Book 11- Streets Paved with Gold

The year is 1879 and the British government has given the independent Zulu kingdom an ultimatum whose terms effectively destroy their independence. The ultimatum is unacceptable to king Cetshwayo and his advisors and war is inevitable. After the expiry of the deadline, British troops under Lord Chelmsford cross the Buffalo River into Zululand. The first skirmish is small which results in the troops becoming hugely overconfident. The army sets up camp beside a hill, called Isandlwana by the Zulus, and sentries are posted. The Zulu army is rumoured to be in the vicinity and scouts are sent out without finding any sign of them. The Zulus, however, are hidden in a deep valley not far from the British camp. The general makes the classic mistake of splitting his force. Half the troops under his command move out in search of the Zulu army and the other half is left in camp. Such is the overconfidence and poor organization that the camp is not fortified. Furthermore, a total eclipse of the sun is expected to occur on the following day. This is taken by the British to mean that Zulus would not fight under such an inauspicious sign. However, the battle does take place and the eclipse proves to be inauspicious for the British. The battle of Isandlwana goes down in in history as the biggest defeat that the British Army suffered up to that time. We follow the story of a young Welsh trooper who is more interested in entomology than in fighting. He has never before been out of Wales and finds himself in this wild land called Africa. He is fascinated by the beetles and insects he sees and starts a collection with the view to selling them to museums back home. He dreams of leaving the army one day to become a full time naturalist. Alas, his dreams are not to be fulfilled.