Twenty-five Years in a Waggon

Twenty-five Years in a Waggon

In 1863, colonial-born hunter and explorer Andrew A. Anderson set out from Natal with an ox-drawn waggon to push far beyond the colonial frontier into what was then described as “terra incognita”. Over the next quarter of a century he criss-crossed southern Africa, determined to map its rivers, trace its trade routes and record the lives of its peoples.

Structured region-by-region rather than as a single continuous journey, the book follows Anderson from Natal over the Drakensberg, through the Orange Free State and Transvaal, into Griqualand West and the early diamond fields, and on through the Bechuana territories under chiefs such as Montsioa and Khama. He ventures across the Kalahari Desert, Great Namaqualand and Damaraland into Ovamboland, continuing on to Mashonaland and Matabeleland under Lobengula, carefully noting river systems, watersheds and political states/situations along the way.

Alongside this careful geography, Anderson weaves vivid scenes of everyday travel: lion-haunted pans, desert thirst, and waggon camps surrounded by herds of quagga, springbok and wildebeest. He records early encounters with Bushmen, Griquas, Korannas, Zulus and Boers, preserving details of cultures, languages and frontier life that were already disappearing even as he wrote.

Twenty-Five Years in a Waggon is more than just a gripping travel narrative – it is a highly interesting record of South and Central Africa’s physical and human landscape before large-scale colonial settlement and modern borders. For readers interested in the history of South and Central Africa, mission and trade routes and regional history, this new edition offers a highly readable window into a world that has largely vanished.

Pages:   420 (English)
Format: Downloadable PDF (±2.9Mb)

Twenty-five Years in a Waggon

In 1863 span die ontdekkingsreisiger en koloniaal-gebore jagter Andrew A. Anderson sy ossewa in en vertrek op 'n bykans kwarteeu-lange reis deur Suidelike Afrika – buite die gevestigde grense in wat toentertyd as "terra incognita" beskryf is. In daardie sowat 25 jaar deurkruis hy Suidelike Afrika, vasbeslote om riviere en waterskeidings te karteer, handelsroetes na te speur en die lewens van die mense langs die pad te dokumenteer.

Die boek is streeksgewys georden, eerder as ’n deurlopende reisverhaal. Anderson neem die leser van Natal oor die Drakensberg, deur die Oranje-Vrystaat en Transvaal, na Griekwaland-Wes en die vroeë diamantvelde; verder deur die destydse Betsjoeanaland onder hoofde soos Montsioa en Khama, oor die Kalahari, Groot- en Klein-Namakwaland, Damaraland en Owamboland, en Mashonaland en Matabeleland onder Lobengula. Oral maak hy noukeurige aantekeninge oor riviere, waterskeidings en die inheemse politieke situasie.

Tesame met sy sorgvuldige geografiese beskrywing, beeld Anderson ook interessante tonele uit van alledaagse gebeure: troppe leeus by die panne, dors in die woestyn, en wa-kampe omring deur troppe kwaggas, springbokke en wildebeeste. Hy beskryf vroeë ontmoetings met Boesmans, Griekwas, Korannas, Zoeloes en Boere, en bewaar so besonderhede van tale, gebruike en grenslewe wat reeds in sy eie tyd aan’t verdwyn was.

Twenty-Five Years in a Waggon is meer as net ’n boeiende reisverhaal – dit is ’n hoogs-interessante bron van beide die fisiese en menslike landskap van Suid- en Sentraal-Afrika voordat grootskaalse koloniale vestiging en moderne grense hul merk gelaat het. Vir lesers met ’n belangstelling in die geskiedenis van Suid- en Sentraal Afrika, sending- en handelsroetes en streeksgeskiedenis, bied hierdie nuwe uitgawe ’n maklik leesbare venster op ’n wêreld wat grotendeels verdwyn het.

Bladsye:   420 (Engels)
Formaat:  Aflaaibare PDF (±2.9Mb)