British Imperial armed forces as incompetent, but the reality a global empire achieved what many can only dream of is undeniable reality.
Who is portraying them as incompetant? That certainly isn't my intention.
Except against the boere. When they struggled to win the second boer war, they target the women and children.
Achieved because had by luck had an advantage at the time. Had Napoleon won, and sadly he didn't, the situation would have looked different. And you're correct that many the Brits achieved a lot but unfortunately this glory will never return and Britain will only become less important as other countries overtake it given that the genie of science/technology has been released to the world.
Did they do it by force of arms?
@@Kitiwake How else could the British Empire be the only one to ever seek out and destroy the slave industry to end global slavery ?. By using tea cakes .
thats when the British took over the Gold and Diamond mines, i wonder if the soldiers who actually did the fighting actually got any of the booty, probably not.
The British were totally destroyed by the South Africans. They had very little experience in the kind of war against SA
Welcome to Durban.
Red coats got their asse kicked
960 km horse ride 😎
This rules..
Ek hou van di mothes. Hulle is grait mense!!!
Kongela as you do
Or even uKhangela.
7:00 sounds like the American revolution all over again except this time the guerrilla/marksman mythology was actually true
Yes, to be fair the Boers were terrific marksmen and incredible natural soldiers.
👍👍👍
I,was always very anry that the British took Natal from us.But,More and more Afrikaaners seeking the always on Vacation dream house by the Sea have resettled to the Coast and are a Afrilaner Comunity between the Souties as we call The English salties.Especially round Margate but even some in Durban.Natal is a,very beautifull place.Ofcourse Dick King saved to British but without him the garrison would have surrendered unfortunate to us if we had a,Sea port open to,our Allies Netherlands,Germany,France,just imagine as look in what a short time we had to build a New Country out of ash.And before the second Boer war the ZAR had a railway service power generator telephone lines to forts in Pretoria,without the 2 nd Boer war The Zar was becoming a small Belgium of prosperityso its like every time the British just came in to ruin everything again.Because want everything control everything for selfish imperialist needs.But we live in Peace in modern SA different Europeans but yeah one part British one part Western European descent but all South African.Though culturally well still have own heritage and delicacies melktert,koeksusters and Boerewors which the Brits are crazy about and our Braai,s meat Bbqs and the English took all of those things and agree that they are splendid Boer food,delicacies.
“Pesky Laws”….. like not keeping slaves.
Dick Kings Servant 😂😂😂
Most Boers/Voortrekkers couldn't afford a slave. The slaves were owned by the East India Company mostly.
It's always better to know your history before opening your mouth.
@ I do indeed know the history, and the East India Company was not exempt from the ban on owning slaves in the Cape Colony.
@@peterwebb8732 The VOC owned slaves mate.
I'm just tried of poms using the British ban on slavery as the only and primary reason for the Dutch undertaking the Great Trek. When in fact it was not.
@@PhansiKhongoloza I’m tired of people pretending that the British were evil and that Boer treatment of the natives had nothing to do with it. I’ve lived all my life in a former British Colony. It’s history is not perfect, but the cheap shots and the a-contextual historical revisionism is ridiculous.
Dick King?
Jo dosent matter what you tell me he supposedly did. Id certanly believe you.
Bokke!
And then the Aussies arrived.... Breaker Morant.
Australian horsemen would rival any mounted rifle
Through all of these battles from the very beginning of the occupation. You have to wonder how meny true Africans lost their lives as well as their land?
The truely indigenous African in this scenario were the San and Khoi. The Zulu having only just arrived in the region themselves..
@@PhansiKhongolozaShaka was still busy building a Zulu nation. The Xhosa people were further down south, many displaced by Shaka and Dingaan. I think the largest number of black lives were lost during the mFecane and by fellow black. Many tribes were displaced to Zimbabwe, the Northern and Southern parts of South Africa and many people died. Some looked for refuge with the trekkers, some with the British, some formed new tribes.
@@nettahunter7058 1842. Shaka was long dead.
The Battle of Blood River was took place on 16 December 1838. The Zulu (under Dingane) were defeated.
The Voortrekkers had asked Dingane for the area South of the Tugela and west of the Buffalo. An area not settled by the Zulu and not considered part of Zululand by the Zulu themselves. And are which was inhabited by very small and scattered cannibal tribes which were hostile towards the Zulu anyway.
As you know Dingane had ambushed Piet Retief and his party and murdered them. And event which lead to the batte.
The Zulu were defeated and the Voortrekkers took Natal.
Shoshangaan had already departed for Mozambique during Shaka's time (IE Pre 1828) as has Mizilikazi already departed for the Transvaal. Where he was defeated by the Boers and had moved on to Bulawayo (Rhodesia. Called Zambizia at this point) so I'm not quite with you.
@@nettahunter7058 My responses keep disappearing........
Natal is South of the Tugela and West of the Buffalo.
Utoop won't allow me to edit......
Zululand is east of the Buffalo.....
Interesting. A pity those illustrations are so desperqat4ely inaccurate.
Yes - I couldn't find many good ones and had to make them - the key thing is the script.
@@redcoathistory Of course, and there were not all that many painters in Port Natal at the time. (;>
I thought you were a patriot, and you are wearing a "southafrican" flag on your shirt
Yes, it's the badge all tour guides wear in South Africa.
@redcoathistory OK I give up and didn't know that
@@dannywlm63 No problem.
That's not the flag of South Africa. Our flag is Orange, White and Blue!
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