January 1, 1970

Introduced by Richard M. Langworth

Churchill wrote two books about his experiences in South Africa. London to Ladysmith, his first Boer War book, is a remarkable read, with startling observations for a Victorian imperialist. In prison, a Boer guard asked Churchill why native Africans should ‘walk on the pavement without a pass? That’s what they do in your British colonies. Brother!

Equal! Ugh! Free! Not a bit.’ (And there is more.)

Churchill replies: ‘British government is associated in the Boer farmer’s mind with violent social revolution … the Kaffir [native] is to be declared the brother of the European … his legal equal … armed with political rights … nor is a tigress robbed of her cubs more furious than is the Boer at this prospect’. Of course, Churchill was a Victorian. His attitude was paternalistic. He considered equality years away (and it was). Yet his views in London to Ladysmith are in striking contrast to most of his contemporaries. He believed in equality for all under the law.

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Read the full article, here: ‘Bibliography: London to Ladysmith via Pretoria’, by Richard M. Langworth, in Finest Hour 105, Winter 1999-2000.