Archival Significance
Written by Archibald R. Colquhoun, the first Administrator of Mashonaland under the British South Africa Company, this is a first-hand political account of the 1893-94 Matabele War from one of the colonial administrators directly responsible for the territory’s early government.
Institutional Context
This reprint published by Leadenhall Press, London, of Colquhoun’s 1894 original, following the Archive’s convention of dating reprints to their own publication rather than their content’s era.
Content Summary
Presents Colquhoun’s account of the 1893-94 Matabele War and its implications for the broader colonial position in Southern Africa, with an accompanying sketch map.
Research Utility
A primary source for researchers of the Matabele War written by a direct participant in the colonial administration responsible for it, best read alongside independent accounts and, given Colquhoun’s institutional position, as evidence of the coloniser’s own framing of the conflict rather than a neutral history.
Abantu Archives Note
Held in-house.