The Shangani Patrol was a 34-soldier unit of the British South Africa Company. In 1893, it was ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors. Surrounded and outnumbered about a hundred-fold, the patrol made a last stand. After fighting to the last cartridge, and killing over ten times their own number, they were annihilated. The patrol’s members, particularly Wilson and Captain Henry Borrow, were elevated in death to the status of national heroes.
About Shangani Patrol in brief
The Shangani Patrol was a 34-soldier unit of the British South Africa Company. In 1893, it was ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors in pre-Southern Rhodesia. Surrounded and outnumbered about a hundred-fold, the patrol made a last stand as three of its number broke out and rode back to the river to muster reinforcements. After fighting to the last cartridge, and killing over ten times their own number, they were annihilated. The patrol’s members, particularly Wilson and Captain Henry Borrow, were elevated in death to the status of national heroes, representing endeavour in the face of insurmountable odds. The anniversary of the battle on 4 December 1893 became an annual public holiday in Rhodesia two years later, and was an official non-work day until 1920. Controversy surrounds the breakout before the last stand, which various writers have posited might have actually been desertion. Two batmen were initially found guilty of accepting the gold, keeping it for themselves and not passing on the message, but the evidence against them was inconclusive and largely circumstantial; the convictions were ultimately overturned. A historical war film depicting the episode, Shangani patrol, was produced and released in 1970. The film is based on a true story, The Battle of the Shangani, which was written by the British journalist and historian, David Walliams, and directed by David MacKenzie, who is also the author of the book, The Last Stand: A Story of the Last Stand, published by Oxford University Press, £7.99 (with a p&p fee of £3.99).
The film was released in UK cinemas on 5 December 2013, with a UK release date of 6 December 2013. It is available in U.S. cinemas and on DVD in the UK on the same day, £8.99, £9.99 and £12.99 respectively. The first settlers referred to their new home as \”Rhodesia after Rhodes.’’ The Company was empowered under this charter to trade with local rulers, form banks, own and manage land, and raise and run a police force: the Mashonaland Mounted Police. In return for these rights, the Company would govern and develop any territory it acquired, while respecting laws enacted by extant African rulers, and upholding free trade within its borders. In the immediate vicinity of the Cape, this ambition was challenged by the presence of independent states to the north-east of Britain’s Cape Colony: the Boer republics and the Kingdom of Matab Elephantland under Lobengula. The Company made most of its pledges, the assent of which was often evaded, misrepresented or simply ignored. The conflict ended with violence, and ended with the end of the conflict by official force by Leander Starr James Starr. The First MatabEle War had started in July 1893, and an indaba was organised by the Company.
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This page is based on the article Shangani Patrol published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
