King Lobengula, the Ndebele King who claimed sovereignty over neighbouring Mashonaland, conquered by the Ndebele when his father, Mzilikazi, led his 'people north to escape the spears of Shaka Zulu and the guns of the voortrekkers.

The story of Rhodes's concession is tortuous and not particularly edifying, Lobengula was illiterate but highly intelligent. Like the victim of a Greek tragedy, he found himself caught in the toils. For years he had been besieged by concession hunters of various nationalities, including 'Boers. He recognized that his kingdom, blessed with a soil and climate superior to that of any of the other South African states, would be the next target for European expansion. Only its remoteness had saved it so far.

By 1888 the telegraphs and railways advancing to"Kimberley and Johannesburg pointed menacingly across the Limpopo. Loben­gula had one of the most powerful armies of any African kingdom, perhaps 15,000 Ndebele and Shona warriors, organized in Impis like their-Zulu cousins, and subject to the same ferocious discipline. Their weapon, too, was the assegai, the short stabbing spear which had punctured the Queen's redcoats at lsandlwana. But Lobengula had no illusions about his chance of defending his kingdom_by force of arms, although some of his indunas(chiefs)-and most of -.the young.braves' were anxious to wash their spears in European blood, Lobengula had understood the lesson that the defeat of the Zulus at the battle of Ulundi in 1879 held for them all.

No African army, however brave or well­ disciplined, could survive long against Europeans armed with modern rifles, machine guns and artillery. Where were Cetshwayo and his boastful lmpis now? The best way to defend his people was by diplomacy, either playing off one set of Europeans against another, or by taking his cue from his enemy and rival, Khama, King of the Ngwato, who_had placed his country under British pro­tection in 1885.But how to proceed?

Except pg 382, ‘The Scramble for Africa’ Thomas Pakenham 1992